Regular visitors at Melbourne Airport are already used to the sight of the Boeing 787, given Air India, Jetstar and United are regular operators at Tullamarine with the Dreamliner.
However, those around the airport on Sunday afternoon witnessed the arrival of a 787 in a not-often-seen livery in this part of the world.
United Arab Emirates-registered 787-8, A6-PFC, landed at 1630 local time on February 15, after a flight of more than 13 hours from Abu Dhabi.
The aircraft, featuring an all-white fuselage, red cheatline below the passenger windows and UAE flag on the tail, belongs to Abu Dhabi Amiri Flight, which provides air transport for the government of Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi Amiri Flight picked up the 787-8 from Boeing’s Everett delivery centre just outside Seattle on January 4 2014. Its fleet comprises 10 aircraft and ranges from larger widebodies such as a Boeing 777-300ER and 747-400, to smaller Avro RJ70 and RJ100 aircraft.
It is unclear whether the arrival of A6-PFC was for an official or private visit, and comment has been sought from the UAE embassy in Canberra.
However, the UAE national team was due to play its opening match of the cricket World Cup on Thursday in New Zealand against Zimbabwe so perhaps the Royal Family was on its way across the Tasman to cheer on the team.
