United Airlines on Monday took delivery of its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, becoming the first North American carrier to receive Boeing’s most advanced airliner.
“As the North American launch customer, we are delighted to be getting our first 787 Dreamliner,” said United President and CEO Jeff Smisek. “As we continue to build the world’s leading airline, we are excited for our customers and co-workers to experience this game-changing aircraft.”
Photos: Onboard the First United Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner
United is the sixth airline to receive the new jet, joining All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines, LAN and Air India.
United expects to receive a total of five 787s by the end of the year, and plans on operating each of them on domestic proving runs before launching them on long-haul, overseas routes. The “US tour” begins on November 6 with a hub-to-hub flight from Houston to Chicago, and between November and March, the planes will visit various United stations around the country, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Newark, Cleveland, Washington-Dulles and Denver.
International service will commence on December 4 with Houston-Amsterdam service, followed by Los Angeles-Tokyo Narita on January 3, Houston-Lagos on January 7, Los Angeles-Shanghai on March 30 and Denver-Tokyo Narita on March 31.
Each United 787 will be fitted with 219 seats: 36 seats in BusinessFirst, 70 seats in Economy Plus and 113 seats in Economy.
United 787 US tour schedule
Note: Only departure times are shown
IAH-SFO-IAH
November 4-December 2: 5x weekly
5:45 p.m. westbound | 12:15 a.m. eastbound
IAH-LAX-IAH
November 4-December 3: 6x weekly
3:30 p.m. westbound | 6:25 p.m. eastbound
IAH-ORD-IAH
November 4-December 3: 6x weekly
7:25 a.m. northbound | 11:15 a.m. southbound
IAH-EWR-IAH
November 4-December 3: Daily except November 18
8 a.m. northbound | 3:30 p.m. southbound
IAH-CLE-IAH
November 10: Single round-trip
7 a.m. northbound | 4 p.m. southbound
IAH-IAD-IAH
November 17: Single round-trip
7 a.m. northbound | 3:50 p.m. southbound
IAH-SFO-IAH
December 3-January 3: Daily
5:45 p.m. westbound | 12:15 a.m. eastbound
IAH-LAX-IAH
December 4-January 3: Daily
3:30 p.m. westbound | 6:25 p.m. eastbound
IAH-DEN-IAH
December 5-January 2: Daily
7:20 a.m. westbound | 10:15 a.m. eastbound
IAH-LAX-IAH
January 3-March 31: Daily
7:35 a.m. westbound | 12:30 p.m. eastbound
IAH-ORD-IAH
January 4-March 29: Daily
7:25 a.m. northbound | 11:15 a.m. southbound
IAH-DEN-IAH
March 31 until further notice: Daily
9:15 a.m. westbound | 2:15 p.m. eastbound
