British Airways welcomes its 25th Boeing 787 Dreamliner into its fleet

British Airways is set to mark a milestone aircraft delivery on Friday (September 29), as it welcomes the 25th Dreamliner into its fleet.

The Boeing 787-8 aircraft will be making its maiden voyage to the airline’s Heathrow home with the flight number BA8625. It will depart Boeing’s Seattle factory on Thursday September 28 at 6.05pm local time and will land at Heathrow at 11.15am local time the following day.

The three cabin aircraft, with the registration G-ZBJI, will be the ninth 787-8 to join the airline’s fleet. British Airways also has 16 787-9s.  Two further 787-9 aircraft and three 787-8 aircraft will be delivered in 2018, followed by 12 787-10s to arrive between 2020 and 2023.

Captain Stephen Riley, British Airways’ director of flight operations, will be taking delivery of the aircraft, he said: “It is a great privilege to be the Captain flying to Heathrow in our newest aircraft. Some two-and-a-half years of work goes into the delivery of a new aircraft so it’s an exciting moment when we finally fly it home to join the fleet.

“The Dreamliners are fantastic aircraft both to fly as a pilot and to enjoy as a customer. They are incredibly technologically advanced and the most fuel efficient long-haul aircraft. They’ve also been designed with travellers’ comfort in mind, which means customers arrive at their destination feeling great.”

To find out more information about what goes on behind the scenes of a delivery flight, watch an interview with Captain Stephen Riley ahead of his trip to Seattle to collect the 787 aircraft.