First 787 Flight BOS-NRT
Sep 23, 2015, 3:53 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: KBOS
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Global Entry
Posts: 78
First 787 Flight BOS-NRT
So I’m somewhat of an airplane geek (though my fiancee will probably disagree with the “somewhat” part), and this post will be detailing my first trip on a 787. I’ve been a fan of Boeing’s 787 “Dreamliner” for a while, and have been waiting for an opportunity to take a flight on one. This post may wander a bit, given that I’m pretty excited to take this flight, so I apologize for my ramblings in advance.
Japan Airlines has been flying a 787 into Boston from Tokyo for over two years, but I was unable to take one when flying back from Japan in 2012. I hoped that I would catch one on my next trip to Tokyo, since I’ve been wanting to go back from the second I took off from Narita to go home. However, my work travels are taking me to Singapore, and the best routing includes not just one, but two(!) trips on the 787! (*Note I had to re-route on the way back and my JL 787 flight was replaced with an AA 777
)
For those unfamiliar with the 787, it is a very technically advanced long-range, wide-body, airliner. The design is fundamentally different from any commercial plane before it as the 787 is made primarily of large carbon composite sections instead of aluminum panels. This design change allows for much larger windows, higher cabin humidity, and the ability to pressurize the plane to simulate a lower altitude than conventional commercial aircraft (all of which help you feel better on and after the flight). If you’re not bored of these types of details, and want to learn more, there is a plethora of information available a google search away.
Anyway, back to my trip. Right now I’m sitting on my first 787 leg from Boston to Tokyo sipping Japanese whiskey in business class (traveling internationally for work has it’s perks!). So far the 787 is living up to my expectations of it, though being in business class probably has something to do with it
I’m very impressed with both the service (but that’s more of a given since it’s not a US based carrier) and the plane itself.
-Overall Cabin/787 Features
The spaciousness of the cabin is very impressive. I think that there is both more actual space, and the impression of more room due to the much larger windows and the new overhead compartment design which seems to disappear more into the ceiling. The brightness of the cabin also made it feel larger, the walls of the plane were white (and factory fresh) which made it feel more airy (especially compared to the 767 I was on from Narita to Singapore, which felt much more like a cave). The use of LEDs is also great as it allows for more than just on/off/dim settings. The plane was accented with dark blue lights when we boarded, and towards our descent into Tokyo there was a simulated sunrise (orange-yellow-white transition of the cabin lights) as opposed to the normal “Sorry did I wake you by turning all the lights on in this plane?” you get when traveling trans-atlantic/pacific/and any red-eye. When walking around (which I made sure to do many times over the course of the flight), there was plenty of room to stretch in the main entryway, even with other passengers and crew. There is also less noise than I have experienced in other planes. On the flight back from Istanbul with K, we were sitting in about the same position in the plane (opposite the engine, just ahead of the wing) and the 787 seems (from the completely non-scientific method of trying to remember how loud the last plane was) somewhat quieter.
-Windows
Everyone likes windows, and the ones on the 787 are considerably larger than other planes. They are also different in that they do not have a sliding plastic window shade, and instead use a later of electrically controlled tinting material. This means that rather than having either open or closed, there is a range of tints from clear to dark blue-green. This is very nice for when it’s too bright out to leave the window open, but at the same time you want to be able to see outside. The downside to the windows (and although I’m a huge fan of the design, this is a pretty big flaw) is that they don’t get dark enough. When trying to sleep on the flight over I was on the sunny side of the plane, and even at full tint it was too bright. As you can see in the pictures below, the light/medium tint show up as blue, and the darkest tint is a still see-through greenish color
As you can probably guess, I didn’t get much sleep on this flight even though it was over 13.5 hrs mostly because I had the sun in my face for the entire flight…
-Lavatory
Ok, this might seem strange, “what could be so great about an airplane toilet?” is the response I would expect from many people. And most times you would be 100% correct in thinking that once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. This isn’t one of those times. Boeing did a really good job of making small, but thoughtful, design changes. For example, normally the doors have the strange hinge and narrow door, which requires the user to perform a square-dance just to get in. Not here, the door is much larger, and is pivots towards the middle to make an easy entry/exit. Also, the high ceiling height of the 787 is carried into the bathroom, making it not as claustrophobic as normal. Next, when locking the door, normally one is assaulted by the full power of the lavatory light coming on. The 787 uses LEDs rather than conventional bulbs, which allows the light to transition from a dim blue to bright white over the course of a second or so, giving eyes the chance to adjust. The last two features are good news for those who think lavatories are gross vile places (i’m not one to disagree in many cases). First, the toilet will only flush if the lid is closed (to help stop “stuff” from becoming aerosolized), and you don’t have to push a button, just wave in front of the sensor. Secondly, I’ve noticed that the time the faucet will stay on in an airplane is almost never long enough to rinse off the soap if you are washing your hands properly. Why did it take so long for an automatic sink to get installed in a commercial airplane? Well, it doesn’t matter because they did, and it is great.
