If only QF had some 787's by now

[bertflyer]

Just following a thread on Airliners.net about the first AA 787 in their new colour scheme:

First AA 787 Has Been Painted — Civil Aviation Forum | Airliners.net

and it got me thinking how great it would be to see some 787's in the QF colours :-|
Being Melbourne based I sometimes see up to 3 JQ 787 birds at one time at the airport, such a shame that we won't see a QF 787 for quite some time...

 

[samh004]

If QFi returns to profitability by next year, perhaps they'll consider taking those 789 options... who knows how long the wait will be, but it could be quick

 

[TomVexille]

Who ended up with the delivery slots that QF vacated?

 

[Quickstatus]

With new aircraft many seem to focus on the exterior of the aircraft - how it looks, how long, wingspan, MTOW, range, whats its made out of but often neglect the interior dimensions. Airlines market and spruik their new amazing aircraft with idea of new technology, lower emissions, amazing premium classes, but they will never show you pictures of actual economy class cabins and tell you how squishy it is. When they show you an economy class seat its a picture of a seat without any seats in front of it or they use a model the size of Kylie Minogue to give the impression of space. Have you noticed the models head never seem to go much above the height of the seat?


Many airlines are putting in a 3-3-3 config for 787 whY cabin which is only a little bit wider than an A330 at the arm rest but narrower than a 3-3-3 config in a 777. It will be like a 10 abreast 777 cabin. (Imagine a 10 abreast cabin in a VA 777 cabin)
I imagine a 3-3-3 config is narrower for each passenger than a 2-4-2 in an a330. It should be a bit wider than a 3-3-3- Air Asia A330 configuration - just

 

[Quickstatus]

Here is a jetstar 787 trip report in "Trip reports and trip photos"

despite the hype by the airline and manfacturer the proof is in the pudding and the reality is often just as bad as the existing offerings.

In the end so what if the aircraft is more fuel efficient, or longer range or made of space age plastic, or have super duper long wingspan, etc etc etc. (Though you might get bigger windows and more oxygen due to higher cabin pressure)

In any cabin especially whY the airline will always cram as many seats into the cabin as possible. (Remember the A380 hype of spacious lounges, double beds, showers and super spacious inflight bars and ever smiling always available cabin crew and the reality such as Row 36 on QF A380)

The vast majority of passengers choose an airline based on BFOD - best fare of day (especially once the hype settles down and reality sets in)


My JQi 787 impressions

It's certainly an OK aircraft and the big windows are nice, but overall I thought the JQ 787 was underwhelming.

The bad:
The worst parts of the JQ 787 are the Y-class seats and the narrow aisles. You are really squashed in Y. It seemed much worse in my view than the JQ A330 although at 31" pitch it's supposed to be the same. And with the 3-3-3 layout the aisles are incredibly narrow, so if seated at one you get bumped into all the time. And when the seat reclines, its bottom slides forward which takes away leg room - much like the horrible design that CX eventually abandoned.

The better:
The in-flight entertainment screen is good. And you are pushed so close to it that it seems like a cinema size. And the USB charger below the screen is handy. And the overhead bins are big - but they need to be with the 3-3-3 layout. Bathrooms are good with more controls working off proximity sensors. I wondered how easy they are to clean and how long they will last. The seat is really quite complex and must be a bit hard to properly clean.

The best:
The air systems and noise levels should be good too. It was not possible to tell on my flight (due to a very noisy technical issue) but everyone else says they are. The windows are good - not really wider but much taller. The electronic shading is interesting but some don't like the mirror effect that happens when they are fully darkened. The view you can get out of multiple windows when the aircraft banks is stunning.

Unfortunately, for me, the better and the best are more than offset by the bad: horrible JQ Y-class seating.​

 

[Austman]

I resemble that "Trip Report".

But I haven't tried the 787 in JQ's Business Class.