Boeing and Singapore Airlines have celebrated the delivery of the first 787-10 airplane, the newest and largest member of the Dreamliner family.
About 3,000 people marked the milestone at Boeing’s facility in North Charleston, South Carolina where the latest 787 model is manufactured.
Like the other 787 Dreamliners, the 787-10 is designed with strong, lightweight composites, the most advanced systems, and comfortable cabin features.
The 787-10, though, features a longer fuselage which allows it to carry about 40 more passengers or a total of 330 seats in a standard two-class configuration.
With the additional capacity, the 787-10 provides airlines the lowest operating cost per seat of any widebody airplane in service today.
“It is an honour for us to be the world’s first airline to take delivery of this amazing aircraft,” said Goh Choon Phong, chief executive officer of Singapore Airlines, the 787-10 launch customer.
“The 787-10 is a magnificent piece of engineering and truly a work of art.
“It will be an important element in our overall growth strategy, enabling us to expand our network and strengthen our operations.”
Goh added: “The 787-10 underscores Singapore Airlines’ longstanding commitment to operate a modern fleet and marks the start of a new chapter in our shared story with Boeing.”
Singapore Airlines – through its subsidiary Scoot – already flies the 787-8 and 787-9 Dreamliners.
With the latest delivery the group will be the first to operate all three Dreamliner models.
Singapore Airlines has 68 additional Boeing widebody jets on order, including 48 additional 787-10s, and 20 of the new 777-9s.
“This is a big day for all of us at Boeing and for our global supplier partners.
“We are thrilled to deliver the first 787-10 Dreamliner to Singapore Airlines, one of the world’s leading carriers.
“And we are honoured by Singapore’s partnership and trust, as reflected by their repeated orders for the Dreamliner,” said Kevin McAllister, Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and chief executive officer.
The 787-10’s superior performance and high commonality with its Dreamliner siblings have attracted strong interest from around the world, including in Asia where the jet can connect all points within the region.
The 787-10 also offers Asian operators the flexibility to fly to Europe, Africa and Oceania.
Singapore Airlines plans to put its 787-10s into scheduled service in May, with flights from Singapore to Osaka, Japan and Perth, Australia.
Prior to the introduction of these services, the aircraft will be operated on selected flights to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur for crew training purposes.