First Boeing 787 Dreamliner built in South Carolina takes flight prior to delivery to Air India

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C., 24 May 2012. The first Boeing (NYSE:BA) Dreamliner built in South Carolina has completed its first flight, a five-hour test flight piloted by Tim Berg and Randy Neville from Charleston International Airport. The production flight test profile confirmed the accuracy and functionality of the airplane's controls and systems, as well as verified that the airplane operates as designed.

The flight crew checked the functionality of onboard systems at high and medium altitudes, as well as checked the backup and critical safety elements, such as cabin pressurization, avionics, and navigation and communications systems, throughout the five-hour flight.

"This is a proud moment for our Boeing South Carolina team and for Boeing," explains Jack Jones, vice president/general manager, Boeing South Carolina. "In April, we gathered on the flightline to watch this airplane roll out of final assembly. Today, we watched as this airplane successfully completed its first production flight--one step closer to delivering our first South Carolina-built 787 Dreamliner to our customer."

"First flight of this South Carolina-built airplane is a significant achievement and our teammates did a great job working together to make this happen," Berg, the pilot, says. "The airplane performed exactly as we expected."

The airplane will be flown to Ft. Worth, Texas, to be painted with Air India's livery before returning to Boeing South Carolina for a mid-2012 delivery.