United begins Boeing 787 era with toasts, water cannons

  • By Julie Johnsson Bloomberg News
  • Sunday, November 4, 2012 1:55pm
  • Business

ON UNITED FLIGHT 1116 — United Continental ushered in a new era for composite-plastic aircraft with its inaugural flight using Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner jet.

Flight 1116 to Chicago from Houston was the first by a U.S. airline with the plane whose fuselage is made chiefly from composite materials instead of the traditional aluminum, and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Smisek hailed it as “the best airplane in the world.”

“It doesn’t get any cooler than this,” Smisek said Sunday as he posed for photos and signed autographs at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport before a takeoff that industry data tracker FlightAware reported at 8:29 a.m. New York time. “We’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

The Dreamliner, assembled in Everett, symbolically punctuates the 2010 merger creating the world’s largest carrier from former United parent UAL Corp. and Continental Airlines Inc. Continental committed in 2004 to buy the first U.S. 787s, and the new United is due to get 48 more of the jets under purchases by its predecessors, following the delivery of the second plane on Oct. 31. Smisek said he expects two more jets this month.

United will benefit from the plane’s 20 percent fuel savings compared with wide-body models of similar size. It also can promote the passenger comforts that Boeing says set the jet apart from other aircraft, such as dimmable windows and LED lighting that changes in different phases of flight.

The features were much on display as the Dreamliner cruised north to Chicago. Windows were dimmed to a hazy blue to block bright sunlight, the bird-like wings flexed as the 787 climbed and encountered brief turbulence.

Smisek kicked off the on-board party with a toast, and passengers thronged galleys and aisles, praising the aircraft’s quiet engines and lavatories, which feature toilets that flush automatically.

“I like the aircraft a lot,” said Mark Schiff, a Chicago lawyer who shifted plans to catch the early morning flight when he discovered it would be on the Dreamliner. “It’s a much nicer atmosphere.”

With the composite construction, the 787’s interior can withstand higher humidity, allowing cabin pressurization that puts more oxygen in the air to minimize traveler fatigue and headache. As configured for United, the twin-engine jet seats 219 people.

The one complaint on the flight was the lack of Wi-Fi on the most technologically advanced commercial jet in the world. Smisek said in an interview that Boeing was working with federal aviation authorities to certify communications equipment to maintain broadband on a composite aircraft, a process that could take until 2014 to complete.

Smisek said the Dreamliner is crucial to his effort to make United into a standard-bearer for the industry. Flight 1116 arrived at Chicago O’Hare International Airport at 10:35 a.m. Eastern time, and was saluted with water cannons as it taxied to gate C-20.

“We are the world’s largest airline, but we don’t care about that,” he said. “We want to become the world’s leading airline.”

Boeing’s struggles with the new materials and production techniques contributed to delays of more than 3 1/2 years in the Dreamliner’s commercial debut, which came in 2011 for All Nippon Airways. United received its initial plane in September, and the second one was several days late.

The 787’s sleek design and amenities drew aviation buffs from around the world to Houston for Flight 1116. Among those on hand was Thomas Lee, 60, who said he was on the first flights of Boeing’s 747 jumbo jet, the Airbus SAS A380 superjumbo and All Nippon’s Dreamliner.

“It’s an amazing airplane,” he said. “I simply had to be here.”

— With assistance from Mary Jane Credeur in Atlanta and Susanna Ray in Seattle.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.