70. Three Dreamliners: NH/AI/UA 787's in Economy to HND, MAA/BOM and SFO (August 2016)
In this TR, I covered the first 2 of 3 trips on different Dreamliners, with the final one on UA's non-stop SIN-SFO sector covered in the next TR.
I have always had a keen interest in the Boeing 787. Apart from cutting edge carbon fiber technology, the aircraft has many features to make travel more pleasant, like the lower cabin pressure, and large, electronically dimmed windows.
It is capable of amazing feats of endurance: the 789 can fly from SFO to SIN non-stop.
I had flown several 787's in the past. In fact, the first TR I ever posted on SQTalk featured the JAL 787.
Since that time, I had also flown on BA's 787 and did a short hop on QR.
But by the time of this trip, there were so many other 787 operators -- the vast majority of which had configured their Y cabin in 9-abreast 3-3-3 layout, unlike JAL, who configured their Dreamliner Y-cabins 2-4-2. I previously had wonderful experiences in JAL’s 2-4-2 economy cabin (Including this one on JL001), but I had yet to try the now de facto standard 9-abreast 787 Y cabin on a long flight.
What was the long haul experience like in these 9-abreast cabins? Did the new Dreamliner offer a new level of comfort for economy travellers, over current equipment like the 77W or A380? Or did the 3-3-3 layout snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by putting the squeeze on pax?
It never rained but it poured. On this series of trips, I got to check out the ANA 789 to Haneda, and then Air India’s 788 to Chennai, as well as from Mumbai to Singapore.
And shortly after that (In the next TR), the highlight of this series of flights was the opportunity to fly UA's 789 service on the longest route in United's network, SIN-SFO-SIN.
All flights in economy, and all flown in the space of 4 weeks.
This TR (and the next...) aimed to compare the 787 hard and soft products on these three very different airlines.
On long trips like these, one also had to eat as well, and I had Mrs yflyer along with me for the trip to Tokyo, where we did a little sightseeing, including a side trip to the old Tsukiji market, now closed for good...
There is extensive coverage of our visit to Tokyo, and also Bangalore and Mumbai...
... and many interesting meals along the way...
In this TR, I covered the first 2 of 3 trips on different Dreamliners, with the final one on UA's non-stop SIN-SFO sector covered in the next TR.
I have always had a keen interest in the Boeing 787. Apart from cutting edge carbon fiber technology, the aircraft has many features to make travel more pleasant, like the lower cabin pressure, and large, electronically dimmed windows.
It is capable of amazing feats of endurance: the 789 can fly from SFO to SIN non-stop.
I had flown several 787's in the past. In fact, the first TR I ever posted on SQTalk featured the JAL 787.
Since that time, I had also flown on BA's 787 and did a short hop on QR.
But by the time of this trip, there were so many other 787 operators -- the vast majority of which had configured their Y cabin in 9-abreast 3-3-3 layout, unlike JAL, who configured their Dreamliner Y-cabins 2-4-2. I previously had wonderful experiences in JAL’s 2-4-2 economy cabin (Including this one on JL001), but I had yet to try the now de facto standard 9-abreast 787 Y cabin on a long flight.
What was the long haul experience like in these 9-abreast cabins? Did the new Dreamliner offer a new level of comfort for economy travellers, over current equipment like the 77W or A380? Or did the 3-3-3 layout snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by putting the squeeze on pax?
It never rained but it poured. On this series of trips, I got to check out the ANA 789 to Haneda, and then Air India’s 788 to Chennai, as well as from Mumbai to Singapore.
And shortly after that (In the next TR), the highlight of this series of flights was the opportunity to fly UA's 789 service on the longest route in United's network, SIN-SFO-SIN.
All flights in economy, and all flown in the space of 4 weeks.
This TR (and the next...) aimed to compare the 787 hard and soft products on these three very different airlines.
On long trips like these, one also had to eat as well, and I had Mrs yflyer along with me for the trip to Tokyo, where we did a little sightseeing, including a side trip to the old Tsukiji market, now closed for good...
There is extensive coverage of our visit to Tokyo, and also Bangalore and Mumbai...
... and many interesting meals along the way...
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