First United Airlines 787 Dreamliner Enters Final Assembly

United Continental Holdings announced that the first of its 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners on order entered the final assembly phase at Boeing’s factory in Everett, Wash., yesterday. United expects to become the first North American carrier to take delivery of the Dreamliner in “early 2012.”

The first United Airlines 787 will come configured with 36 flat-bed seats in the airline’s BusinessFirst section, 63 extra-legroom seats in Economy Plus and 120 seats in Economy.

United Airlines and Continental Airlines, the subsidiaries of United Continental Holdings, each ordered 25 Dreamliners before the two airlines merged. The company said it will announce the 787 flight schedule later this year.