-Service/Japan Airlines Specific Equipment
Not being able to sleep on the flight meant that I was able to fully enjoy the JAL business class experience. We departed on schedule at ~1:30pm, so I wasn’t sure when the first meal would be. Shortly after reaching cruising altitude we were given menus (like actual, legit menus) which gave us the option of either a Japanese multi-course meal, or a western multi-course meal. If you have to ask which one I chose, you probably don’t know me too well… Very quickly the dishes started to appear from the galley. (sorry the photo quality isn’t great, I was pretty hungry)
(Left: Sauteed Mushrooms & Eggplant Right: Prosciutto & Bocconcini Cheese)
(Too many things to list… most were very good)
(Miso Grilled Beef & Grilled Sea Bass “Yuzu” Flavor, with Miso Soup, Rice, & Pickles)
(Berry Compote with Sake Sabayon, and green tea)
There were also snacks and drinks available anytime by request, so I tried some Japanese whiskey (but you knew that already), French Riesling, miso soup, and before landing, a smoked salmon and cream-cheese wrap (which was pretty good).
-IFE (In-Flight Entertainment)
My lack of sleeping also meant that I was able to put the IFE system to the test. I had a large touchscreen on the back of the seat in front of me, and a nice version of the common wired remotes. The system worked great for most of the trip, although I did find it mildly annoying it would constantly ask what language I wanted when looking at the maps (if I chose English when I set it up, and I haven’t changed it, I probably still want it to be in English..!). I did have the IFE system crash on me twice. All of a sudden the screen went black and wouldn’t come back on. The first time I called a flight attendant who was able to restore it. The second time the person in front of my also had the same issue, and mine came back on when his did. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the system. However, since I’ve watched just about every movie they have to offer on the way over, I very much hope there will be some new movies on the way back….
-Seat
I think the seat is the last part of the 787 I have to review. JAL has equipped their planes wiht the “Shell Flat NEO” seat in business class. Its a very nice seat. While it doesn’t recline fully flat (I cannot comment on how flat it goes as I didn’t recline it all the way, but it was still pretty flat), it is a very comfortable seat to be in for 13hrs. There are some great features like water bottle holders, little spots for headphones and other smaller items (check out the link above for all the details). The one negative experience I had was when I managed to drop my iPhone into the seat. Try as I might, I just couldn’t find it! It hadn’t fallen through to the floor, so I thought it was lost forever. Luckily a helpful flight attendant (not to say that the other flight attendants were not helpful, they all were great) had a small flashlight, and we were able to see that my phone was wedged inside the seat. Luckily I hadn’t moved it the seat too much, and my phone is none the worse, save for a few small scratches on the plastic case (which I only got a few weeks ago, good thing I got one!).
-Overall
I was very happy with my first 787 Dreamliner flight, and felt pretty great when I stepped off the plane in Narita (or as great as one can feel after a 13hr flight without much/any sleep). I don’t know if it was a placebo effect (or more likely the business class effect), but I felt much better than I did after either of the 10hr flights to/from Istanbul the weeks before. I’m very much looking forward to my next 787 flight on the 27th, and hopefully to more in the future as it is a truly spectacular plane!
