Boeing 787 Makes US Debut

thomas.kane writes "After years of delays, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is set to take off from Bush Intercontinental Airport this morning bound for O'Hare. Designed to make the flying experience 'revolutionary,' it is constructed from composite materials, has larger windows than previous jetliners, and high efficiency engines. United Airlines became the first U.S. carrier to take delivery; they've ordered 50, but due to processing delays, they only have 2 right now. Start looking for more to take to the skies early next year."

Comments

Awesome

[diemuzi]

Would love to see this in person!

Re:Awesome

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

I'd love to see United stop treating us all like shite.

HINT: Start with people, not with aircraft. Oh, and food service, too.

Re:Awesome

[localman57]

That's what everybody says. Then they go to travelocity, and fly with the lowest bidder. If more people wanted to pay more for a better experience, there'd be more first class seats in airplanes.

Re:Awesome

[kiwimate]

Yep, everyone says they want to be treated better. And have even lower fares. As well as full meals. And free movies. And no charge for baggage. But make it cheaper than it already is.

Do you see the problem?

HINT: If you want food service, pay more and fly first class.

Re:Awesome

[rubycodez]

funny, I go with the lowest bidder for airlines based in other parts of the world and the food, beer & wine, entertainment and courteous service are included. the US airlines *could* do it if money-grubbing scum weren't allowed to get away with excessivly lining their own pockets

Re:Awesome

[mosb1000]

United provides food service. It's just not "free." Of course, other airlines charge you for it too, they just include it in your ticket price whether you want the food or not.

Re:Awesome

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, the unions are killing the US airlines..

Except mysteriously for SWA which does just fine despite being union.

Re:Awesome

[Jeremy Erwin]

In this country, executives get paid for performance-- or at least for tweaking the stock price. Unions, with their incessant demands for decent working conditions, interfere with the creation of totemic representations of shareholder value.

Re:Awesome

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Yeah, the unions are killing the US airlines.

Your concluding statement contains a doctrinary truism. This hypothesis is not borne out by the evidence.

Experience on European flag-carrier and private airlines is qualitatively better than US service and amenities, in general and overall.

Surely, you don't propose that, somehow, European workers are less unionized than their American counterparts? I laugh at the thought!

Of course Asian premiere carriers also shame the US - so perhaps unionization is a red-herring, and may not be germane to the argument. But don't let that stop you from your neo-objectivist claims. I understand that they are impervious to empiricism. ;-)

That doesn't really show anything.

[raehl]

SWA may do fine as a business, but it doesn't do any better than other US carriers in terms of product or value for the customer.

If you compare US airlines to foreign airlines, foreign airlines (excluding Europe) have far better soft product (food, service, etc) because they are not saddled with the costs of an American labor force.

Re:That doesn't really show anything.

[Anonymous Coward]

Because more bonus money for executives is more important than the notion of anybody wanting to work an honest living earning a decent wage. When did a strong middle-class become the bad guy? It seems to me that you poor-but-aspiring and middle-class have a case of Stockholm syndrome, identifying with your capitalist captors as a survival technique. Well, you've already lost the battle. Go back to your Foxconn dormitory.

Hey, maybe if I repeatedly vote against my best interests, I too can be rich someday. A rich guy in a suit told me so on T.V!

Oh, and fuck you.

-- Ethanol-fueled

I'd care more...

[fm6]

,.. if flying hadn't become such a nightmare. I remember how excited I was the first time I flew as a kid. The last time I flew, the seat put my arse to sleep, and the guy in the next seat kept elbowing me as he worked on a PP presentation. The restroom was this tiny compartment I couldn't even stand up straight in.

I avoid flying at all costs. I'll probably never board a 787.

Re:Who cares about carbon fiber, bigger windows, e

[Phanatic1a]

No you don't. If that's all you wanted, you'd fly first class or business class and get it. What you want is more leg and elbow room and the same amount of money left in your wallet after you buy the ticket.