TOKYO — I’ve done what feels like dozens of these travel day posts over the last four years, but needless to say, this one is different. This is JA801A, Airplane Eight, ZA101, and today by a different name: All Nippon Flight 7871. It will be a four-and-a-half hour flight aboard this month-old Boeing 787-881 Dreamliner to Chek Lap Kok airport in Hong Kong, filled to capacity with 264 aboard. I’m in seat 12C with a view of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries wing made southwest of here in Nagoya and joined to the Fuji Heavy Industries center wing box by Boeing in Everett, Washington for final assembly. Today, the Dreamliner begins its service life.
This post was originally published to the internet between 2007 and 2012. Links, images, and embedded media from that era may no longer function as intended.
This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.