The Boeing 787 Dreamliner completed its long-awaited first money-making trip today, flying from Tokyo to Hong Kong on a special charter flight operated by launch customer All Nippon Airways.
The plane was filled mostly with aviation enthusiasts who bid between US$1,100 and US$33,000 for a seat on the state-of-the-art aircraft, proceeds of which were donated to charity.
Actual scheduled service will begin November 1 between Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, Hiroshima and Okayama. Flights to Beijing are expected to commence in December, and Frankfurt in February 2012.
While we were not one of the lucky news organizations to score a seat on the first flight, from the comfort of the Eastern Time Zone we did put together some photos and video from ANA, Flickr (above) and a video of the arrival courtesy of Engadget (below). Enjoy.