Taking Off

New versions of major airliner designs make first flights on same day.

- Keith Campbell

March 31 was a red-letter day in commercial aviation when two new versions of major airliners made their first flights. They were – in alphabetical order – the Airbus A319neo and the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner. The two flights took off from Hamburg, Germany, and North Charleston, in South Carolina, in the US.

The A319neo is a single-aisle or narrow-body airliner, while the 787 is a twin-aisle or wide body airliner.