Cheers,
-N
** From My Blog**
Japan Airlines has been flying a 787 into Boston from Tokyo for over two years, but I was unable to take one when flying back from Japan in 2012. I hoped that I would catch one on my next trip to Tokyo, since I’ve been wanting to go back from the second I took off from Narita to go home. However, my work travels are taking me to Singapore, and the best routing includes not just one, but two(!) trips on the 787! (*Note I had to re-route on the way back and my JL 787 flight was replaced with an AA 777
)For those unfamiliar with the 787, it is a very technically advanced long-range, wide-body, airliner. The design is fundamentally different from any commercial plane before it as the 787 is made primarily of large carbon composite sections instead of aluminum panels. This design change allows for much larger windows, higher cabin humidity, and the ability to pressurize the plane to simulate a lower altitude than conventional commercial aircraft (all of which help you feel better on and after the flight). If you’re not bored of these types of details, and want to learn more, there is a plethora of information available a google search away.
Anyway, back to my trip. Right now I’m sitting on my first 787 leg from Boston to Tokyo sipping Japanese whiskey in business class (traveling internationally for work has it’s perks!). So far the 787 is living up to my expectations of it, though being in business class probably has something to do with it
I’m very impressed with both the service (but that’s more of a given since it’s not a US based carrier) and the plane itself.-Overall Cabin/787 Features
The spaciousness of the cabin is very impressive. I think that there is both more actual space, and the impression of more room due to the much larger windows and the new overhead compartment design which seems to disappear more into the ceiling. The brightness of the cabin also made it feel larger, the walls of the plane were white (and factory fresh) which made it feel more airy (especially compared to the 767 I was on from Narita to Singapore, which felt much more like a cave). The use of LEDs is also great as it allows for more than just on/off/dim settings. The plane was accented with dark blue lights when we boarded, and towards our descent into Tokyo there was a simulated sunrise (orange-yellow-white transition of the cabin lights) as opposed to the normal “Sorry did I wake you by turning all the lights on in this plane?” you get when traveling trans-atlantic/pacific/and any red-eye. When walking around (which I made sure to do many times over the course of the flight), there was plenty of room to stretch in the main entryway, even with other passengers and crew. There is also less noise than I have experienced in other planes. On the flight back from Istanbul with K, we were sitting in about the same position in the plane (opposite the engine, just ahead of the wing) and the 787 seems (from the completely non-scientific method of trying to remember how loud the last plane was) somewhat quieter.
-Windows
Everyone likes windows, and the ones on the 787 are considerably larger than other planes. They are also different in that they do not have a sliding plastic window shade, and instead use a later of electrically controlled tinting material. This means that rather than having either open or closed, there is a range of tints from clear to dark blue-green. This is very nice for when it’s too bright out to leave the window open, but at the same time you want to be able to see outside. The downside to the windows (and although I’m a huge fan of the design, this is a pretty big flaw) is that they don’t get dark enough. When trying to sleep on the flight over I was on the sunny side of the plane, and even at full tint it was too bright. As you can see in the pictures below, the light/medium tint show up as blue, and the darkest tint is a still see-through greenish color
As you can probably guess, I didn’t get much sleep on this flight even though it was over 13.5 hrs mostly because I had the sun in my face for the entire flight…
-Lavatory
Ok, this might seem strange, “what could be so great about an airplane toilet?” is the response I would expect from many people. And most times you would be 100% correct in thinking that once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. This isn’t one of those times. Boeing did a really good job of making small, but thoughtful, design changes. For example, normally the doors have the strange hinge and narrow door, which requires the user to perform a square-dance just to get in. Not here, the door is much larger, and is pivots towards the middle to make an easy entry/exit. Also, the high ceiling height of the 787 is carried into the bathroom, making it not as claustrophobic as normal. Next, when locking the door, normally one is assaulted by the full power of the lavatory light coming on. The 787 uses LEDs rather than conventional bulbs, which allows the light to transition from a dim blue to bright white over the course of a second or so, giving eyes the chance to adjust. The last two features are good news for those who think lavatories are gross vile places (i’m not one to disagree in many cases). First, the toilet will only flush if the lid is closed (to help stop “stuff” from becoming aerosolized), and you don’t have to push a button, just wave in front of the sensor. Secondly, I’ve noticed that the time the faucet will stay on in an airplane is almost never long enough to rinse off the soap if you are washing your hands properly. Why did it take so long for an automatic sink to get installed in a commercial airplane? Well, it doesn’t matter because they did, and it is great.
