American recently took delivery of their first Boeing 787, which was a bit later than expected. They were originally supposed to take delivery of their first 787 in 2014, though that delivery slipped to late January 2015, which wasn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
As is the norm when airlines take delivery of a new type of aircraft, it doesn’t immediately go into passenger service. Instead they work on finalizing the interior, crew familiarization, pilot training, etc.
Anyway, American has finally announced their first 787 routes, which include the following:
- Domestic flights between Dallas and Chicago starting May 7, 2015
- International flights between Dallas and Beijing starting June 2, 2015
- Flights between Dallas and Buenos Aires starting June 4, 2015
The exact flight details should be announced on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2015, when the flights become bookable.
I can’t wait to see American’s 787 interiors firsthand. The product looks very similar to the new Boeing 777-200 business class interiors, which is a solid hard product.
As far as the 787 schedule goes, it’s normal for airlines to first operate new aircraft domestically for crew familiarization purposes. It’s also pretty normal for airlines to first operate planes like the 787 on “reliable” international routes, though long term I really do hope that American uses the 787 to take some risks with new routes. Expansion to Asia out of LAX, as well as expansion to the Middle East and Africa has been rumored, so here’s to hoping the 787 brings that to fruition.
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