Air New Zealand gets first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Also to feature at Farnborough

Air New Zealand takes Delivery of the first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, also to feature at Farnborough

 Air New Zealand has become the first airline to take delivery of the new 787-9, a stretched version of the revolutionary Dreamliner aircraft.

The plane was handed over in front of more than 1000 Boeing employees and guests at the aircraft manufacturer's facility in Everett, near Seattle in the US.

"It's a privilege to be the global launch customer for this aircraft and our team is looking forward to flying it home to New Zealand.  The 787-9 is a real game changer," Luxon said.

The fuselage for the 787-9 is stretched by 6 metres over the 787-8, and will fly up to 40 more passengers an additional 450 nautical miles (830 km).

Boeing's Dreamliners feature several major differences from other major passenger aircraft.

It is the first airliner to be made of carbon fibre, not aluminium, and promises airlines more fuel efficiency - a saving of 20 per cent. It also offers 20 per cent less carbon dioxide emissions than comparable aircraft.

The aircraft promises a better experience for passengers too. The cabin air is, unlike other aircraft, drawn directly from outside, rather than through the engines, meaning it is fresher. The air is also more humid, and pressurised at a lower level - the theory being that passengers will feel better at the end of their flights. There are also larger windows and a more spacious cabin.

Twenty-six customers from around the world have ordered 409 787-9s, accounting for 40 per cent of all 787 orders, Boeing said.

The Air New Zealand aircraft is scheduled to depart the US on Thursday morning, local time, and arrive in Auckland late afternoon on Friday.

This is the first of ten 787-9 Dreamliners to join Air New Zealand's fleet.  The aircraft will operate the Auckland-Perth route from 15 October 2014 and to Shanghai and Tokyo later this year.

Another of Air New Zealand's 787-9s will be displayed by Boeing at the Farnborough International Airshow later this month.

Delayed for several years, the Dreamliner has faced criticism over its reliability from some carriers. All active aircraft were grounded for three months last year after a battery fire on one Dreamliner. The incident forced Boeing to re-design the powerful lithium-ion battery and enclose it in a tough new steel containment box.

Boeing admitted in January it was not satisfied with the aircraft's performance. The Dreamliner's reliability rate was at about 98 per cent - this meant that two out of every 100 flights were delayed for mechanical problems.

The rate was higher than the 97 per cent recorded in October but was still short of Boeing's target. The company aims to have the aircraft's reliability up to the level of its long-range 777 model, which has a reliability rate of 99.4 per cent.

Plane spotters may think this is the same livery as the ‘All-Blacks’ livery that already graces some of the fleet, but you’ll actually be wrong. The fern, which now is the ‘New Zealand Way’ national fern rather than the all-blacks ‘Silver’ fern (above), is a sign of national pride, and symbolises New Zealand internationally.

Created by Designworks, the fern, now a part of the national carrier livery, was just one part of the job of bringing together all the ingredients needed to accelerate New Zealand’s brand on the world stage. “[we were] involved in a process of clarifying and articulating the strategic idea of New Zealand’s past, present and future purpose – engaging the country in a program of initiatives aimed at moving the whole population onto the same song sheet and collaborating with artists, designers and the wider community on a national attitude and vocabulary that is unique.”

Airbus A350 Takes to the skies

Airbus A350 First Flight

(Reuters) - After the Dreamliner, the Hushliner?

Europe's latest extra wide-body passenger jet, the Airbus A350, made its maiden flight on Friday and its chief salesman, opening a new front in a battle with U.S. rival Boeing declared it so quiet that airport residents won't even notice it.

The lightweight carbon-plastic jet flew over the Airbus plant in Toulouse to salute production workers before wrapping up a four-hour inaugural flight that Airbus officials said had achieved more than expected.

Watched by 10,000 staff and spectators, the aircraft's curled wingtips sliced into clouds above the factory in southwestern France and flew over the Pyrenees.

The sortie caps eight years of designing and development costing an estimated $15 billion.

Airbus's ebullient New York-born sales chief, John Leahy, lost no time in talking up the plane's benefits moments after its two Roll-Royce (RR.L) engines hoisted the A350 from the same runway where the supersonic Concorde took its first ground-shaking run 44 years ago.

"Did you hear how quiet it was? We are going to set new standards ... People round airports won't even know we are taking off," Leahy said.

It is a milestone for the EADS (EAD.PA) unit as it seeks to catch Boeing's 787 Dreamliner in sales of a generation of lightweight jets designed to save fuel and do less harm to the environment.

Boeing was first off the mark with the use of revolutionary carbon-composite materials and its Dreamliner has so far outsold the A350, with sales reaching 833 aircraft to 57 customers.