-Service/Japan Airlines Specific Equipment
Not being able to sleep on the flight meant that I was able to fully enjoy the JAL business class experience. We departed on schedule at ~1:30pm, so I wasn’t sure when the first meal would be. Shortly after reaching cruising altitude we were given menus (like actual, legit menus) which gave us the option of either a Japanese multi-course meal, or a western multi-course meal. If you have to ask which one I chose, you probably don’t know me too well… Very quickly the dishes started to appear from the galley. (sorry the photo quality isn’t great, I was pretty hungry)
(Left: Sauteed Mushrooms & Eggplant Right: Prosciutto & Bocconcini Cheese)
(Too many things to list… most were very good)
(Miso Grilled Beef & Grilled Sea Bass “Yuzu” Flavor, with Miso Soup, Rice, & Pickles)
(Berry Compote with Sake Sabayon, and green tea)
There were also snacks and drinks available anytime by request, so I tried some Japanese whiskey (but you knew that already), French Riesling, miso soup, and before landing, a smoked salmon and cream-cheese wrap (which was pretty good).
-IFE (In-Flight Entertainment)
My lack of sleeping also meant that I was able to put the IFE system to the test. I had a large touchscreen on the back of the seat in front of me, and a nice version of the common wired remotes. The system worked great for most of the trip, although I did find it mildly annoying it would constantly ask what language I wanted when looking at the maps (if I chose English when I set it up, and I haven’t changed it, I probably still want it to be in English..!). I did have the IFE system crash on me twice. All of a sudden the screen went black and wouldn’t come back on. The first time I called a flight attendant who was able to restore it. The second time the person in front of my also had the same issue, and mine came back on when his did. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the system. However, since I’ve watched just about every movie they have to offer on the way over, I very much hope there will be some new movies on the way back….
-Seat
I think the seat is the last part of the 787 I have to review. JAL has equipped their planes wiht the “Shell Flat NEO” seat in business class. Its a very nice seat. While it doesn’t recline fully flat (I cannot comment on how flat it goes as I didn’t recline it all the way, but it was still pretty flat), it is a very comfortable seat to be in for 13hrs. There are some great features like water bottle holders, little spots for headphones and other smaller items (check out the link above for all the details). The one negative experience I had was when I managed to drop my iPhone into the seat. Try as I might, I just couldn’t find it! It hadn’t fallen through to the floor, so I thought it was lost forever. Luckily a helpful flight attendant (not to say that the other flight attendants were not helpful, they all were great) had a small flashlight, and we were able to see that my phone was wedged inside the seat. Luckily I hadn’t moved it the seat too much, and my phone is none the worse, save for a few small scratches on the plastic case (which I only got a few weeks ago, good thing I got one!).
-Overall
I was very happy with my first 787 Dreamliner flight, and felt pretty great when I stepped off the plane in Narita (or as great as one can feel after a 13hr flight without much/any sleep). I don’t know if it was a placebo effect (or more likely the business class effect), but I felt much better than I did after either of the 10hr flights to/from Istanbul the weeks before. I’m very much looking forward to my next 787 flight on the 27th, and hopefully to more in the future as it is a truly spectacular plane!
Cheers,
-N
** From My Blog**
Last edited by Zinc_Saucier; Nov 10, 2015 at 7:51 pm Reason: Remove large images - please keep images to max width of 1024 pixels
Sep 25, 2015, 2:07 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Kent, UK
Programs: BA Gold, SPG Platinum, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,809
Zinc_Saucier,
Welcome to Flyertalk and thank you for posting your trip report. Unfortunately, the images that you posted are too large. I have removed them for now. If you'd like to add them back in, simply re-edit the post to include them. You can use the 'Preview Post' option to review the post before submitting it.
Thanks for your understanding.
matthandy
Moderator: Trip Reports
Welcome to Flyertalk and thank you for posting your trip report. Unfortunately, the images that you posted are too large. I have removed them for now. If you'd like to add them back in, simply re-edit the post to include them. You can use the 'Preview Post' option to review the post before submitting it.
