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Shanghai Airlines announced the impending debut of its 100th aircraft via Weibo on February 28, with a little more additional information shared on March 2 via the airline’s WeChat account.
The airline, which is a subsidiary of parent company China Eastern Airlines Group, released images of the Boeing 787-9’s interior that showcased some fairly unique design traits, including a first-class section that isn’t partitioned apart from business class.
According to the Weibo announcement, “the new aircraft offers larger, wider passenger cabins, better lighting, the largest windows available on commercial aircraft, larger overhead luggage bin space and better seat selections.”
The March 2 WeChat update revealed that the new plane features 285 seats in a four-cabin layout and will take its inaugural flight in June. A large portion of the update focused on the new 787-9’s registration number: B-1111.
While cabin configurations, first flight route and time and other information has not yet been formally released by Shanghai Airlines, One Mile at a Time reports that the aircraft configuration will split the 285 seats between four first-class seats, 26 business-class seats, 28 premium economy seats and 227 economy seats. Also according to a One Mile at a Time reader, the B-1111 will initially operate domestic routes but eventually travel to Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia from a Shanghai base.
Shanghai Airlines spent a significant portion of the announcement focusing on the “lucky” qualities of the special B-1111 number – “four ones in a row for a milestone aircraft.” This acquisition is the first 787-9 for the China Eastern Airlines Group as a whole, as well as the 100th plane in the Shanghai Airlines fleet.
The WeChat announcement further offered one lucky fan the chance to win a VIP invitation to attend the christening ceremonies for B-1111. The winner will be chosen from commenters who share their own interpretation of the significance of the plane’s “1111” registration number.
Source: thepointsguy.com