Today was another historic day for the future of the avaition industry in the United States as the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner made its very first commercial flight. The All Nippon Airways flight was a charter flight from Narita to Hong Kong that last about four hours.
The Dreamliner is the most advanced and fuel efficient commercial jetliner ever produced.
The aerospace industry is extremely important to innovation and manufacturing in the United States. Yet companies like Boeing are continuing to face regulations and headwinds that make it difficult to compete in the global marketplace. The National Labor Relations Board’s complaint against Boeing is creating uncertainty throughout the economy for manufacturers and has put at risk thousands of jobs in the production of the Dreamliner.
Manufacturers are looking for policies out of Washington that will help them create jobs and foster innovations like the Dreamliner. More regulations just continue to dampen job creation and growth.
Additional media coverage of the Dreamliner’s first commercial flight:
- Associated Press, “Boeing 787′s inaugural flight lands in Hong Kong“
- CNN, “A step forward on Dreamliner flight“
- Washington Post, “Review: Boeing’s 787 won’t fix the chair-kicking kid, but it improves almost everything else“