Australian carrier Qantas has received its 14th Boeing 787 and 125th aircraft overall. The Dreamliner departed Boeing facilities on July 21st, flying for approximately 16 hours to Melbourne, Australia.

Aircraft and delivery flight details

The latest addition to the Qantas fleet is a Boeing 787-9 registered VH-ZNN. This airframe has the manufacturer's serial number (MSN) 66078 and line number 1051.

Photo: RadarBox.com

FlightRadar24.com data shows that this aircraft departed Everett's Paine Field on July 21st at 23:26 local time. Designated as QF7879, the flight had a duration of 15 hours and 50 minutes. It arrived in Melbourne at 08:15 local time on July 23rd.

According to ch-aviation.com, the arrival of this 14th 787-9 marks the end of 787 deliveries to the Australian carrier. It was back in May 2018 that Qantas announced an order for six additional Boeing 787-9s to fly on its international network. Its original goal was to have the 14 787s delivered by the end of 2020.

Prior to delivery

Before the aircraft was delivered, it had conducted a total of 10 flights - a mix of ferry flights and test runs. The cumulative time for all pre-delivery flights was 15 hours and 58 minutes.

VH-ZNN joins two other Qantas 787-9s that were delivered in 2023 but are already several years old. Aviation Flights data shows that this aircraft was first spotted on September 5th, 2020. It then conducted an engine run and taxi check on November 9th. It took its first test flight out of Everett two days later, on November 11th.

Photo: Bahnfrend via Wikimedia Commons

Like the two Qantas 787s delivered before it, pre-delivery testing would stop there, and the jet would be flown from Everett to Victorville (VCV) on November 12th. In Victorville, the 787 spent over two full years on the ground, in storage, only moving again on October 13th, 2022, for a flight to Paine Field.

The reason for the extended time in storage (prior to delivery) is the same as many other 787s being delivered this year: Boeing's extended 787 delivery stoppage throughout 2021 and 2022. Boeing has been working hard to clear its backlog of built-but-not-delivered Dreamliners, with many carriers continuing to add 'new' 787s that are now two to three years old.

The Boeing 787-9: Continuing to operate Qantas' longest flights

As we noted in a June 2023 analysis of the airline's longest services, all of its five longest flights utilize the Boeing 787-9.

Interestingly, some flights even exceed the 787-9's published range, which is currently set at 14,010 km (8,705 miles). Qantas' flights between Auckland and New York JFK (QF3/4), Melbourne and Dallas-Fort Worth (QF21/22), and Perth and London Heathrow (QF9/10) all have longer direct distances.

The airline has one standard configuration for its 787-9s, which sees the cabin fitted with 236 seats across three classes: 42 in business, 28 for premium economy, and 166 in economy.

Sources: Planespotters.net, FlightRadar24.com, RadarBox.com, Aviation Flights