So flew lax-Mel on the 25th on the 787. It was Walzing Matilda which the crew seemed very excited about - a very new one?
First the good
- crew were super enthusiastic and we were so well looked after. The girl who did the cooking came and introduced herself at the beginning and had a chat at the end, she said she was still getting used to the ovens which were much faster. I had scrambled eggs for breakfast and they were superb - she said she really made sure they cooked slowly (which of course is the secret to soft tasty scrambled eggs
)
Toilets are very small, but I could still change without issues. Cloth towels to start with, but changed to paper by the end. I actually think I prefer paper. We were in 3e and f, so used the forward toilet. Never much of a wait, even in the morning rush. Two more at the back.
As high lighted in the Ausbt review there are no storage bins over 2ef and 3ef. We only had a handbag and a small backpack between us, so we had no issues using the ones over on the side, but if you had a lot and the other passengers had a lot it could be difficult.
The rear galley had an array of snacks set up - dips, crudités, left over desserts, chips, fruit and the crew were quite busy bringing hot stuff out after people had a sleep. (Obviously supper was served after takeoff).
Mattress covers were already on the seats when we boarded, so very quick to go to sleep when you were ready.
TV screens were very crisp and clear and the user interface seemed easier to use e.g. just clicking on the plane icon brought up the map and you could bring that up and then go back to the movie.
Suites had bigger surfaces and much more inflight storage spaces. The lights were annoying. I put one on to fill in the landing cards and it threw the shadow forward, so you really couldn’t see properly.
The bed was nice and flat with no annoying droop anywhere.
The bad
Well we found it very claustrophobic- the layout makes it private, but because it is all so close together you really feel it is all on top of you. It isn’t, as you have plenty of space but it just feels unpleasant. The foot wells are what gives you the stretch space.
In order to give you a flat bed you have to lie with your feet and lower legs in the wells and that makes sleep unpleasant. I am fairly restless particularly on planes and every time I turned over I banged my feet on some part of the well and when I tried curling up so my feet weren’t in it, I then banged on all the other bits.
We are both 1.7 with Mr FM around 60kg and I am about 65kg, so we are not big, someone taller or heavier would find it even more of an issue, unless they were very peaceful sleepers.
The recline never seemed quite right - you couldn’t get your feet high enough, without the back being too reclined. Mr FM had the same problem.
As far as sleep quality goes I found the 747 on the way over was better and I would probably avoid the 787 in J again, although everything else was good. We do prefer F anyway, so maybe that coloured our view of the suite.
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