Air Austral has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, having ordered two 787-8s in 2015.

The aircraft will fly from Boeing’s delivery centre in Everett, Washington state to Roland Garros Airport in Saint-Marie, Reunion Island, a 10,500-mile delivery flight. Boeing says the 787 uses 25 per cent less fuel with 25 per cent fewer emissions than aircraft it replaces.

Air Austral executive chairman and chief executive officer, Marie-Joseph Male says: “The state of the art 787 Dreamliner’s unique capabilities enable us to launch the Dzaoudi to Paris Charles de Gaulle route.”

Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president sales, Latin America, Caribbean and Africa, Van Rex Gallard says: “It is an honour to deliver the first 787 Dreamliner to Air Austral, a first for a French operator. The Dreamliner will complement Air Austral’s growing long-haul fleet, made up of 777s and now a 787, as well as its trans-continental network to Europe and Asia.”