Final Assembly Begins on First Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Final assembly has begun on the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner destined for delivery to launch customer ANA (All Nippon Airways) of Japan.

Boeing and ANA celebrated the occasion with a traditional "Kagami wari" ceremony, the breaking open of a wooden "Taru" (sake barrel) lid with wooden mallets.

"This is a great day for the 787 team," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 Dreamliner program. "In 2004, ANA demonstrated great faith in Boeing and the 787 by placing the largest launch order for any new airplane in Boeing history. Since then, the ANA team has been an integral part of developing the 787 family of airplanes."

ANA President & CEO Shinichiro Ito, said, "As the launch customer, we are delighted and excited to see the achievement of this milestone and to have worked closely together to reach this day. We look forward to the start of the 787 flight test program and delivery into our fleet next year."

ANA and Boeing launched the 787 program with a firm order for 50 of the all-new composite jetliner. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2010.

The 787 Dreamliner currently has 865 orders from 56 airlines.

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