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Wide-bodied jets have always fascinated me. Give me a ride to anywhere on a 777 or even an A330 and I’ll happily jump on at the drop of a hat. While I have nothing against narrow-bodied aircraft – after all, they serve short routes very ably – I’ve always felt them to be more functional in nature and often devoid of the pleasure of flying. Hence, when I got the opportunity yesterday (thanks to Shashank!) at the Singapore Airshow to be on-board a demo-flight of Boeing’s latest, much-feted beauty, the 787 Dreamliner, I could hardly conceal my delight. It promised to be a flight to remember and by jove, it was!
The Dream Cabin
I must admit that it was love at first sight. As we walked up to where she was parked on the Airshow grounds, we could not help but admire the graceful contours of the plane and quite obviously, that fascinatingly lovely bent wing-tip. Having scouted for the best positions to take photographs “with” her, we had a whale of a time taking snaps, especially the ones with her engines. Soon it was time to board. As I entered the cabin, I could not help but marvel at how spacious it was from the inside. Admittedly, it was fitted with only a fraction of the normal seats, but standing amongst them, I distinctly felt the cabin to be “larger”. It seems Boeing spent a fair bit of time playing around with the concept of free space and has produced a mouth-watering product. The overhead space seems remarkably free-er than in similar wide-bodied planes and should help the unease brought on by being in confined spaces for long.
As the plane was towed out to the runway, I managed to get a demo of perhaps the most-vaunted (mild pun intended) feature on the plane: the shade-less electrochromic windows that automatically adjust the amount of light (a number of different levels) entering the cabin with the push of a button.
The transition to the typical blueish hue we’ve grown used to seeing in online videos is smooth and takes only a few seconds to fully come into force. What’s interesting is that flight-attendants can also control the amount of light entering the cabin through all the windows with the single push of a button at their end. This can prove exceedingly useful in situations: for instance, when the “shades need to be drawn up”. Following this, I also checked out the overhead bins which open up to eye-level and should prove extremely useful especially to those who find it difficult to stow away their luggage.
Up in the Air
It was almost time to take-off by the time I had finished feasting my eyes on the sparkling new cabin. The take-off wasn’t extraordinary but it was fascinating to watch the the extraordinary contours (I just love the rakish angle!) of the wing tear through the air. Incidentally, I did not feel a very significant reduction in noise (as reported by our friends elsewhere). Shashank did not either. I reckon this was probably because the fraction of seats offered a much lower surface area for absorption of sound; moreover, any possible acoustic treatments done by airlines were evidently not in place on the demo plane. In any case, I’d love to be on a Dreamliner sometime soon to check out the “real” drop in noise-levels.
The best part of being on the demo flight was that once we were safely in the air (not quite cruising altitude since the flight lasted only 90 minutes) we were free to walk around and explore. It was a dream sitting in the cockpit behind the pilots and watching the clouds hurtle past at eye level. After being walked through a couple of videos showing how Boeing builds and tests the Dreamliner, it was time for our in-house laser show.
Rediscover the hues of the sky
The new Sky Interior by Boeing, which varies cabin lighting according to the time of the day as well as according to “mood” (eg. time to eat, relax etc), has received a lot of positive attention and deservedly so. Apart from the fact that Boeing found it to be true in its research, I’ve independently also felt a strong connection between certain moods and colours. Suffice it to say, the “mood-lighting” should work wonders in terms of providing a much better cabin experience, especially over long-hauls. I, for one, cannot wait to experience the 787 dream(liner)!
And a last sweet touch by Boeing – the windows! They’re huge! Forget the electrochromic feature, check out their size. They’re much, much larger than you’ll have ever seen (yes, larger than the windows of the A380) and offer a wonderful viewing/photography experience. Our flight experience was tangibly better because we could get such wide-views without having to strain our eyes or necks.
And they came in all the more handy when the plane took three really low-passes over the Marina Bay Sands and most of us were able to snap some great pictures while marvelling at the fluidity of the plane as it did some steep turns flawlessly! The other much-advertised features such as greater fuel-efficiency and lower operating costs of course make the Dreamliner a must-have for airlines. Given the uncertain economic climate and falling yield per seat, airlines would probably give an arm to save as much on long-routes as the Dreamliner promises.
As the plane landed, a once in a lifetime experience came to a close. I must thank Shashank for this unique opportunity because it was he who managed to secure a pass for me as well! Yes, all dreams end and it was a dream to remember. But what a walk in the clouds it was!
Are you one of the lucky few to have flown the Dreamliner? Tell us about your experience in the comments below or tweet us @simpliflying.