Boeing’s first 787 Dreamliner made its first commercial flight today. After years of delays the future of aviation has arrived. And according to reviews, it was a totally pleasant flight. Even if the 787 can’t totally fix flying, it might make it a whole lot better.
OK, so all that happened is that a plane took of from Tokyo and landed in Hong Kong. Happens every day. But passengers aboard the Dreamliner’s inaugural commercial flight found themselves actually enjoying the experience. The Telegraph’s Peter Hughes positively gushed about the plane’s creature comforts. And who can blame him: The Dreamliner has higher ceilings and bigger windows and increased cabin pressure, along with softer LED lighting. The 787 is in many noticeable ways a more comfortable aircraft. It sounds awesome.
A lot of people are understandably excited about the plane — Hughes reports that one American fanboy shelled out $US31,781 on eBay for a ticket. The plane is much cheaper to operate than its predecessors. Even if the savings aren’t passed on to us, passengers will see more non-stop flights on lower-demand routes, which means fewer connections and ameliorated congestion at huge regional hubs.
On top of all of that, it’s nice to hear first hand that the plane is a plush ride. Congratulations to the engineers at Boeing for building a commodious and technologically advanced flying machine. [The Telegraph]
Image: Boeing