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The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is now the most common widebody airliner in operation and has become one of the workhorses of long-haul international travel (as well as thick short-haul travel on certain routes). The type comes in three variants: the shorter 787-8 with 200–275 seats in a standard two-class configuration, the standard 787-9 (250-325 seats), and the stretched 787-10 (300-375 seats). At the time of writing, Boeing has delivered 1,108 Dreamliners and has another 1,158 on backlog.
The aircraft competes with the Airbus A330neo, A350, and, to some extent, the upcoming 777X, depending on variant and mission. The 787-8 even competes with the narrowbody A321neo (especially the A321XLR extended range version). Let’s examine the six airlines flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner the most in 2026. The flight information on which this article is based is from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, and relates to January to December 2026.
6
American Airlines
66,384 Dreamliner flights
Only two US carriers operate large fleets of Boeing 787 Dreamliners: American Airlines and United Airlines. Delta Air Lines only operates Airbus widebody and legacy Boeing 767 jets (although it has ordered the 787-10), Hawaiian Airlines operates Airbus A330 widebodies, and Alaska Airlines now operates small numbers of Dreamliners. American operates a fleet of 70 Dreamliners made up of 37 smaller 787-8s and 33 stretched 787-9s.
The only other widebody type operated by American is the Boeing 777, although it hasn’t placed any orders for the upcoming Boeing 777X. American is the largest airline in the world as measured by the number of scheduled flights it operates, although these flights are typically shorter routes than those of other airlines like United. When it comes to Dreamliners, American has the sixth most Dreamliner flights scheduled for 2026 at a total of 33,192 round trips for over 66,000 Boeing 787 flights in total.
American’s 787-8 fleet is scheduled to conduct a total of 36,584 flights and carry 4.2 million seats, flying some 73.8 million miles (118.8 km). The 787-9 fleet is to conduct 29,800 flights carrying 4.0 million seats and fly 73.6 million miles (118.4 km), reflecting that they fly on average longer routes than the shorter 787-8.
What Is The Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s Maximum Passenger Capacity?
The Dreamliner can be configured very densely, although most operators favor less dense multi-class layouts.
5
Etihad Airways
69,240 Dreamliner flights
Even though Etihad has a significantly smaller fleet of Boeing 787s than American (46 vs 70), it is scheduled to operate more Dreamliner flights in total at 69,240. It is worth noting that while Etihad has these flights scheduled, its actual flights could be fewer due to extensive flight disruptions in the Middle East during Operation Epic Fury that saw Iran retaliate against targets in the UAE.
Etihad is also notable in the top six list for being the only operator not using the smaller 787-8; it operates a fleet of 36 Boeing 787-9s and ten extra-stretched 787-10s. Etihad’s fleet of 787-9s is to operate a total of 53,526 flights and carry 7.6 million seats. They will cover a total of 96.2 million miles (154.8 million kilometers).
Airline | Boeing 787-8 (one-way flights/seats) | Boeing 787-9 (one-way flights/seats) | Boeing 787-10 (one-way flights/seats) | Combined (one-way flights/seats) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ANA | 25,106 / 6.92M | 29,435 / 8.25M | 11,104 / 4.49M | 65,645 / 19.66M |
Qatar Airways | 30,551 / 7.77M | 23,907 / 7.44M | — | 54,458 / 15.21M |
United | 5,890 / 1.43M | 25,230 / 6.41M | 11,538 / 3.67M | 42,658 / 11.51M |
Japan Airlines | 23,380 / 5.45M | 13,801 / 2.98M | — | 37,181 / 8.43M |
Etihad | — | 26,763 / 7.65M | 7,857 / 2.59M | 34,620 / 10.24M |
American | 18,292 / 4.28M | 14,900 / 4.01M | — | 33,192 / 8.29M |
The fleet of ten 787-10s is scheduled to operate 15,714 flights in total with 2.6 million seats. They are to fly 22.6 million miles (36.4 million kms). From its base at Abu Dhabi, the longest route with the most seats (500,000) is to Phuket International Airport in Thailand, a distance of 3,093 miles (4,978 km). The thickest route is to Velana International Airport in the Maldives, with over 415,000 seats.
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4
Japan Airlines
74,362 Dreamliner flights
Japan Airlines operates a fleet of 45 Boeing 787s made up of 23 Boeing 787-8s and 22 Boeing 22s. Like its rival, ANA’s domestic routes around the Japanese archipelago dominate the routes. Japan has a history of using high-density aircraft to service its thick, but short-haul, domestic routes. It is more common around the world for Dreamliners to be primarily tasked with international routes.
