Boeing Co. delivered the first 787 Dreamliner assembled at its North Charleston plant to Air India on Friday, the first handover of a jetliner built in South Carolina.

“Within just three years of breaking ground, we have flown and delivered our first airplane built at Boeing South Carolina,” said Jack Jones, vice president and general manager of Boeing South Carolina. “This is a tribute to the remarkable Boeing South Carolina team and the support we have received from our airline customers, our supplier partners and the Boeing enterprise, as well as the relationship we have with the State of South Carolina.”

Air India board member K.M. Unni said the airline was “delighted to be the first airline in the world to take delivery of a Dreamliner from this beautiful factory and look forward to taking many more.” He said the airplane’s efficiency and technology “will help in our airline’s turnaround plan,” according to Boeing.

Friday’s handover was the 28th 787 delivered by Boeing, the company said.

A long road to the handover

Work on the North Charleston final assembly and delivery center began in November 2009, according to Boeing. Production of this airplane started in mid-2011, and it rolled out of the factory in April before a crowd of nearly 7,000 employees and guests.

The jet made its first flight May 23, a five-hour test flight from Charleston International Airport with Tim Berg and Randy Neville at the controls, Boeing said at the time. More than 5,000 Boeing South Carolina employees watched a live broadcast of the takeoff. Boeing said then that the jet would next be flown to Fort Worth, Texas, to be painted in Air India’s colors before returning to North Charleston for delivery.

Boeing had said the jet was on schedule for delivery in mid-2012. In mid-September, Jones said the airplane would be delivered the following week, The Herald of Everett, Wash., reported, citing The Post and Courier.

Air India’s Dreamliner deliveries were held up by long arguments among the Indian government, Air India and Boeing over compensation for the delays, and several completed jets went uncollected while the sides lacked an agreement, the aviation data service ch-aviation reported in September.

“The delay was initially on our part,” Dinesh Keskar, Boeing’s senior vice president of Asia Pacific and India sales, told ABC News 4. He noted the planes had originally been due in 2008 and said, “It’s all behind us now.”

Air India’s Dreamliners

Air India has ordered 27 787s and took delivery of its first two in September, according to Boeing. Both of those jets were assembled in Everett, Wash., but handed over to the airline in South Carolina, The Herald reported. The airline planned to have five Dreamliners in its fleet by the end of the year, according to The Herald.

“With two 787s successfully introduced to Air India’s fleet, passengers are enjoying breakthrough features such as larger windows, lower cabin altitude and unprecedented flying experience,” Keskar said in Boeing’s announcement.

Air India is using its Dreamliners on domestic routes, Unni told ABC News 4. “The initial reports are very encouraging,” he said.

Air India pilot Capt. Amitabh Singh told ABC News 4 the 787 is remarkably quiet. “The noise levels were very very low. A couple of times I doubted that the engines were on,” he said.

Air India board members said some customers are already asking for the jet by name, the station reported.

What it means for North Charleston

Boeing South Carolina fabricates, integrates and assembles the midbody and aft fuselage sections for every 787, according to the company. Completed sections are either joined in the North Charleston final assembly building or flown on Dreamlifter cargo jets to Boeing’s other 787 final assembly line in Everett.

Boeing plans to raise final assembly in South Carolina to three 787s a month by the end of 2013, the company said. That pace is part of Boeing’s goal of building 10 787s a month across its two lines by the end of next year, The Herald has reported.