Boeing has finished painting its first 787-9 Dreamliner, the follow-up plane to its troubled 787-8.

According to CNET, in a release issued late Friday, July 26 night, the aviation giant noted that it had just finished painting the new airplane - which will eventually be delivered to Air New Zealand - in Boeing's new livery. The 747-8 was the first plane to sport the new livery, the company said.

"The 787-9 will complement and extend the 787 family, offering airlines the ability to grow routes opened with the 787-8," Boeing said in the release. "With the fuselage stretched by 20 feet (6 meters), the 787-9 will carry 40 more passengers an additional 300 nautical miles (555 kilometers), with 20 percent less fuel use and 20 percent fewer emissions than similarly sized airplanes."

The first 787-9s will be delivered, if all goes according to plan, in the middle of 2014.