Boeing’s long-awaited 787 Dreamliner landed in Hong Kong Wednesday on its first commercial flight, more than three years after the revolutionary aircraft had been scheduled to go into service.

Passengers paid premium prices to be on board for the flight from Tokyo. The plane’s unique design, which uses lightweight composite materials to make it more fuel efficient, contributed to huge cost overruns and years of delays in getting the plane ready to fly. But All Nippon Airways co-pilot Masami Tsukamoto said it was worth the wait.

The plane has several features intended to make air travel more enjoyable for passengers, including larger windows and luggage bins and improved climate control.

But for airline executives, the most important feature is the improved fuel efficiency, which makes it practical to use the 330-seat jet on long-haul routes previously reserved for larger planes.

ANA President Shinichiro Ito said that makes the plane a game-changer in the aviation industry.

He said the plane will be used on international routes to the United States and Europe that were not possible in the past.

Boeing says it has received more than 800 orders for the aircraft. The company also reported Wednesday that its profits rose 31 percent in July, August, and September , reaching $1.1 billion. The firm said it will make more money this year than previously predicted, but said it will deliver fewer 787s and the revamped version of the 747 than earlier expectations.