This was no ordinary plane ride . No longer grounded for battery problems , United 's Dreamliner 787 Flight 1 gained takeoff speed down a Houston runway Monday , en route to Chicago O'Hare . After months of concern about the 787 's future , the excitement and tension was palpable aboard the first domestic commercial flight since January 16 . In Seats 32 J , K , and L , Charles Marine , his wife Amira and 6-year-old son Dominic were going home after visiting the Lone Star State . Dominic , wearing a red T-shirt and headphones , chewed gum with a serious look on his face as the plane raced toward the end of the runway . Amira had a pillow on her lap , her hands folded as she faced forward . At one point , her husband placed his hand on hers . The plane , carrying 219 passengers including many reporters and executives from Boeing and United , began to lift into the air . Outside the Dreamliner 's oversized windows , it was clear the plane 's wings were bending upward . Dreamliner interactive : The Boeing 787 layout . Watching the wings of an airliner bend during takeoff might be a little bit disturbing for most passengers . But the wings of this plane are made mostly of carbon reinforced plastic . They 're supposed to bend . Then , Dreamliner 's wheels magically left the Earth . That triggered passenger applause that rang throughout the aircraft . The 787 was back in domestic service after being grounded because of fears of onboard lithium-ion battery fires . Two incidents on Japanese 787s in January prompted the FAA to ground all six U.S. Dreamliners , which are all operated by United . Engineers designed a fix of the system which involved insulating the batteries and putting them in a ventilated armor-plated box to protect the rest of the plane . Dreamliner returns : Five things to know . 'It 's a relaunch ! ' Dreamliner `` was a fairly expensive piece of sculpture to have on the ground , '' joked United CEO Jeff Smisek during a pre-flight ceremony . The average list price for a 787 is currently about $ 207 million . His counterpart at manufacturer Boeing apologized . `` We 're very sorry about the delay caused by the technology workaround , '' said Boeing CEO Jim McNerney . `` Safety means everything to us . '' Both men were passengers on Flight 1 . In Seat 21J , Michael Reynolds , 64 , was headed home after his oldest granddaughter 's high school graduation ceremony . He had no idea he was booked on arguably the most-watched airliner in America , touted by Boeing as the `` airplane of the future . '' `` It was a surprise to see the media circus , '' he said . Charles Marine also was in the dark about the flight until he arrived at the gate . Was he concerned about the battery problems ? `` I guess there 's a little bit of something in the back of my mind , '' he said . But to have all these CEOs on the plane , '' he said he felt safe . Aviation enthusiasts call it Dreamliner 2.0 . Others call it Reboot : 787 . `` It 's a relaunch ! '' said a United flight attendant wearing the name tag , Alejandro . `` That 's what they told us to call it ! '' Up in the cockpit , Capt . Niels Olufsen clocked it at about Mach .85 -- or 85 % of the speed of sound . The plane beat about 10 minutes off other airliners by the time it hit Chicago traffic . The slick new cockpit display allows pilots to more easily see maps , speed and altitude data . `` It 's easier to fly because we have better displays , '' said Capt . Bill Blocker , another pilot on Flight 1 . `` It lands nice , it flies nice , it 's real responsive , it 's actually one of the easier planes I 've ever flown . '' It also soars higher than other airliners . Flight 1 maxed out at 41,000 feet -- which actually is 2,000 feet below its limit . A typical airliner altitude is around 30,000 feet up . But Dreamliner 's most important trick is to save on fuel expense . Surprisingly , it takes less fuel to fly high . `` That 's just how jet engines work , '' said Capt . Michael Barksdale , another United pilot who attended the pre-flight ceremony . All airlines love to save fuel . That 's good for business -- and the environment . And it 's why Dreamliner is seen as the `` airliner of the future . '' Thrill of flight . For this aviation enthusiast , the thrill of flying this airplane for the first time involved the bendy , plastic wings as they lifted the plane into the air on take off . At first , it does n't compute -- it looks so strange -- but then you realize this ai n't your daddy 's aluminum aircraft . Its cutting edge carbon fiber technology is taking aviation to a new level , where special materials can make magic happen . Dreamliner 's cabin pressure is touted as a big relief for passengers who suffer from air sickness . The cabin pressure makes it feel like the equivalent of being at 6,000 feet above sea level , compared with typical airliners which are pressured at 8,000 feet . I did n't notice any difference at all , but I do n't suffer from air sickness . Most of us passengers were n't discerning enough to notice the rarefied air , but the airliner 's