Boeing's 787 Dreamliner begins first commercial flight

Boeing's Dreamliner has finally taken off on its maiden commercial voyage, three years later than planned.

The All Nippon Airlines (ANA) flight is carrying its first passengers from Tokyo to Hong Kong.

The Dreamliner had originally been scheduled for delivery in 2008, but Boeing has suffered a string of setbacks.

Wednesday's flight is a special charter, with normal services due to start in November.

Problems with the Dreamliner have put its launch behind schedule, the latest being an onboard fire during test flights in January, and the company will hope a successful launch will help put to bed some of the memories of prior setbacks.

Boeing says the twin-aisle, mid-size plane features the industry's largest windows, with higher cabin humidity and cleaner air - all of which combine to allow passengers to arrive at their destinations more refreshed.

Because of the materials used in construction - carbon fibre rather than aluminium - Boeing says the Dreamliner is about 20% more fuel efficient than similarly-sized models flying today.

That would be a big help for airlines coping with the high price of jet fuel, which is usually their biggest single cost.

ANA's chief Shinichiro Ito and Boeing vice-president Scott Fancher broke open barrels of sake with small hammers and passed it around to passengers as they boarded in Tokyo.

The airline auctioned six business-class seats on the inaugural flight, with one selling for $34,000 (£21,200) - around 13 times the price of a regular business-class ticket between the two Asian hubs.

The winner, Gino Bertuccio, won because he accidentally added an extra digit onto his bid - but he was happy regardless.

"Just thinking I'm going to be part of aviation history is a dream," he told the Wall Street Journal.