Japan Fall 2011 Trip report III: Dreamliner Boeing 787 Inaugural

[Carfield]

Jetway



Now I will let the pictures do the talking… but I have to admit my initial batch of pictures were just bad because ANA set the aircraft to a mood lighting with the rainbow mode and I did not turn on the flash till later. The sun was already setting – early here, and the lack of sunlight just made most pictures blurry, so most cabin pictures will come towards the end, as I had ample time to take pictures on the way out.

New door design


Door 1R


Bar area in front of door 2


Headrest – fixed shell seats


Exit row 23 – third section


My seat 24K


Tight seat pitch – really awful and I hope long haul flights are not getting this tight seat pitch


Back of the seat – new personal TV – touchscreen


Tray table


Second cup holder

[Carfield]

Only in Japan – the pilot of this 787 was a super star! Lining up for his autograph and a photo op with him, and he even had an assistant passing out stickers (and I got them from her - using body language and I sensed the hesitation but I could not care less)



Here are the stickers



Flash and camera everywhere – TSA will have a panic attack if this is in the US
The only eye candy though is the Boeing 787

Inaugural gifts – Hiroshima lemons and magazines – I want the 787 souvenirs… LOL



Boarding started at 3:53pm and you can sense the excitement and everyone can’t wait to get on board. Families board first and these boys got attention from the captain. Premium class boarding was enforced, but not the priority boarding. Everyone was so enthusiastic about it and you could sense it in the air. I had never felt this kind of excitement before even on all the past inaugural flights in the US and even the Boeing 737-900 rollout in Boeing field. Everyone just got their huge camera out and shot away. Words just couldn’t explain the extraordinary occasion here. The rush to the plane was unheard and unseen of… Here is the close-up of the plane!




What a beautiful sight!

[Carfield]

Solo block stations
Lots of solo travelers



Beverage and snack station






Fast forward to an hour later
Gate 64 was in a full festival mode.


Departure screen


Flight information in Japanese


Flight information in English


Boarding pass machine updated with the flight information

[Carfield]

ANA Lounge at Haneda Airport – very nice lounge






Lots of seating areas

[Carfield]

A brief overview of the check-in area of ANA at Terminal Two Haneda


Lots of self-check in machines



Premium Check-in (Star Alliance Gold)



Flight information display system – full flight



Not much was happening in the check-in side, so I headed over to the lounge and gate area.

Gate 64 before the festivity – very calm and JA801A was sitting here getting ready for the afternoon flight


Boeing 787 sitting at gate



Boarding pass scanners – very efficient and good design – you can get the barcodes in various ways – cell phones, ANA IC cards and traditional boarding pass

[Carfield]

Publicizing various aspects of the cabin



Overhead bin display



Business Cradle set of course


Full-reclined position



Seat recline function


Side storage

[Carfield]

Engine


Old and new



The excitement was unbelievable in the air and it was actually quite a sight. Folks should really come experience it. Everyone, men and women, and boys and girls, were so happy to see Boeing 787 and it was definitely an event for locals. Lots of cell phones out too!

Another highlight of the day – Pokemon Peace Jet – ANA 773 – a kid’s favorite




Then I went to get a nice sushi lunch and then headed back to my room and downloaded all these pictures and getting ready for the flight, the third scheduled 787 flight and the inaugural scheduled 787 flight to Hiroshima.

Almost forgot – ANA has set up a booth in the end of the terminal, and it is a 787 booth featuring the videos (which can be seen online), but you got to experience the Business cradle seat in person! It is a very nice seat and for regional flights, they are excellent. It is not full flat but good cradle seat.

The main poster



The complete exhibition – not sure what it is, but sure you can find it in the website

[Carfield]

Then I spotted unusual activities at gate 64 and a number of spotters there! I was pretty sure that it was coming this way.




JA801A unfortunately used R/W34L for landing so no landing shot, but soon it was heading to stand 64.


Here comes the beauty!




JA801A, first 787 in commercial service, was doing well for all the charter and inaugural flights, and no need to pull out JA802A at all.

Lovely at Gate 64


Rainbow design


Tail shot



Curvy wing

[Carfield]

Part III – Dream in the Making




Flying the Dreamliner is perhaps every aviation enthusiast’s dream and being the first to fly 787 is an opportunity too good to pass by. I have struggled a bit because the cost was rather high especially the Yen has been extraordinarily strong but at the end I manage to pull it through and use award tickets for most of the long haul flights, and I think I did a pretty good job in making the best out of it. Of course, it would be nice if I flew the Oct 26 charter to Hong Kong, but that was not possible. Plan B was to fly one of the four flights on November 1, and of course the Okayama flight was my first option. Here comes the rant, ANA really has made it difficult for non-Japanese to book these flights, and the worst was that it gave no indication on their exact plans. At the end the Okayama flights were completely blocked because they were sold as a package through ANA holidays and only for Japanese residents. ANA should have made it clear from day one, and I should have gone straight to the Hiroshima flight and maybe I could get a RT, instead of just one way flight from Haneda to Hiroshima. However this is life, and I am actually not surprised on this Japanese orientation, but for an airline, which wants to inspire travel and creates an important global image, this 787 inaugural is indeed doing quite the opposite and leaves a bitter taste. ANA definitely scores the worst out of this whole inaugural experience.

November 1, 2011
NH 683 Tokyo Haneda to Hiroshima International Lv1615 Arr1745 Boeing 787-8 JA801A “Rainbow”
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...8QbNHDNy5bqT2Q

The morning here was filled with excitement and the observation deck was crowded around 11:30am, the scheduled arrival time of the Okayama flight. ANA does a good job promoting the 787 and plane spotting is a serious sport here, and you can see all kinds of camera equipment and my tiny compact digital camera is a bit out of place. The best thing about staying at the Excel Haneda is being able to access the deck all day long. Prior to entering the deck, I double-checked the status board and the plane was running thirty minutes behind. I guess fate has been made this way, and I remembered checking the status of my own flight in the morning, and it said gate 64 or 65, so I just walked over there because I spotted the Boeing 747-400D. ANA is the only airline, which uses the Boeing 747-400D designed for frequent short haul flights of the Japanese markets, as JAL retires their 747D fleet.

Observation Deck:





Some pictures of ANA Boeing 747-400D – possibly Okinawa bound (and I better catch some domestic flights soon before they are gone soon)