Japan Fall 2011 Trip report III: Dreamliner Boeing 787 Inaugural

[9V-SIA]

Thanks for sharing Carfield

I can hardly wait for SQ to start flying 787: higher cabin pressure & humidity will definitely be appreciated!

[9V-JKL]

Thanks carfield for the TR. I had been looking forward to it. I wanted to make the inaugural as well but as you said wrt to NH, the difficulty put me off but kudos to you for making it happen.

[jjpb3]

As always, a much-appreciated TR, Carfield. Thanks for sharing!

The seat pitch in Y looks ludicrously tight. I don't think the higher pressure can compensate for that sort of discomfort.

[globetrekker84]

Great TR. Love to see my baby flying out there now.

Don't forget that this is a domestic configuration, hence the tight configuration. On top of that, remember that these seats were designed in 2006-2007 (for a 2008 debut) and why they look out of date already.

[ORDnHKG]

Can't wait for your LH new F trip report ! As I am flying that route from the other direction also in F end of November, you are at right timing ! Just like previous when you just did OZ F on the 777, I followed right after you !

It seems NH really scale back for inaugural gift, bad economy ? I mean they spent so much money to advertised 787, but then nothing to gift pax on the first revenue flight ? Or is it all the gifts were given out on the NRT-HKG charter ?

Hopefully I can see what they have in the NRT-HKG charter in next month's Airline.

[StarG]

Thanks for the TR, Carfield.
Very detailed as usual.

[FN-GM]

Thanks for the report.

I noticed a mistake on the display at the gate. It says its a 787-800 - its a 787-8.

Thanks for taking the time to post this here

[viraj735]

Thanks Carfield for the fantastic read!

I am intrigued by the new window shades. I presume the cabin crew have ultimate control over these shades; with this in mind, can the passengers override a flight attendant's setting? This is a concern as I love taking photos of sunrises and sunsets however I'm afraid that I won't be able to remove the tint properly during PP if the flight attendants keep all the window shades dimmed which I'd presume would be the case on such flights?

[Carfield]

Well the long haul seats will have more legroom and I don't know you will see many changes coming up. These seats are the new generation of Y seats for ANA. The concept is good and with 34 inches, it will be nice. But for domestic, I think they should just go back to the old slim seats. Most flights are short, so recline function is not really that big of a deal. Most Japanese passengers are civilized enough and we won't have the recline fights.

The window shades... I think the F/A has the control over it but I am not sure if you can override it. They can possibly just tint all of them at the same time or remove the tint, but not sure... nonetheless, each airlines have different policies and only times can tell.

Yes the seats are sort of tight, but I am alright with it. I am a big guy myself, but legroom is more of a concern for me. I really thinking putting 3-3-3 is bad. Sometimes you don't want the airframe to be too wide or else the airlines will always find ways to make the seats more uncomfortable.

Thanks for all the kind comments!

Carfield