With sales of 613 planes to 33 customers, Airbus hopes to catch up and also mount a challenge to the U.S. manufacturer's larger, metallic 777, thanks in part to the A350's low noise.

"READY TO FLY"

British test pilot Peter Chandler, who commanded a crew of six pilots and test engineers wearing helmets and parachutes over orange jumpsuits, was elated about the plane.

"It was ready to fly and it wanted to fly. It was clearly much happier in the air," Chandler said.

French co-pilot Guy Magrin, a former air force pilot, took the controls for the take-off at 10:01 local time

Competition for wide-bodied jets is expected to dominate next week's Paris Airshow, where the A350 has its sights on another fly-by when French President Francois Hollande visits the event on Friday, if tests continue to go well.

"I am talking to airlines about placing orders in the very new future. I think you may see some announcements very soon," sales chief Leahy told Reuters.

Airbus is finalizing orders from Singapore Airlines  , Kuwait Airways and Air France  and hopes to add a new customer at the June 17-23 show, analysts say.

Boeing sees a market worth $1 trillion for one category of mid-sized long-haul passenger airplanes over the next 20 years and the A350 and 787 are chasing the lion's share of that.

More expensive than other aircraft at about $300 million apiece at list prices, the A350's business case relies on fuel savings of some 25 percent compared with ordinary airliners.

But aerospace manufacturers are also under pressure to cut emissions and noise to comply with tougher global regulations.

EDGE ON NOISE

Airbus and Boeing both claim the edge on noise levels, which remain politically explosive at airports like London's Heathrow.

Airbus said the A350 is up to 16 decibels below international requirements. Boeing said its 787 has a smaller noise footprint than other widebody aircraft, and is equivalent to the sounds of heavy traffic when standing at a roadside.

"We welcome any moves towards quieter planes, but let's not run away with the idea that the A350 is a quiet plane. It is simply less noisy than its predecessors," said John Stewart, chair of a residents' group opposing the expansion of Heathrow.

The A350's maiden flight is the start of a 12 to 13 month test program that will include putting it through the harshest possible conditions around the globe.

Airbus says it is on track to put the aircraft into service with Qatar Airways in the second half of 2014, but the timetable remains "challenging".

Project leader Didier Evrard, a former missiles boss credited with preventing a repeat of the disarray on recent Airbus programs, has a major job to produce four more test aircraft and could not relax during the flight.

"I will still be nervous until it comes back. I'm an engineer so I have to be connected to the ground and make sure everything is fine," he told reporters.

Evrard said Airbus would soon add a customer in the United States, where industry sources say United Airlines is negotiating to expand an order for 25 jets.

Airbus initially dismissed new mid-sized aircraft like the 787 as it focused on building the world's largest airliner, the A380 superjumbo, in the last decade.

But faced with burgeoning Dreamliner sales, it changed tack and overhauled the design of the 270- to 350-seat A350 by adopting similar composites technology in 2006.

To boost sales, Boeing is expected to soon confirm plans to build a larger version of its Dreamliner. It is also overhauling its 777 with new engines and wings.

Space Flight for the Common People: Branson's Dream becoming reality

Branson's Virgin Galactic Commercial Dream a step closer

MOJAVE, California, USA. » The spaceship bankrolled by British Music and Aviation tycoon Sir Richard Branson made its first powered flight today in a test that moves Virgin Galactic toward its goal of flying into space later this year.

While SpaceShipTwo remained sub-orbital and did not break out of the atmosphere during the test flight, it marked a significant milestone for Virgin Galactic, which intends to take passengers on suborbital joyrides.

During the early morning flight, SpaceShipTwo, strapped beneath a twin-fuselage jet, took off from an airport runway in the Mojave Desert north of Los Angeles. The jet released SpaceShipTwo, which ignited its engine for 16 seconds, then glided to a safe landing.

Until now, SpaceShipTwo has only performed unpowered glide flights. Several powered flights are planned this summer, culminating with a dash into space targeted toward the end of the year.

SpaceShipTwo is the commercial version of SpaceShipOne, which in 2004 became the first private manned rocket to reach space. Since the historic flight, more than 500 aspiring space tourists have paid US$200,000 or plunked down deposits, patiently waiting for a chance to float in weightlessness and view the Earth's curvature from 62 miles up.

Branson initially predicted commercial flights would begin in 2007, but a deadly explosion during ground testing and longer-than-expected test flights pushed the deadline back.

No date has been set for the first commercial flight from a custom-designed spaceport in New Mexico, but Virgin Galactic executives have said it will come after testing is complete and it secures approval from the government. Branson previously said the maiden passenger flight will carry his family.