It’s not as big as the 747, and it looks like, well, a plane – but it’s
what it does that counts. It uses 20 per cent less fuel than previous
planes, largely because the traditional aluminium frame has been
replaced with a composite of carbon fibre, aluminium and titanium.
If this sounds like aero-babble – and you do hear your fair share
during a few days with Boeing – for you as a passenger, the point is
this: as the 930 Dreamliners on order enter the market (there
were 61 flying at the time of writing), long-haul flights will get more
plentiful, cheaper and more comfortable.
It’s the last bit that will probably impress you the most. I flew on
Norwegian’s first Dreamliner flight from Seattle to Oslo and it was
a different experience to any flight I’ve taken, notwithstanding the
celebratory Champagne and seafood platter.
»
Previous page
and below left
⁄
A
787 Dreamliner nears
completion at Boeing’s
Everett factory, north of
Seattle
Right
⁄
Skin repair
specialists Tom Stanton
and Don Mittelstaedt, who
check the 787’s exterior
at Everett
Below
⁄
A Boeing
employees credit
union ATM
Bottom
⁄
Everett
wing
mechanic Robert Perry,
who works on 787s and
the 747 jumbo jet (in the
background)
“It’s by far the
smartest plane
we’ve ever seen”
The tour
guide
Eileen Dickson has
been giving tours of
Boeing’s Everett factory
for most of 27 years
and while she could be
a comedian she still
hasn’t got used to being
photographed. “Every
time I have my picture
taken, my mother shows
up,” she complains,
before enquiring if
there’s “anything I can
do about the double
chin”. Nevertheless,
she’s a fountain of
knowledge about the
Dreamliner and the
factory. “There’s no
heating or aircon in the
factory,” she says. “In
winter, they blow the
hot air down after it
rises to the roof.”
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