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The Boeing 787 Dreamliner Flies Again

The FAA formally gives the green light to the composite plane—but would you fly in it?

Allison Williams
Author: Allison Williams
1 min.read

Call it the little jet engine that could, then couldn’t, and now can again. Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner airplane, grounded in January when two lithium-ion batteries showed signs of flaming and smoking, is limping its way back to the skies.

Today the Federal Aviation Administration posted a safety order that allows U.S. airlines to fly the plane, though only United has any in its fleet (the rest are owned by overseas carriers, like launch customer ANA). Modification kits approved by the FAA this week will be installed in each of the 50 Dreamliners around the world.

Last year we hitched a ride on the first commercial Dreamliner flight out of Seattle, a Tokyo trip that wasn’t without its own unrelated glitches. Our verdict: Very cool—once it got off the ground.

Is the plane worth its extra space, greener fuel use, and improved air quality? Most airplane experts think so; local airline blogger David Parker Brown called it a “revolutionary plane” that’s a big a deal as the first jet planes back in 1952. Boeing has its battery issue under control in existing planes, and all new planes will be made with modified battery systems. Would you get on board a Dreamliner?




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Allison Williams
Allison Williams
Since joining Seattle Met in 2011, Allison Williams has overseen the magazine’s travel and outdoor coverage, including deep dives into Olympic National Park, the Columbia River, and a Burger King drive-thru in Canada. She edits the travel-focused blog Tripster and contributes service, news, interview, and narrative pieces to the magazine, including long-form features about mountain mysteries and puppies in prison. She’s earned awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and been nominated for a City and Regional Magazine award.  Allison was raised here in Olympia and studied writing at Duke University, Oxford University, Columbia Journalism School, and University of Alaska. She began her career in New York City in the newsrooms of Metro newspaper and Time Out New York, then hightailed it back to her native habitat so she could write guidebooks and climb mountains.