Finally, Boeing turns over 787 keys to launch customer ANA

- By Harriet Baskas, special for USA TODAY

EVERETT, Wash. -- After a delay of more than three years and expenditures estimated by The Seattle Times at upwards of $32 billion, Boeing and All Nippon airways (ANA) signed the formal documents on Sunday morning that completed the contractual delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner.

More pomp and circumstance will come this morning at a special delivery ceremony at the 787 factory in Everett, Wash.

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That will be followed by the flyaway of the plane -- Airplane 24 -- which is painted in ANA's special livery, at 6:35 a.m. PT on Tuesday.

The long-awaited Dreamliner boasts tall entryways, overhead bins and windows that are largest in the industry, high cabin humidity to reduce dryness and specially designed systems to reduce noise and turbulence.

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At a media briefing day held Sunday, representatives from Boeing, ANA and Rolls Royce, one of the 787 engine partners, offered background presentations on the airplane.

Satoru Fujiki, senior vice president of All Nippon Airways, said that the company had been waiting for the arrival of the 787 for more than three years, but now expects to take delivery of 55 Dreamliners by the end of 2017. He said ANA worked closely with Boeing to "mitigate the impact caused by the delay," taking alternative deliveries of Boeing 767 and 777 airplanes and making other confidential arrangements.

In an interview, Kent Craver, regional director, Passenger Satisfaction and Revenue for Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Blake Emery, Boeing's director, Differentiation Strategy, described some of the passenger experience improvements made on the 787 to "improve harmony inside the cabin."

"In the past," said Emery, "things either worked or looked good. This plane is designed for both." One of their favorite examples is the latch on the overhead bins. "Those can be confusing," said Craver, "So we made latches that open if you push on the top or the bottom. Whatever is intuitive will open the bin. Part of improving the experience is eliminating things that make you feel bad."