Vietnam Airlines (VN) welcomed its first of 19 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners on Sunday afternoon, the flag carrier said via its official Facebook page.

The stretched Dreamliner, Registration VN-A861, officially joined the fleet of Vietnam Airlines following a delivery flight from Everett to Hanoi. Flight VN8861 took off from PAE at 2:04 p.m., Saturday and landed at Noi Bai International Airport (HAN) at 5:09 p.m., Sunday, according to Flightradar24 (all local time).

Vietnam Airlines is expected to launch the inaugural 787-9 service on its domestic Hanoi-Ho Chi Ming route on Aug. 4, before the first 787-9 services to London in September 2015, when it will become the first Asian carrier flying the stretched Dreamliner to Europe.

The airline added that its second 787-9 is due to arrive on Aug. 10.

The SkyTeam carrier ordered the 787-8 in 2007 and converted the order to the larger model 787-9 in October 2010. The flag carrier is expected to take delivery of five 787-9s by the end of this year, with the remaining pending delivery by 2018.

In early July, Boeing and Vietnam Airlines held a special pre-delivery ceremony of the flag carrier's first 787-9 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. At the event, Vietnam Airlines also signed a memorandum of collaboration with Boeing for the acquisition of eight 787-10 Dreamliners and eight 777-8Xs, to replace and expand the carrier's fleet.

With the arrival of the Dreamliner, Vietnam Airlines has officially become the first Asia Pacific carrier to operate both the 787-9 Dreamliner and Airbus A350-900.