Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines on Friday celebrated the delivery of Ethiopian's first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner making it the first airline in Africa to operate the aircraft model.

Following a non-stop 13,444 km delivery flight from Boeing's Everett, Washington facility in the USA, the Boeing 787 touched down in Addis Ababa yesterday evening to a water canon salute and the excitement of the airlines staff led by its CEO, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam.

With the delivery of its first Boeing 787-9, Ethiopian Airlines has extended its long standing tradition of setting aviation milestones in Africa. Ethiopian became Africa's first carrier to fly the Boeing 787-8 in 2012, and similarly introduced the Boeing 777-200LR (Longer Range), Boeing 777-300ER (Extended Range) and Boeing 777 Freighter.

The 787 Dreamliner is the most innovative and efficient airplane family flying today. Since 2011, more than 600 Dreamliners have entered commercial services, flying almost 200 million people on more than 560 unique routes around the world, saving an estimated 19 billion pounds of fuel.

The Boeing 787-9 is 20 feet or 6 meters longer than the smaller Boeing 787-8 and has more passenger capacity with 315 seats in Ethiopian Airlines configuration.

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is Ethiopian Airlines' core fleet with 20 aircraft in service already. Ethiopian also operates the latest aircraft from airbus, the A350-900, making it one of the few airlines in the world to simultaneously operate the Boeing 787 and the A350.

The Boeing 787 and the Airbus A350 are the worlds latest next generation and cutting edge airplanes with enough range to fly between most airports in the world while offering customers unmatched on-board comfort.

Ethiopian Airlines conducted its 32nd Humanitarian Delivery Flight as part of the 787-9 delivery. In conjunction with the non-profit Seattle Alliance Outreach, Ethiopian transported goods donated by medical organizations in the U.S. to Black Lion Hospital and St. Paul Hospital in Ethiopia.