Subscribe
Login
Airlines

United 787 Dreamliner maiden flight ushers in new era, Smisek hopes

Julie Johnsson

Skift Take

Smisek says United should be the world's leading airline, not just the largest. We like the attitude, but now it's time to deliver on the rhetoric.

United Continental Holdings Inc. ushered in a new era for composite-plastic aircraft with its inaugural flight using Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner jet. Flight 1116 to Chicago from Houston marks the first by a U.S. airline with the plane whose fuselage is made chiefly from composite materials instead of the traditional aluminum, and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Smisek hailed it as “the best airplane in the world.” “It doesn’t get any cooler than this,” Smisek said today as he posed for photos and signed autographs at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport before a tak

Get unlimited access with Skift Pro.

Subscribe now for complete access to Skift.com's trusted coverage of the travel industry.

Apple Pay, Google Pay, Paypal, VISA, Mastercard, Discover, American Express

Already a subscriber? Login