By a considerable margin, the thickest JAL Dreamliner route is from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Osaka Itami Airport, linking Japan’s two largest cities. While many of the routes are to other islands, this route is on the island of Honshu. The route will see a total of 2,952 round-trip Dreamliner flights with 857,000 seats in each direction. The next thickest route is from Haneda to Fukuoka Airport, with 921 flights in each direction.
Japan Airlines’ Boeing 787-8s are scheduled to operate a total of 46,760 flights. These will carry 5.4 million seats and travel 40.0 million miles (64.4 kms). The 787-9 fleet is to conduct 27,602 flights, flying 55.7 million miles (89.6 km) and carrying almost three million seats.
3
United Airlines
85,316 Dreamliner flights
United Airlines is the other great US-based operator of Boeing 787 aircraft, and like American, it exclusively operates Boeing widebody aircraft. United has a fleet of 87 Dreamliners and is notable for having all three variants, including 12 Boeing 787-8s, 54 Boeing 787-9s, and 21 Boeing 787-10s. Of the airlines on this list, United has taken delivery of the most new Boeing 787s so far in 2026 (June), having received six new 787-9s.
The busiest route for United’s Dreamliners is the thick domestic route from its hub at New York Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to Los Angeles with 1,348 round trips and almost 400,000 seats each way. The next two thickest routes are international long-haul flights from San Francisco to Singapore (730 round trips) and Los Angeles to Hong Kong (also 730).
In all, United’s Dreamliners are to operate some 85,316 flights and carry 11.5 million seats. The 787-8 fleet will handle11,780 flights, carry 1.4 million seats, and travel 26.1 million miles (42.0 km), while the standard 787-9 fleet is set to operate 50,460 flights with 6.4 million seats and fly 140.9 million miles (226.7 km). The stretched 787-10 fleet is scheduled for 23,076 flights, 3.7 million seats, and 50.4 million miles (81.0 km).
2
Qatar Airways
108,916 Dreamliner flights
Like its rival airlines in the Gulf, Qatar Airways’ fleet is very widebody-heavy. Per ch-aviation, it operates 62 A350s, eight A380s, 93 
Boeing 777s, and 60 787s out of a total mainline fleet of 271 aircraft. Its Dreamliner fleet includes 32 787-8s and 28 787-9s. While Qatar operates some of the longest nonstop flights in the world (such as Doha to Auckland), the thickest Boeing 787 route is the short-haul flight from Doha to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
The route is just 828 miles (1,333 km) and is scheduled to have a total of 1,307 round-trip Dreamliner flights this year, carrying 347,000 seats each way. The next thickest route is to Sri Lanka’s Bandaranaike International Airport, serving the capital city of Colombo. This is to see 1,082 round-trip Dreamliner flights with around 300,000 seats each way.
Qatar Airways’ fleet of 32 Boeing 787-8s is to operate 61,102 flights, carrying 7,773,513 seats some 66.0 million miles (106.2 km). The 28-strong fleet of Boeing 787-9s is to have 47,814 flights with 7,435,077 seats flying 62.8 million miles (101.1 km). Qatar Airways is currently receiving more Boeing 787s from Boeing and has taken delivery of two new 787-9s so far in 2026. As with Etihad, the region has seen repeated severe flight disruptions in 2026, and the actual number of flights could be different.
The World’s Top 10 Boeing 787-10 Operators: Passenger Experience Compared
The type is relatively rare, but the carriers flying it offer a pleasant onboard experience.
1
All Nippon Airways
131,290 Dreamliner flights
Topping out the list for the most Dreamliner flights scheduled in 2026 is All Nippon Airways with a total of 131,290 scheduled flights. Many of these flights are on domestic routes. ANA’s three thickest Dreamliner routes are all from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and connect with New Chitose in Hokkaido (2,957 rotations), Fukuoka (2,868), and Okinawa’s Naha Airport (1,921).
ANA operates a fleet of 91 Boeing 787s, including all three variants. It has 36 Boeing 787-8s, 45 Boeing 787-9s, and ten Boeing 787-10s. With the 787-10s used for thick short-haul domestic routes, these aircraft are notable for being the highest-density 787-10s in operation. These 787-10s have 429 seats, which is 93 more seats than Boeing’s typical seating configuration for that aircraft.
Breaking it down by sub-variants, ANA’s fleet of 787-8s is scheduled to conduct 20,212 flights carrying 6.9 million seats. They will fly 47.0 million miles (75.7 million kms). The fleet of 787-9s is down for 58.9 million flights covering 89.2 million miles (143.7 million km). They will carry 8.3 million seats. Finally, the 787-10 fleet is expected to operate 22,208 flights. These will carry 4.5 million seats and fly 9.9 million miles (16.0 km).
