BOEING COMPLETES FIRST FLIGHT OF GE-POWERED 787

KUALA LUMPUR, June 17 (Bernama) -- The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner with
General Electric (GE) engines, referred to as ZA005, completed its first flight
Thursday.

GE executives and Boeing employees were on hand to welcome Captains Mike
Bryan and Mike Carriker to Boeing Field in Seattle following completion of the
3-hour-and-48-minute flight over the state of Washington.

"The airplane handled just like I expected," said Bryan, who captained
the flight.

"It was just like every other 787 flight that I've flown in the last several
months - smooth, per plan and excellent.

"We're pleased to introduce the fifth Dreamliner to the flight-test fleet
and to start flight testing with GE engines," said Scott Fancher, vice president
and general manager of the 787 programme for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

"It's taken the collective resources and dedication of our teams to get to
this day. There's just nothing like a first flight to validate that it has been
worth the sacrifices we have all seen our teams make in the past several years."

ZA005 will be used to test the GE engine package and demonstrate that the
changes made with the new engine do not change the airplane's handling
characteristics.

The sixth, and final, 787 to join the flight test programme is expected to
fly before the end of July.
-- BERNAMA