Air New Zealand's new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner takes off on first Perth flight

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 9 years ago

Air New Zealand's new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner takes off on first Perth flight

By Candice Barnes
Loading

Air New Zealand has dismissed safety concerns about the Boeing 787 Dreamliner ahead of the airline's first regular flight with the revolutionary new jet.

The airline's first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner takes to the skies on its maiden commercial flight to Perth on Friday.

The new aircraft stood out on Auckland Airport's tarmac, with its sleek black finish and large silver fern on the tail. Underneath the surface, however, are a host of new features which flight operations chief Captain David Morgan hoped would prove to be "game changers for the customer".

Air New Zealand's first 787-9 Dreamliner ready for its first flight on the Auckland-Perth route.

Air New Zealand's first 787-9 Dreamliner ready for its first flight on the Auckland-Perth route.Credit: Candice Barnes

"This airplane is pressurised so the cabin altitude is much lower than other planes and that has a material effect on people's physiology... you feel good flying on this airplane," Mr Morgan said.

"It's much quieter and it also rides very well. It has a turbulence suppression system in it."

"The windows are much bigger. Anybody can see the horizon from wherever they're sitting."

At 63 metres, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is longer than its predecessor, it can fly further and cater for more passengers.

It's also leaner and greener than conventional airliners, with the carbon fibre structure expected to deliver on fuel efficiency and save on carbon emissions.

Advertisement

"A key thing particularly with communities these days is noise around airports. This is a quiet airplane, but it also burns 20 per cent less fuel than the planes it's replacing," Mr Morgan said.

"Less carbon is very important for the airline industry, and we have a goal to be the world's most sustainable airline and the 787 will help deliver significantly to that."

Air New Zealand was the first to receive one of the new Dreamliners, with another nine expected to join the fleet over the next few years.

The airline will take delivery of two more Dreamliners this year, one in September and another in October, which will service the Auckland-Tokyo and Auckland-Shanghai routes.

Air New Zealand program director Kerry Reeves dismissed concerns about safety in the wake of a documentary titled Broken Dreams: The Boeing 787, in which Boeing staff expressed fears of flying on the Dreamliner jets.

Boeing had strongly denied the criticism of safety procedures and allegations of drug use.

"We undergo very vigorous inspections of the aircraft before we accept it and Boeing have already done that themselves," Mr Reeves said.

"Sometimes we find the odd thing, but honestly the aircraft has been built to a very high standard and we found very little to be concerned about."

While delivery of the Boeing 787-9 was delayed, Air New Zealand's inaugural flight was scheduled earlier than planned. The flight was initially slated for mid-October.

"We wanted to advertise the aircraft flying to Perth when we could guarantee it would, so we didn't do that in the schedule until we had the second aircraft operating," Mr Reeves said.

"The aircraft will be replacing the current scheduled aircraft on a day by day basis from now onwards."

In a case of 'out with the old, in with the new', the new aircraft's debut coincided with Air New Zealand's final service on the Boeing 747, which arrived in Auckland from San Francisco on Friday morning.

The Dreamliner's maiden flight is expected to land in Perth on Friday evening, and will return to Auckland shortly afterwards.

The airline said it had moved more than 170,000 passengers from Perth to Auckland so far this year.

The writer travelled as a guest of Air New Zealand.

Sign up for the Traveller newsletter

The latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now.

Most viewed on Traveller

Loading