Livin’ the Dream(liner): Boeing’s jet lives up to its name

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Twenty minutes into my first ride aboard a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, I knewI was hooked. Spoiled. Would never be satisfied with anything else.
Which is essentially what I thought or said whenever I flew on what wasthen the “next generation of air travel,” and it’s proven to be true everytime.
My love affair with flying started in my preschool years when my parentstook the family on the tri-tail Constellations operated by TWA, the LockheedL-188 Electras, and other “prop jobs” that plied the skies. I loved the noise and the vibration.
Then, at the age of seven, I rode my first jetliner: a Boeing 707.Entering service in 1958, it marked a quantum leap over the aforementionedpropeller planes, and started their fall from grace.
While other single-aisle jets would follow the 707, air travel wouldmove to the next level with the introduction of Boeing’s 747. Dubbed “JumboJets” these behemoths were two and a half times the size of a 707, and startedcarrying passengers in 1970.
My first ride aboard a 747 was the fall of 1973. A novel feature was theinclusion of a “piano bar” toward the rear of the aircraft. I recall several ofus lounging in the area, chatting with what were then called “stewardesses” –and who, back in the day, actually talked with their passengers instead ofretreating behind a curtain to read their latest pulp novel or fashion magazine– while one of the passengers tickled the ivories of the Fender-Rhodes electricpiano.
The inauguration of passenger service aboard the Concorde in 1976 movedair travel up several more notches, but only for a relatively few airtravelers. Operated by British Airways and Air France, these “supersonictransports” or SSTs flew passengers at Mach 2.02 from London or Paris to NewYork, Washington, DC, and Miami, among a handful of other internationaldestinations.
The planes, which each carried only 100 passengers, had been envisionedas the next big step in air travel. However, concerns about the effects of thesonic booms surfaced before its first passenger flight, and ultimately limitedthe Concord to flights over water. Because of the limitations on the routes itcould fly, its modest range of 3,500 miles, and stratospheric ticket prices,they remained the provenance of the rich and famous and never became a part ofmost travelers’ flying experiences.

First ANA Dreamliner to carry passengers from SEA

Now, the introduction of the 787 Dreamliner has elevated air travel onceagain.
Even its name is evocative of the excitement and the “anything ispossible” attitude of the early years of the jet age.
In passenger service less than a year, this plane and its revolutionaryconstruction have won accolades from engineers, pilots, and passengers.
I’m about to add my name to that list.
On Oct. 2, after a 24-hour delay from the scheduled departure time thanks to a faulty valve in the system that coolsthe aircraft’s power electronics, I was privileged to be aboard All Nippon Airways' (ANA's) 14^thDreamliner, and the first to carry passengers from the West Coast.

Dreamliner Entrance

ANA had configured this Dreamliner for international service, whichmeant we were not greeted by the grand entryway that Boeing conceived asproviding a more welcoming experience (as shown at left). On ANA’s jet, it wasreplaced by a galley from which we would be served our meals.
No matter. ANA’s delightful service started as soon as we were throughthe door, but that will be a topic for another post.
Immediately, I noticed the ceilings were higher than similar aircraft,contributing to the overall spacious feel. Colored lights along the corridorsadded a touch of whimsy while simultaneously being relaxing.

Colored overhead lights

Settling into seat 3A in Business Class, I was pleased to see the ampleamount of storage and workspace. The purpose of my trip, after all, was toexperience the Dreamliner, photograph it, and write about it, so I would indeedbe working.
After giving my coat to a very attentive flight attendant, I stowed mylaptop and camera, and settled in. More on the entire Business Class experiencein a future post.
As our pilot pointed us toward the active runway at Seattle’s Sea-Tacairport (SEA), we taxied under a celebratory arch of water from two of theairport fire department’s water cannons, reemphasizing that our departure wassomething special indeed.

Water cannon salute of first 787 departure

As soon as we started our take-off roll, it immediately became obvioushow much quieter the Dreamliner is than its counterparts. Thanks to theultra-quiet but extremely powerful Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines, we werequickly at V_R and airborne shortly thereafter. We slipped the surlybonds of earth with 5,000’ of runway 34-R’s 11,900’ total length remaining; animpressive performance indeed for an aircraft weighting slightly more than ahalf-million pounds.
Once aloft the windows, which Boeing says are 30% larger than otheraircraft and “the largest windows of any current commercial airplane” becamethe co-star to the fabulous view they allowed. The portals are noticeablytaller and slightly wider than other aircraft, giving passengers a far betterview from the ground below to the stratosphere above.

