Air Freight Africa Major African air carrier first to receive new Boeing 787 27 Oct 2017 - By Staff reporter Ethiopian was the first in the world, outside of Japan, to receive and operate the Boeing 787-8 in 2012. Source: Boeing Comments | 0 Share to Facebook Share to LinkedIn Share to E-mail Print this page Ethiopian Airlines will become the first in Africa to receive and operate the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, due for delivery on October 27. The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner uses 20% less fuel and has more passenger and cargo capacity. Sign up to our mailing list and get daily news headlines and weekly features directly to your inbox free. Subscribe to receive print copies of Freight News Features to your door.