MetroAir Takes Delivery of First Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

EVERETT, WA – MetroAir Virtual Airlines celebrated its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Monday with a special pre-delivery ceremony at Boeing’s Everett Delivery Center. The 787-8 variant of the Dreamliner is the first of 5 first 787 orders that MetroAir has placed with Boeing. MetroAir also has 5 options and 10 airframes to be leased.

MetroAir will initially deploy the 787-8 on a series of trial flights to Los Angeles, Portland, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Austin, and Fort Lauderdale from their central hub in Kansas City. This trial period will give MetroAir an opportunity for both flight and ground crews to become familiar and get hands-on experience with the aircraft. The 787-8 will be operate on these routes until March 1, at which point they will begin service on their permanently scheduled routes.

While specifics have not been announced beyond the initial Los Angeles-Manchester route, Chief Operating Officer William Hogarth stated “the 787 is expected to make appearances in Mumbai, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, and Honolulu”.

The high-profile Dreamliner is part of MetroAir’s broader fleet growth effort, which also includes the recent addition of the Embraer 145 to the regional fleet, and the Airbus A330-300 last year. Some of MetroAir’s narrow body fleet is also reaching the end of expected use, with their oldest airframes joining the airline nearly 10 years ago.

The interior of MetroAir;s 787-8 boasts 35 Prime class lie-flat seats, 25 premium economy seats, and 154 economy seats.