A Walk in the Clouds: The 787 Dreamliner Experience

Shubhodeep Pal — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:40:42 +0000

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.

What makes the Boeing 787 Dreamliner a brand differentiator? Video tour

Shashank Nigam — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:32:02 +0000

After production delays of over two years, an analyst called the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the “delay-liner”. But aren’t production delays part and process of every new aircraft that is designed from scratch? It was the case with the Airbus A380 and even the Boeing 747. I believe it is important to look beyond the hue and cry about the delays and would like share my thoughts about the engineering and design marvel that the Boeing 787 is, and how it can be a brand differentiator for many airlines.

I was fortunate enough to be given a private tour of the Boeing 787 cabin, and I published the photos on SimpliFlying earlier. Now, I’m publishing the exclusive video tour of the cabin, which is housed in a life-sized mock-up of the plane at Boeing’s state-of-the-art Customer Experience Center. I was very impressed with this flying machine, and you’ll know why when you watch the video.

Here are three things I feel that will make the Boeing 787 experience very different for airlines, and passengers.

1. Boeing brings back the charm of flying

Did you know that the windows in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner are much larger than any planes flying today? Did you know that they have no window shades, and you control the % luminosity from a button below the window?

Colleen Rainbolt, from the Passenger Experience and Revenue dept told me that all of these features were designed so that people would enjoy flying again. Very simply, every kid has a dream to fly. But when we grow up and are faced with the reality of the unpleasant flying experience, we’re turned off. But by being able to see the sky at all times, as opposed to closing the window shades for a majority of flying time, I think it’s going to make a significant impact on the experience.

2. So spacious, the 787 doesn’t feel like a plane

If you watch me enter the plane below, you’ll realize the kind of space I’m talking about. I did not even feel this spaciousness in Emirates’ A380′s First Class, which I felt entering the Economy cabin of the 787. Boeing has removed the galley we all encounter upon entering a plane. And that create a lot of room!

Moreover, the blue lighting is such that it makes the plane ceiling feel very high and has a calming effect on the passenger

3. Everything is designed with the customer in mind

That is, the airline customer, and the traveling public. For the airlines, Boeing has instituted a lot of flexibility. For example, seats in the Economy cabin can be 6-abreast, 7-abreast, 8-abreast and even 9-abreast, depending on the airline’s priorities and the sector it is serving.

For the passenger, the stow bins are much larger, have ergonomic, easy to use latches and slide down. Even the toilet doors feel like those at home, rather than those that fold in.

See all of these features and more for yourself in the SimpliFlying-exclusive tour!

So, what do you think? Does the 787 have what it takes to be a successful differentiator for airlines? Would passengers flock to it? Would they pay a premium for it? Let’s discuss in the comments or over on Twitter (@simpliflying)

Special thanks to Colleen Rainbolt for leading this tour, to Miles Kotay for arranging this for me at a day’s notice and to Jon Ostrower, the Flightblogger, for helping another aviation freak find the right people in Boeing.

SimpliFlying » Boeing 787 Dreamliner