x
Breaking News
More () »

'New airplane smell': Aboard a 24-hour Singapore delivery flight

Take a look inside Boeing's biggest Dreamliner yet on its delivery flight.
Credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAY
The northern lights appear on the horizon, visible clearly from a Singapore Airlines Boeing 787-10 on its ferry flight from the Boeing factory to Singapore on March 27, 2018.

The prospect of being stuck on a plane for 24 straight hours is a nightmare scenario for most travelers. But that’s exactly what the passengers onboard Singapore Airlines Flight 8878 sought out.

The flight left Charleston, S.C., around 10:20 p.m. on Sunday night with 74 passengers and crew. It pulled into a gate at Singapore’s Changi Airport just before 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning. The trip – which included a two-hour technical stop in Osaka, Japan, during which passengers could not deplane – clocked in at just about 24 hours.

If it sounds unusual, it was.

It was the ferry flight for Singapore Airlines' first Boeing 787-10 “Dreamliner,” which the carrier took delivery of on Sunday at Boeing’s Dreamliner assembly line in South Carolina. The “dash 10” variant is Boeing’s biggest Dreamliner yet, and Singapore Airlines became the first carrier in the world to get one with the Sunday delivery.

But before Singapore Airlines can put the plane into service, it first had to get the plane to its home base in Singapore.

Hence the “delivery flight” from Boeing’s recently-opened assembly line in South Carolina.

The Charleston-to-Singapore delivery will go down as one of the longest that Boeing has ever made, Dinesh Keskar, Boeing’s sales chief for the Asia Pacific and India region, said from onboard the plane.

Despite the intimidating 24-hour schedule, nearly all on board seemed ecstatic to be there.

“Extraordinary,” said Sam Chui about what it is like to be on the flight.

“This is an historic milestone,” added Chui, a Dubai-based aviation blogger who’s gained fame for an extensive collection of videos detailing exotic and luxurious flights.

Credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAY
Felicia, a flight attendant with Singapore Airlines, takes a break to soak in the northern lights on a Boeing 787-10 delivery flight over Canada on March 27, 2018.  

“It is not your usual flight,” he said of Singapore Airlines Flight 8878 during the tech stop in Osaka, taking a break from recording video segments on the new Dreamliner.

“The significance for this is that it’s the first,” he said, referencing Singapore Airlines’ position as Boeing’s launch customer for the 787-10. “There’s only one in the sky flying right now, and this is it. You are the first passenger to sit in that seat.”

Several other high-profile travel bloggers snagged seats alongside more traditional journalists on the flight, including Brian Kelly and Zach Honig of The Points Guy and Nomadic Matt author Matt Kepnes.

Credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAY
Executives with Singapore Airlines and Boeing do a little mid-flight yoga while aboard Singapore Airlines' Boeing 787-10 delivery flight on March 28, 2018. Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong is seen second from the right.

The enthusiasm for the day-long flight also was shared by the airline’s crew.

“Very privileged,” Singapore Airlines’ Capt. Bosco Xavier said about being one of the pilots to help fly the carrier’s first dash 10 to the company’s home base. “Not many get to work on an entry-into-service aircraft. It’s an absolute joy,” he said to Today in the Sky.

“There is such a thing as new airplane smell,” he added during a TV interview with ABC anchor Kendis Gibson during the Osaka stop.

Even Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong joined in on the fun.

He mixed with passengers and crewmembers during the 24-hour journey, chatting and joking with many of them. At one point, he was seen enjoying the latest Jumangi movie from his seat in the carrier’s new “regional” business-class cabin. He even indulged a travel blogger, joining in on a mock exercise section in the flight’s mostly empty economy section.

Credit: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren, special for USA TODAY
Capts. Alan Chan (left) and Bosco Xavier, both with Singapore Airlines, prep their company's first Boeing 787-10 jetliner for its delivery flight from Boeing's South Carolina assembly plant on March 26, 2018.  

“It’s thoroughly enjoyable,” Goh said during a break in the action. “Because the number of guests on board is not very big, I get to a chance to interact with most of them on a one-on-one basis and to hear their feedback.”

And, with that, he went back to mingling with the festive crowd onboard.

Before You Leave, Check This Out