Boeing delivers 100th 787 aircraft to Chinese airline industry

SAN FRANCISCO - US aircraft giant Boeing Company on Wednesday delivered the sixth 787-9 Dreamliner to China's Juneyao Airlines, the 100th direct-buy 787 jet by the Chinese airline industry.

Boeing said the newly delivered airplane carries a special logo "100th 787 for China" on its nose to mark this new milestone.

"We are honored to take delivery of this special airplane," said Wang Junjin, chairman of Juneyao Airlines, a Shanghai-based private carrier, at the delivery ceremony in Seattle, Washington state.

"Since we received the first airplane one year ago, our 787 fleet has continued to earn profit. The Dreamliner is playing a more and more important role in our fleet and becoming one of our workhorses," he said.

Juneyao Airlines, which has ordered 10 787-9 Dreamliners, is currently operating a fleet of five of the airplanes on international and domestic routes.

"Today marks another major milestone of our relationship with China's airline industry," said Peter Gao, vice-president of Commercial Sales and Marketing for China at Boeing.

Boeing is updating the capability of a 787 simulator located at its Shanghai training campus to better support Chinese 787 operators, Gao said.

Among the 10 longest routes operated by Chinese carriers including the national flag carrier Air China, Hainan Airlines and China Southern Airlines, three are flown by the Boeing 777 while seven by the 787 on flights from China to destinations in the US cities of New York and Los Angeles.

Juneyao is planning to launch a new service from Shanghai to Athens, Greece in the middle of 2020. The carrier opened new services, including its first intercontinental route from Shanghai to Helsinki, Finland, in June.

Boeing airplanes have become the mainstay of China's air travel and cargo system, making up more than 50 percent of all commercial jetliners operating in the fast-growing Asian country.