Boeing delivers 500th 787 Dreamliner — in record time

EVERETT — The Boeing Co. made its 500th delivery of a 787 Thursday. The plane was a 787-8 for Avianca, Colombia’s flag carrier.

It has been a little over five years since the first 787 Dreamliner was delivered — to All Nippon Airways in September 2011. That means the Dreamliner reached 500 deliveries in less time than any other twin-aisle airplane, according to Boeing.

“Achieving 500 deliveries — the fastest to 500 for twin aisles — is a great accomplishment, made possible by the hard work and dedication of our employees and global suppliers,” said Mark Jenks, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president and general manager of the 787 program.

Since entering service in 2011, 787s have flown 696,000 passenger-paying flights and carried 133 million passengers about 1.7 billion miles, according to Boeing.