Boeing has rolled out the first production version of the 787-10 a few months ahead of a planned certification milestone for the new aircraft variant and delivery to launch customer Singapore Airlines next year.

The 5.47m (18ft) stretch of the 787-9 emerged from Boeing’s final assembly facility in North Charleston, South Carolina, the company’s exclusive site for 787-10 deliveries.

SIA 787-10

“Boeing is excited to have finished final assembly of the first 787-10 Dreamliner for Singapore Airlines,” says Dinesh Keskar, senior vice-president of Asia Pacific & India Sales for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Boeing launched the 787-10 in 2013 to appeal to customers that are willing to trade more capacity for shorter range. The 787-10 seats up to 330 passengers in Boeing’s marketing configuration and can fly up to about 6,430nm (11,908km).

The roll-out event comes several weeks after Rolls-Royce achieved type certification for the Trent 1000-TEN, the engine selected by Singapore Airlines. Boeing first flew the flight test version of the 787-10 on 31 March. Except for the extra length and a few minor differences, the type is identical to the 787-9.

Singapore and Etihad Airlines own the largest orders for the 787-10, with each buying 30 of the type. Overall, Boeing has sold 177 787-10s to 12 customers.

Source: Cirium Dashboard