Yesterday morning, just after 9:00am, the air was chilly in Boston, but there was a sense of anticipation in the air. At first glance the profile of the aircraft approaching Boston Logan International Airport’s Runway 22L could have been nearly any aircraft, possibly a Boeing 767 or even an Airbus A330, but as the aircraft drew closer, the distinctive wing design clearly identified the approaching aircraft as the Boeing 787-800.
As the Boeing 787 glided over the threshold of Runway 22L, gently putting its wheels down just past the intersection of runway 15L/33R, rows of spectators and cameras perched atop the roof top parking deck of the Garage B parking structure quickly moved from east to west as they followed the 787′s first landing ever at Boston Logan International Airport.
The Boeing 787 has been eagerly awaited since conceptual images of the airplane, then known as the 7E7, were revealed back on the 29th of January 2003. Now as the first Boeing 787′s have gone into service with Japan’s All Nippon Airways, the airline’s rival, Japan Airlines (JAL), awaits the arrival its first Boeing 787s … and the launch of the first routes to The Americas.
The first airport in The America’s to receive Boeing 787 service … Boston Logan International Airport, when Japan Airlines launches non-stop service to Tokyo on the 22nd of April.
Japan Airline’s non-stop Boeing 787 service between Tokyo and Boston will be the airline’s first 787 route, as well as Boston Logan’s first non-stop route to Asia. Japan Airlines selected Boston as its 787 launch route due to the potential for high yield traffic, including the biotechnology, advanced technologies, telecommunication, financial and education industries.
In 2011 an estimated 70,000 passengers flew from Boston to Tokyo, making it the largest destination in Asia from the airport. Annually Japan Airline’s Boeing 787, in its current configuration, will offer 67,890 seats (15,330 business class seats and 52,560 economy class seats) from Boston to Japan. Traffic between Boston and Tokyo will be boosted by a code-share and joint-venture feed from American Airlines and travelers flying onward from Tokyo to other destinations in Japan and the region.
Yesterday, however, the atmosphere at Boston Logan was not about passenger yields, load factors or the economics of the route, nor was it about the airport’s long campaign to attract non-stop Asia routes. Yesterday was simply about the arrival of the Boeing 787, the world’s most technologically advanced passenger aircraft, arriving for the first time in Boston. Crowds of spectators lined the rooftop parking deck of Garage B, and the parking structure next to Building 94, the Delta Air Lines hanger to watch the 787 land and enter into the Delta Air Lines hanger. Enthusiasts, invited to see the Boeing 787 up close by Japan Airlines and American Airlines, waited in the cold to be allowed into the hanger, following an official arrival ceremony, and set foot on the 787, sit in the 787s seats and play with the 787′s window-shadeless self dimming windows.
The Boeing 787 is changing the economics of long haul travel and will open up countless high yield ‘thin’ markets … and for The Americas, that change begins in Boston.
Below are a few photos I had the pleasure of shooting of the 787′s arrival at Boston’s Logan International Airport. I was lucky enough to be granted special access, as one of only four photographer permitted onto the airfield for its arrival. Many thanks to Massport and Boeing for the access I was afforded.
Happy Flying!
All Images ©Steven Frischling, 2012
The Boeing 787 Approached Runway 22L At Boston’s Logan International Airport
The Boeing 787 Puts Its Wheels Down For The First Time At Boston’s Logan International Airport
The Boeing 787 Lands At Boston Logan International Airport For The First Time
The Boeing 787 Passes In Front Of Boston Logan Airport’s Iconic Tower
The Boeing 787 Is Hooked To A Tug Before Entering The Delta Air Lines Hanger At Boston Logan Airport
A Tug Pushes The Boeing 787 Into The Delta Air Lines Hanger At Boston Logan Airport
Airport Personnel Touch The Boeing 787 For The First Time As It Enters A Hanger At Boston Logan Airport
The Boeing 787 Sits Inside The Delta Hanger At Boston Logan Awaiting Its First Visitors
The Minutemen Wait To Greet The First Boeing 787 Flight Crew To Arrive At Boston Logan Airport
Boeing 787 Dreamliner Economy Class Seats On Board 787 ’003′
Boeing 787 Dreamliner Economy Class Seat Back In Flight Entertainment On Board 787 ’003′
Boeing 787 Dreamliner Economy Class Seats On Board 787 ’003′
A Notice To Passengers On Board Boeing’s 787 ’003′ That The Aircraft Does Not Meet FAA Guidelines
The Hanger Doors, Of The Delta Air Lines Hanger, Close On The Boeing 787 At Boston Logan Airport
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