Which airline operated the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s first commercial passenger flight in October 2011?

All Nippon Airways operated the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s first commercial passenger flight in October 2011.

The flight departed Tokyo’s Narita International Airport for Hong Kong on October 26, 2011. ANA was the launch customer for the 787 and received the first aircraft, making it the airline responsible for introducing the type into scheduled passenger service.

The Dreamliner was designed as a long-range, twin-engine wide-body aircraft with extensive use of composite materials. Its features included larger windows, higher cabin humidity, and a lower equivalent cabin altitude than many earlier airliners. These design choices were intended to improve passenger comfort.

The 787’s development was delayed several times before its first flight in 2009. Japan Airlines later became another early operator, but it did not conduct the first commercial 787 service. The first route was a relatively short international flight, allowing ANA to introduce the aircraft before deploying it on longer services.