Adjustable windows at various stages of opacity

The first thing I did, as did many of my fellow passengers, was playwith the dimming function of those windows. Instead of shades, they use electriccurrents to darken and lighten the window panes.
Next, I focused on the in-flight entertainment center complete withSony® noise-cancelling headphones for business class passengers. While I foundthe Dreamliner noticeably quieter than other aircraft, I was sitting ahead ofthe wing and engine, which is always an airplane’s quietest area. Even at that,the headphones took what ambient noise there was down several notches.
The entertainment options included a wide variety of films, bothHollywood and Japanese, music, real-time in-flight maps, and seat-to-seatmessaging. I was actually able to text my fellow passengers while in-flight.One small drawback to that feature is that there’s no “You’ve Got Mail!” iconor similar; one has to periodically check the “Connect” queue to see if you haveany new messages.
Business class connectivity includes a USB port, port of one’s iPod, anda universal power outlet, which enables passengers to plug in their laptops andother devices without fishing for the adapters. Universal power outlets arealso featured in economy class.

In-flight route map

The entertainment center included an in-flight map that kept me up todate on our progress, airspeed, outside temperature, as well as times inflight, remaining, at our departure point, and at our destination. The temperature and airspeed data enabled me to calculate that for most of theflight, we were traveling close to Mach 0.84, very close to the design speed ofMach 0.85.
Thanks to the strength the airplane’s carbon fiber composite material,the airplane’s fuselage can handle the stresses from the larger window cutoutsand can also accommodate being pressurized to a lower cabin altitude. Insteadof being pressurized to the equivalent of 7,500’ to 8,000’, the Dreamliner ispressurized to about 6,000’. That lower cabin pressure is coupled with astate-of-the-art air filtration and humidification system to reduce passengerfatigue.
Honestly, I didn’t think it would make that much difference, but it did.My ears didn’t pop once during our decent from our 40,000 foot cruisingaltitude, and at the end of a 10-½ hour flight I was tired, but not completelyspent as I have been on similar hauls.
A novel feature of the Dreamliner, at least in Business Class, is whatBoeing personnel refer to as the Dream Lav. It’s about double the size of astandard aircraft lavatory. On ANA, they’re equipped with the very Japanese TOTOtoilets, complete with bidet function but without the heated seats, which woulddraw quite a bit of current.
As delightful and exciting as the Dreamliner is, a few small points becameapparent.

The Dreamliner crossing the Washington coastline

Due to the nature of the carbon fiber material, the Dreamliner’s wings flexquite a bit more on takeoff, landing, and during turbulence than the aluminumwings of other aircraft. They were designed for that and tested rigorously, butit can be a bit disconcerting if you’re not anticipating it, particularly ifyou’re not a comfortable flier anyway.
A fellow passenger pointed out an overhead bin that was not deep enoughto stow a standard-sized carry-on with wheels out, as we’re always instructedto do on other airliners. Boeing project spokesperson Lori Gunter told me in ane-mail that the bins were designed to handle four carry-ons simultaneous, sothe bin over seat 8A may have been an anomaly.
Dreamliners do not currently have in-flight wireless connectivity,which would be welcome, especially on longer flights. However, Gunter told mein-flight wireless systems should be “available in the catalog” by the end ofthe year. An airline executive with whom I spoke after our arrival in Tokyoassured me that they would be adding the service, though he could not provide adate the service would be installed and available.
Returning to my seat after chatting with fellow passengers, I noticed thatall the windows were at maximum darkness, obviously controlled by the flightcrew, and apparently a hint that it was time to nap. When the crew adjusts thewindows, it overrides individual control so passengers cannot change the brightnesson their own.
With seven hours left to Tokyo I decided to take the crew’s suggestionand get some sleep, despite the Aerosmith lyric running through my head: “Idon’t wanna close my eyes; I don’t want to go to sleep … because I don’t wantto miss a thing.”
Kicking back in the lie-flat seats, which actually did lie flat, a line from a childhood prayer followed Aerosmith’swords, but with a new ending: “If I die before I wake,” I’ll be 40,000 feetcloser to Heaven.

In some ways, I was already there.
ANA provided mewith round-trip transportation and lodging in Tokyo as part of a mediafamiliarization trip so that several reporters and bloggers could experience the 787 first-hand.
Photos credit Carl Dombek unless otherwise noted
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