On October 10, during a ceremony in London, Virgin Atlantic Airways took possession of the first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. This is the first European airline with 787-9 in the fleet, and the first route operated will be London Heathrow - Boston. The aircraft landed at London Gatwick Airport after a 7400 km flight from Boeing Base in Paine Field, Everett.
The aircraft, called the "Birthday Girl", referring to 30 years of activity of the British operator, is the first of 16 units 787-9 ordered by Virgin Atlantic.
787-9 complements and extends the 787 family. With a longer fuselage with 6 meters above 787-8, 787-9 can carry up to 40 more passengers and has a range of flights up to 830 more. Although we are talking about a larger aircraft, Boeing did not discount performance, maintaining the reliability of a Dreamliner.
Virgin Atlantic Airways operates a fleet of 40 aircraft, operating flights from British airports Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester and Glasgow to destinations in North and South America, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.
The 787 Dreamliner family is enjoying great success. To date, approximately 60 customers have ordered over 1000 787 aircraft, of which 40% are 787-9.