Thanks for your understanding.
matthandy
Moderator: Trip Reports
Sep 28, 2015, 6:23 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: KBOS
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Global Entry
Posts: 78
Zinc_Saucier,
Welcome to Flyertalk and thank you for posting your trip report. Unfortunately, the images that you posted are too large. I have removed them for now. If you'd like to add them back in, simply re-edit the post to include them. You can use the 'Preview Post' option to review the post before submitting it.
Thanks for your understanding.
matthandy
Moderator: Trip Reports
Welcome to Flyertalk and thank you for posting your trip report. Unfortunately, the images that you posted are too large. I have removed them for now. If you'd like to add them back in, simply re-edit the post to include them. You can use the 'Preview Post' option to review the post before submitting it.
Thanks for your understanding.
matthandy
Moderator: Trip Reports
Nov 10, 2015, 7:56 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: KBOS
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Global Entry
Posts: 78
I also flew NRT-BOS in Y, and it wasn't bad (better than AA), only downside is that there is a IFE box under the seat. The new cabin with Y+ doesn't have these boxes (or at least my row didn't), and the Y+ seats are very comfy
Mar 14, 2016, 6:23 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: KBOS
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Global Entry
Posts: 78
I was on the left side in row 7, so the right is the right side (and where i've booked my next JL 787 seat)
Mar 17, 2016, 12:00 pm
#12
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: DCA
Posts: 7,769
Great report!
Not sure how I missed this when first posted but this is a very good one to see, as this route might have significant utility to me personally for future trips. BOS is one of the few international gateways that I can count on regularly finding AA award space to (it's often harder for me to find award space from DCA to JFK or ORD than it is to find TATL/TPAC partner space in a premium cabin). And, with the upcoming AA devaluation I'll probably be flying J more than F.
I know that a lot of people complain about the angle-flats but I don't sleep on flights so that doesn't really matter to me. More importantly, looks like this flight gets the usual great JAL service and catering. And maybe one day they will put different equipment on the route anyhow (I forget for which routes that is in the works).
Not sure how I missed this when first posted but this is a very good one to see, as this route might have significant utility to me personally for future trips. BOS is one of the few international gateways that I can count on regularly finding AA award space to (it's often harder for me to find award space from DCA to JFK or ORD than it is to find TATL/TPAC partner space in a premium cabin). And, with the upcoming AA devaluation I'll probably be flying J more than F.
I know that a lot of people complain about the angle-flats but I don't sleep on flights so that doesn't really matter to me. More importantly, looks like this flight gets the usual great JAL service and catering. And maybe one day they will put different equipment on the route anyhow (I forget for which routes that is in the works).
Mar 17, 2016, 1:46 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: KBOS
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Global Entry
Posts: 78
Great report!
Not sure how I missed this when first posted but this is a very good one to see, as this route might have significant utility to me personally for future trips. BOS is one of the few international gateways that I can count on regularly finding AA award space to (it's often harder for me to find award space from DCA to JFK or ORD than it is to find TATL/TPAC partner space in a premium cabin). And, with the upcoming AA devaluation I'll probably be flying J more than F.
I know that a lot of people complain about the angle-flats but I don't sleep on flights so that doesn't really matter to me. More importantly, looks like this flight gets the usual great JAL service and catering. And maybe one day they will put different equipment on the route anyhow (I forget for which routes that is in the works).
Not sure how I missed this when first posted but this is a very good one to see, as this route might have significant utility to me personally for future trips. BOS is one of the few international gateways that I can count on regularly finding AA award space to (it's often harder for me to find award space from DCA to JFK or ORD than it is to find TATL/TPAC partner space in a premium cabin). And, with the upcoming AA devaluation I'll probably be flying J more than F.
I know that a lot of people complain about the angle-flats but I don't sleep on flights so that doesn't really matter to me. More importantly, looks like this flight gets the usual great JAL service and catering. And maybe one day they will put different equipment on the route anyhow (I forget for which routes that is in the works).
Mar 17, 2016, 4:55 pm
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: KBOS
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Global Entry
Posts: 78