Flew on a 787 from DEN to NRT today…
FLT 139 was over an hour late getting out due to a ‘computer glitch’ in the cockpit, there was a ‘warning’ on the TTY that they couldn’t clear and had to call a senior maintainer to get it finally fixed…
Nickyneat little ‘personal’ screen in the seat back of the seat ahead of you. Problem is the system died on takeoff and it took over an hour and a half of the FAs screwing with it to get it to come back up… (Appears to be a known problem)
Quieter??? Maybe, but I’m half deaf… And people were playing with the windows for about 15 minutes.
Smoother ride??? It’s a more ‘squishy’ ride, kinda like an old Super Connie or a B-52. All the wing flap makes for some interesting side to side motions rather than the up/down motions. I went back to the tail during one set of bumps, and there IS a significant improvement over the Airbus and it’s frantic tail motions trying to stabilize the airplane with rudder/elevator movements. Bottom line, it still bumps and bounces just like all the other airplanes. 
If you ain’t the lead dog the view doesn’t change… Only positive, better overhead bins that you can actually FIT rollaboards in. And the seats are a tad bit better, more like the seats on the Shinkansan in Japan, the seat bottom rotates slightly in conjunction with the seat back to give one a little bit of repositioning. So that takes the seats from a 2 to a 3 on a scale of 10…
The aisles are VERY narrow, leading to anyone walking by bumping folks sitting on the aisles unless they sidle down sideways. Got banged by the serving cart, got a big bruise coming on my knee; FA didn’t give a rats ass… No surprise… It was “MY” fault…
Way too much of this…
Finally… Typically lousy food, supposed ‘chicken’ had no identifiable parts that ‘I’ would call chicken. Typically grouchy older flight attendants, the younger ones seemed to be at least trying to provide good service.
Bottom line, another cattle car… A little newer, but at least it’s a Boeing…
Oh yeah, and I get here just in time to get smacked with a typhoon…
Typhoon Wipha… Max winds 105 kts, the eye is expected to ‘miss’ us by 10 miles…
Sigh…
” Typhoon Wipha… Max winds 105 kts, the eye is expected to ‘miss’ us by 10 miles…”
So just another day on my range then huh? LOL
You’re the first person I know (other than flight test crews) who’s flown on a 787.
I think it will get better with time, but “comfort” in air travel these days is more about how much you pay for the seat-class you’re in than anything else.
And ‘cattle car’ seating is never any pleasure!
Interesting to see a first-person review of the new plane. I hate flying, but driving takes way more vacation time than I have available.
Driving to Hawaii also results in a flooded engine.
Thanks for the update. I do remember a time when you had to be Alpha rating to be an FT on international routes. At least on US carriers that seems to have gone away.
I don’t miss that traveling one little bit.
I so hate traveling. And I’m so glad that the kids are only about 1 1/2 hours by air. Although annoyed that I spend way more time than that at the airport.
First class is good. Nothing else is.
FD- At least the winds are CONSISTENT… LOL
drjim- Cattle car is cattle car… period…
Rev- True on the flooded engine… 🙂
Gerry- Nothing to miss these days; it’s not like when we grew up and people took PRIDE in being able to travel
PH- I’m getting there- Yesterday was only a 12 hour flight.
LL- True, needless to say, ‘I’ don’t get that privilege…
“Cattle car”, that figures. Don’t miss airline travel at all. I especially don’t miss DIA security. Those people would be hard pressed to run a two car funeral.
Being over 6′ and comfortable will never happen in the cattle car. As LL said, 1st class is better, more roomier.
This post is giving me flashbacks.
Stay safe.
Cattlecar in a 787 is one HELL of a lot better than a mesh seat on a C-124, which is how I flew into the land of the rising sun the last time. And food?? What food?
I’m 6’6″ and weigh 200 and *mumble-mumble* pounds.
I stopped flying years ago.
The Smarter Half and I drive to Fla. panhandle (1,000 miles one way) three times a year.
Yes, not flying limits our vacation options but we can’t afford 1st Class and I’ve not the self-control to deal with TSA.
*SIGH* I wish I had lived during the era of Pan Am’s China Clipper.
WSF- True dat… And they have NOT gotten any better…
CP- True, but it ‘does’ have a price tag attached… A BIG one!
BP- Sorry….
Roger- I’d take the damn C-124, at least you could smoke… and it HAD to stop for gas, which meant there was a ‘chance’ for food… 🙂
Stretch- Understood, but I can’t drive to my work locations and they won’t send me by ship… sigh…
I just took a 3-day pistol/carbine class from Graham Combat in Oak Harbor. Two of the guys in the class work at Boeing and went to great length to say that they DID NOT work on the “plastic planes”. The one’s they work on are made of metal! And neither one worked with the batteries……
I’m going to need to give you some $$ next time you go over. Sprog #2 who you met in Houston the flute player, well I’ve wanted to get her a japanese flute and not the cheap tourist garbage from e-bay. If you have a chance could see if you can find a price on a decent one?
And I refuse to fly anymore. Between the problems with flying with firearms to my back, the last time I flew from St. Louis to Corpus I was laid out for almost 10 days recovering.
Be safe sir.
Hey Old NFO;
That is why Delta is waiting to get the bugs worked out on the dream-liner. The 777’s are doing well along with the 747’s and A330’s. I see Delta buying some in about 7-10 years. You are correct that the skies ain’t soo friendly. I remember when people would dress up to fly. Now it is sweats and flipflops. When I fly, it is business casual at least.
I have to many metal parts and implanted metal so I don’t fly.
I could not take the TAs’s Bravo Serria
I do not miss flying at all. I use to love flying to Europe on the cheap (since I’m east coast based), and having a cheap European vacation. It was an adventure and fun! Now, I’d rather drive in CONUS to my destination, which is even more of an adventure.
I do miss the L-1011s and the DC-10/MD-11s.
Rick- Yep, LOTS of deniability going on at Boeing now… 🙁
Mark- Understood and I’ll check on the flute
Bob- Agreed, although ‘I’ like Airbus even less…
Rick- Agree with that too… I’m afraid I’m going to need some soon.
Jim- LOL, heard that! And the Stews were MUCH nicer looking back then!
Many years ago Dad and Mom were on a stretched DC9 [?], with Mom in the center seat and Dad on the isle. And the plane was flexing, up and down and … Mom really did not like to fly!
I used to do 15 – 16 trips a year inside the US. Usually two planes on a Sunday and two again late Friday. With another once-and-a-while mid-week. Now I’m willing to fly, but I just won’t go through the bs at airports.
OldeForce
I had the same thing happen to me on a PanAm flight a ways back. Flight attendant hit my knee and foot with the corner of the cart. Rather than give me a chance to pull both back into my seat space, she powered through my knee and over my foot. Needless to say I didn’t shed a tear when PanAm went tango uniform.
Interesting how the gimmicks on the new planes go up, but the comfort is either the same or worse. Work wants me to fly to Bahrain next year, and I’m fighting that tooth and nail. I may relent and fly to Spain. At least that’s only 8 hours.