By Gregory Karp, Chicago Tribune –
CHICAGO — United Airlines reportedly expects to take delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplane in September.
United, which will be the first North American airline to receive the long-awaited and highly anticipated plane, has long said it expects to take delivery in the second half of 2012. A spokeswoman on Friday repeated that statement.
However, a Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper blog on Friday cited internal communications at United specifying September as the anticipated delivery month. United and Boeing are both headquartered in Chicago.
The Dreamliner, the first of which was delivered last fall to Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways, is a twin-aisle plane that offers the best fuel economy and range for a craft its size and offers passengers greater comfort while flying. However, the plane is just as well known for incurring lengthy production delays. Boeing delivered its first 787 about three years late because of design and construction problems.
United, the most dominant airline at Chicago O’Hare and in the region, has said in the past that it would “likely” use a 787 on routes through Chicago, possibly as soon as the fourth quarter of this year. However, it hasn’t announced a flight schedule for the aircraft.
LOT Polish Airlines was the first airline to officially announce that it will offer a Chicago O’Hare flight aboard a 787. LOT will begin service in January 2013 between Chicago and Warsaw, Poland.
The Dreamliner is made of a lighter, largely composite structure, which provides greater fuel efficiency and the ability to fly long range.
For passengers, the aircraft has the industry’s largest windows and overhead bins. The smoother-riding and quieter plane has wider aisles and seats, and cleaner air using a filtration system to remove offensive odors. The windows are dimmable, via electrochromatic window shades rather than physical pull-down shades.
A recent survey of 787 passengers by ANA showed nine in 10 said their overall experience met or exceeded expectations. A similar number expressed a preference for flying in the Dreamliner over other aircraft, and a quarter of passengers said they would go out of their way to book a flight on the 787 again.