larger windows , complete with `` shades '' made of gel that dims in response to electricity , were easier to spot and appreciate . Now about the seats : They 're a comfy 17.3 inches across , which fit me fine , especially after enduring a torturous chair on a commuter plane the previous day . The plane 's seats are arranged in three rows of three chairs across , with two aisles . In first class , passengers stretch out on 22-inch wide lay-flat seats in the 2-by-2-by-2 configuration . And what about Dreamliner 's other goodies ? -- Specially designed cabin lighting to match the time of day . -- Cathedral-like cabin ceilings so high they would be impossible for most people to touch . -- Computers that sense imminent turbulence and command parts of the wing to make appropriate adjustments , smoothing out the ride . A bit of unstable air rocked the plane early in the flight , but it was difficult to know how the plane 's anti-turbulence system affected the ride . Airliner of the future ? The battery problems have been addressed , but the real proof of a successful fix will be in incident-free flights across the globe . With that kind of smooth flying , is the door still open for Dreamliner to realize its promise as the game-changing airliner of the future ? Can global aviation titans Boeing and United put the 787 's troubled battery system behind them ? Two battery overheating incidents on 787s sparked fears of possible inflight fires , prompting an announcement three months ago yanking all 50 Dreamliners out of service worldwide . Some experts dismissed the battery problems as hiccups , glitches or teething pains that all new airliners experience . Glitch or not -- it was the first FAA grounding of an entire airliner model in more than 30 years . Supporters hailed the move as an abundance of caution . Two weeks into the grounding , Japanese carrier ANA said it had lost $ 15 million . In April , Boeing would n't reveal how much the grounding was costing them , but it was `` minimal . '' For many of the thousands of employees at Boeing and United who saw their futures tied to this plane , the grounding order was more than a little unnerving . Of course , passengers were nervous too . Grounding an airliner opens the door to damaging its reputation for safety , say experts . The previous FAA grounding in 1979 followed the terrible crash of the now-defunct DC-10 wide-body airliner . American Airlines Flight 191 crashed on takeoff from O'Hare and killed 273 people . Authorities grounded the DC-10 for about a month until it could be determined that maintenance issues were to blame for the crash . The DC-10 suffered an image problem after that , said Capt . Kevin Hiatt , president of the Flight Safety Foundation , an independent aviation safety think tank , but that perception faded and the DC-10 went on to be relatively successful . The FAA 's abundance of caution should n't be allowed to damage the Dreamliner 's image , say experts , who point out that no one has been hurt in any of the Dreamliner incidents . `` It 's a safe airliner to get back on and fly , '' said Hiatt . Travelers , he said , should be very confident . Under strict oversight , the FAA delegates certain certification activities to qualified experts , Boeing says on its website . The battery fix included a team of Boeing battery engineers and experts from outside the company . FlyersRights.org President Paul Hudson wants an independent analysis of Boeing 's battery fix . He said federal authorities are `` simply taking Boeing 's word for it '' that the problem has been resolved and by delegating certification authority . `` We think they made a mistake . '' `` There 's never been any proof that self-certification ever resulted in a problem in an aircraft , '' said John Goglia , a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board , the nation 's top aviation investigation agency . Hiatt is also comfortable with the process as it pertains to Dreamliner . But his group supports the idea that the FAA self-certification system should be reviewed , to bolster its safety . Dreamliner 's days of being the next big thing may be numbered . Snapping at Boeing 's heels is its arch rival Airbus , which is expected to start test flying its A350 XWB later this year . In the wake of Boeing 's lithium-ion battery challenges , Airbus decided not to go with the same technology in the new plane -- opting instead for traditional -- and heavier -- nickel-cadmium batteries . Airbus rolls out sleek , new A350 XWB . Shortly after it was grounded , United said flyers would `` flock back '' to the game changing aircraft after the battery problems were fixed . For United and domestic travelers , the game started all over again on Monday . We 'll see how much things change . And we 'll keep you posted .
first domestic commercial Bendy flight since grounding was completed on Two weeks . Niels Olufsen CEO : `` We 're very sorry about the delay caused by the technology workaround '' Dreamliner , plastic wings made an impression on this author and aviation enthusiast .