Manufacturing
Commercial Dreamliner flight now serving Seattle, more or less
By Seattle Business Magazine October 1, 2012
EDITOR’S NOTE: Seattle Business magazine Editor Leslie Helm is aboard ANA’s first Dreamliner flight from Seattle to Tokyo.
After years of delay and heartache, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner was set to leave Seattle Monday on a commercial flight for the first time, but it was delayed 24 hours by an undisclosed maintenance issue, stranding many aviation and travel journalists who had gathered in Seattle for the occasion. It is now scheduled to depart at 1:15 p.m. Tuesday.
The aircraft, the 14th delivered to Japanese airline All Nippon Airways, will fly to and from Tokyo daily, offering comforts that ANA hopes will attract business passengers. In business class, ANA has staggered the seat arrangement. For sleeping, the seat reclines all the way and the passenger’s feet slip under the side table in front. Windows darken at the touch of a button. The height of the overhead bins makes the plane feel more spacious. I won’t know for sure until we are up in the air, but I’m told that the aicraft’s composite body will make the atmosphere substantially more comfortable. The strength of the composite materials allows the plane cabin to be pressurized at a higher level, making it seem as if you’re at 6,000 feet above sea level instead of 8,000 feet above sea level, as is typical on other aircraft. At that pressure, the air is better able to hold humidity, which means a less dry environment.
ANA became the launch customer for the 787 when it ordered 50 planes in 2004. Initially, the airline was frustrated by repeated delays in Boeings schedule, which was pushed back several times. However, after flying the planes over the past year, ANA recently upped its order.
The fact that they placed more orders in the last two weeks (to 66 airplanes) shows how good their experience has been with the 787 and says a lot about its long-term success, says Larry Loftis, vice president and general manager of the 787 program for Boeing.
Susumu Sato, general manager of ANAs U.S. engineering office, says the 787 is also deployed on a Tokyo-Frankfurt route and will soon be added to a Tokyo-San Jose route. A lot of people want to ride the 787, says Sato. We think its going to be good for business.
Monday’s cancellation was yet another embarrassment for Boeing and its highly touted Dreamliner. But it was also a PR nightmare for ANA, whose website indicated the 24-hour delay hours before passengers at Sea-Tac Airport were actually informed.