"A day to celebrate the 787"
 

So says Airbus CEO, according to Reuters:
"Even if tomorrow Airbus will get back to the business of competing vigorously, today is Boeing's day -- a day to celebrate the 787," Airbus chief executive Louis Gallois wrote in a letter to Boeing CEO Jim McNerney in a letter made public by Airbus on Sunday.

http://www.newairplane.com/

I watched the rollout live on DirecTV channel 576. It was a pretty boring event on TV, though I'm sure it's much better in person. ;)

I saw it also over the internet and it was a complete bore. I wanted to see the plane but all they did was show an hour of crap leading up to the plane which was about 5 mins. I wish they had shown the plane for the hour.

A few reactions to the website's tour of the plane:

1. Like more overhead space but wonder just how tall you'll have to be to actually reach into or close the compartments. That guy looked like a basketball player.

2. Most of the views are into what for-sure looks like first or business class. There are a couple of close shots of one 3-across row, but the pax are smiling so it must be wonderful, right? Of course, Boeing isn't who decides how many rows and how close together they are; it's the airlines. Wonder what a "real" coach view would be like.

3. Love the idea of bigger windows, but what -- pray tell -- is the point of taller windows instead of wider windows? So we can see the UFOs accompanying us overhead? And wonder if the "bigness" is more a function of the framing indentation than the actual surface space of the "glass." Finally, bigger windows don't add much if they're further apart, rendering misaligned rows in a blind spot against the wall.

4. Do we all have to move in slo-mo once we're on board? Like on the moonshuttle in the movie "2001"?

1. I don't think it'll be much different from the current 777s, which also have high ceilings and huge bins. I am only 5'4" and I have no trouble with the 777 bins.

2. The 3-across rows you see are from the early Boeing mockup with 3-2-3 seating. No airline is ordering that configuration. Most are going 3-3-3, some 2-4-2.

3. Looking at the exterior pictures, I don't think the windows are spaced further apart. And I don't see what the problem with taller windows - they are there to let light in, and make the cabin feel more spacious.

Actually, I think the irony is that many airlines are moving herringbone or cubicle layouts in business class cabins, and most windows are blocked. Bigger window will not matter much in those designs.

Not saying taller windows are a problem, just questioning how much of a benefit they really will offer -- other than more light, which some people actually don't want.

Also have noticed from the exterior that, like the 757, 767, and 777, very few coach seats (if any) will be located in front of the wing. Consequently the only thing most coach window seats will see will be the engine, the wing, or maybe, if far enough back in the tail, they can see under the wing to the ground.

Have to say, though, that I like the curvature upward of the wing -- if that's in fact what it will do in flight. Kind of reminds me of the old Lockheed Constellation Tri-Stars, which had a dolphin-like curved fuselage.

I always look out the windows to see the terrain mid-flight, often taking pictures. But I'll say that most often I don't see anybody else doing the same.

These days, pilots don't even care or bothered, to tell you the route or what's out the window anymore. Especially on planes with IFE, as the announcement interrupts the program.

My point is that windows are mostly to let light in, not to look out of.

I heard Boeing is now calling it the Squeezliner instead of the Dreamliner because everyone who orders it is configuring 3x3x3.