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ANA is also starting YVR - Haneda service next spring. It's with a 767 but am sure they'll eventually bring over the 87.
I flew JAL on a 787 last September and wrote a blurb on it when I tried to keep a travel-log.
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It’s an understatement to say that I was excited when I found out that I’d be flying on the new 787 on this leg of my journey — the 7 year-old me who loved everything about airplanes was suddenly alive again.
Yes, I know not everyone is as thrilled by airplanes as I am but in the off-chance that anyone is even mildly interested in why this particular plane is a big deal, here’s some information about the Dreamliner:
Boeing website
Wikipedia article
In addition to the technological advances in aerodynamics, increased fuel-efficiency and noise-reduction, generous use of composites, and revamping of the electrical architecture to replace pneumatic and hydraulic components of some systems — to name a few things — the 787 is claimed to be leagues ahead of previous airliners in cabin comfort.
Much to my dismay, I was unable to get a window seat on this flight; hopefully I will on my return. I did however get a seat against the bulkhead which meant enough legroom for my 6'+ frame. What a relief. I can’t express how impressed I was by the cabin, even though I was seated in the economy class. The 2-4-2 configuration gave noticeable extra width in the seats and aisles in comparison to the 767 I flew on earlier that had a cabin width of 15’6” compared to the 787’s 18’.
Air quality was significantly superior, though that could also be because this particular airframe is only a couple months old. Although the specifications tell me that the cabin is pressurized to 6,000 feet instead of the standard 8,000 feet, I won’t claim to have been able to discern anything related to comfort in that respect.
Of all the new things hyped about in the cabin, the mood lighting and new windows did not disappoint. When on a long-haul flight, there’ll be the people who keep their window shade closed the entire flight and others who will keep it open until the flight attendant pesters them to close it for everyone else’s comfort. Fear no more, for Boeing solved that problem! The windows — which are significantly larger allowing a far nicer view outside — have variable tint (or auto-dimming, “smart-glass”, electrochromic, whatever you want to call it). Each passenger can adjust the darkness of their glass and the crew can control every single window themselves, too.
The mood lighting is quite something, too. In combination with the new windows, the entire atmosphere in the cabin is changed, unable to be disrupted by the sun at 40,000 feet glaring through a single unruly passenger’s window.
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