Air India Heralds Dreamliner’s Arrival

Air India’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner is set to debut on its Dubai route after landing in New Delhi on Saturday.

It will begin flying its Delhi-Bangalore and Delhi-Kolkata routes as planned before commencing its Delhi-Dubai route.

After initial operation of its UAE route, the airline’s 787 will commence flights to Europe.

The plane’s first 10 days will be spent on Delhi’s tarmac as the mandatory paperwork is finalised.

By November this year India’s flag-carrier hopes to launch flights to Paris and Frankfurt as its new Dreamliners replace Boeing’s existing 777s.

Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Ethiopian Airlines were the only carriers to begin flying Boeing’s new aircraft ahead of Air India.

Etihad Airways has 41 Dreamliners on order with the final delivery expected in 2014.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline will become the world’s biggest operator of Boeing’s new flagship model.