Will Enter Service On Toronto Route October 1

The first Dreamliner to be delivered to British Airways landed at London's Heathrow Airport Thursday at 1210 local time after a flight from Paine Field in Everett, WA. The airplane was welcomed to its Heathrow home by Willie Walsh, chief executive officer of International Airlines Group (IAG), the company that owns British Airways.

"The 787 is a tremendous, innovative aircraft which sets new standards for environmental performance and operating efficiency and I'm sure British Airways' customers will love it," said Walsh. "The 787 will become a mainstay of the British Airways fleet over the next few years."

British Airways has announced that the airline will operate the 787 from Heathrow to Toronto from Sept. 1 and Heathrow to Newark from Oct. 1. "The delivery of the first of BA's 787s is an exciting milestone for Boeing and British Airways," said Todd Nelp, vice president of European Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The 787 is the most technologically advanced and fuel-efficient commercial jetliner in its class. Its improved lighting, bigger windows, larger overhead bins, lower cabin altitude and cleaner cabin air will offer BA's passengers an unparalleled flying experience."

The British Airways 787 Dreamliner carries 214 passengers and is configured with 35 seats in Club World, 25 in World Traveler Plus and 154 seats in the World Traveler cabin.

British Airways operates more than 140 Boeing airplanes within its fleet including 52 777s, as well as the world's largest fleet of 747s with 52.

This is the first of 24 787s British Airways has on order. In addition, IAG recently announced that it will convert 18 787 options to firm orders for British Airways, subject to shareholder agreement. Twelve of these will be 787-10s, meaning British Airways will operate the entire 787 family – the 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10.

(Image provided by Boeing)

FMI: www.boeing.com