I’m beginning to feel like one of the few, the proud who’ve gotten to fly on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner – before it gets grounded for keeps.

Another Dreamliner experienced problems today, this time at London Heathrow Airport. The Ethiopian Airlines jetliner caught fire, forcing the airport to close for an hour.

http://thehill.com/video/in-the-news/310719-boeing-dreamliner-airplane-catches-fire-in-london

My own history – brief as it is – with the Dreamliner is kind of interesting. I was flying to Portland from Amarillo in June, via Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Weather – along with some human error – forced me to spend the night in Houston. I woke up the next morning and boarded a Dreamliner for a flight to Denver – but the plane wouldn’t start. We all got off the plane and boarded another Dreamliner and made the trip to Denver.

I must say the Dreamliner is a nice bird on which to fly. It has all kinds of leg room even for those of us in the cheap seats, which are a bit wider than they are on other aircraft.

But it keeps having all these issues. Electrical problems grounded the fleet worldwide for months. They keep catching fire. The plane cannot seem to operate safely over an extended period of time.

I hope this doesn’t doom the aircraft. It’s supposed to be the latest and greatest air travel innovation since, well, perhaps the 747 Jumbo Jet.

As it stands at the moment, I’m feeling somewhat privileged to say I’ve flown on one of these birds – and actually enjoyed the ride.