Japan Airlines Co.'s first Boeing Co. 787 landed Tuesday evening at Narita International Airport, ending more than three years of delays for the second Dreamliner operator.
"Taking delivery of the 787 was like meeting the love of a lifetime," JAL President Yoshiharu Ueki, a former pilot, told reporters after the plane landed. The carrier officially received two 787s from Boeing earlier this week.
JAL will begin flights to Boston with the 787 on April 22 as its takes advantage of the plane's fuel efficiency to serve destinations that would be unprofitable with larger aircraft. The carrier, which has ordered 45 Dreamliners, also plans to start serving San Diego and Helsinki, as well as using the planes on flights to Beijing, Singapore, New Delhi and Moscow.
All Nippon Airways Co., JAL's biggest competitor, last year became the first carrier to fly the 787 commercially.