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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."
Would love to see this in person!
ANA isn't an American carrier (or wasn't last time I flew on them)
Geology - it's not rocket science; it's rock science
In Soviet Russia, Boeing 787 Makes YOU Debut !
Flourescent (adj): smelling like ground wheat.
I was worried at first, until I saw that the airport was named after the at least somewhat sane one.
TFA didn't say "Debut with an American carrier", it said "US Debut".
Of course, since it is made here, it has been flying in the USA for years - but they ignore that fact as well.
But do the windows open?
A man spends the first half of his life accumulating stuff, the second trying to get rid of it all.
Getting a bit of deja vu here. Looks like they'll be counting it as a first everytime this plane takes off. First for an American carrier, first time at night, first time with a special guest aboard, first flight with ground fog, etc.
Watching the "Passenger Experience" video it was almost obnoxious how much attention they kept giving the ceiling lighting, but looking at the different settings for the dynamic LED lighting it is actually pretty cool. I like that it not only changes the brightness but also the color of the cabin for things like meals and pre-landing.
Did they upgrade the staff with all new attitudes and customer service skills? Otherwise I'd rather be on another carrier's older plane.
Are they afraid you might go blind from the sun or something?
Its so the passengers can better enjoy the in-flight entertainment. Especially on planes that don't have seat back monitors.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
I actually work for the company that manufactures the windows (Gentex) and I only have a little experience working with the windows, but I do know that there is a master control for the dimming level. Also, there are 5 different dimming levels so it's not just full dark and full clear. I think with the master control there is also the ability to limit the selectable dimming levels. So the flight attendants or whoever gets to control it could require you to set it to at least dimming level 3 and you'd still be able to look out of the window.
It turns out there was some poor guy at United Airlines refreshing this web page for months:
What's worse, when the plane finally arrived, it was packed in a giant welded plastic clamshell. It took two weeks for a crew at the airline to extract the aircraft without damaging it.
Airplane manufacturers don't control seat width; the airlines are the ones who define that. The 787 is wider than other airplanes in its size class and Boeing had intended for that to be reflected in the seats. Instead, airlines chose to cram in two more passengers per row.
Unless you're very overweight, the span of your shoulders is the widest part of the human body. There's only so much that can be accomplished when seats are made narrower than the average shoulder width, and seat pitch is so short that even modestly tall people (I'm 6'0") have their knees touching the seat in front of them even when seats are upright and fully locked.
Business/first is an option, of course, but it's not available on the regional jets that have made such huge inroads in American air transport.
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.
paintball
,.. 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.
If you want darkness, wear this
If you want silence wear these
In fact, get both
But don't tell me I can't look out the window
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
I've had plenty of flight attendants ask me to close my shade when it was only open a crack. With the shade, the light is always at full brightness, so they have to tell you to close them so that others can sleep. This way, they can dim the windows to a lower setting, but you'll still be able to see out of them. It'll also be a lot easer on your eyes, since you won't have to stare into the blinding light from a dark cabin. This gives both you and the flight attendant more control.
All I want is some godammed leg and elbow room.
And in a bit of conspiracy thinking, I wonder if the cabin crew has a master switch to force the windows to darken when they want - Hello Zaphod's Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses!
They always tell you to open the shades fully when taking off or landing because the cabin lights may fail and you need to see outside in the event of an accident. If anything the master switch would be for forcing them to fully transparent.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
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.
http://www.glassdoor.com/GD/Salary/United-Airlines-Flight-Attendant-Salaries-E683_D_KO16,32.htm?filter.experienceLevel=TEN_PLUS/
$84k:
try $48K at most.
12-15 days off per month (average):
not if you want that $48K: More like 10 days off...
free travel for you and your family:
There's never any "space available" for those pesky employees. It's nothing but an enormous waste of time to even try.
big discounts on rental cars and hotels
You get the same thing we do...
per diem of $3k-$5k per year:
What? Do you think dining on the road is cheap- you must not travel much. That doesn't even cover it. Take a look next time, most of them carry a cooler full of food with them.
tuition reimbursement, matching 401k:
YGTBSM. Maybe at Southwest, but even with them 401K's are the only retirement.
pensions:
GONE, GONE, GONE. After telling us to take MASSIVE paycuts to save them- tremendous bait and switch. We were totally suckered. Live and learn...
Of course, airline pilots making up to $200k per year and all the above is a pretty good deal too.:
IAAAP (I am an airline pilot) and I don't even make half that- after 17 years. From the devil itself:http://blogs.wsj.com/middleseat/2009/06/16/pilot-pay-want-to-know-how-much-your-captain-earns/. Not everybody gets to be Captain, and it take years to make it. Oh yeah, they keep raising the retirement age: moving the line ever so further away...
Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?
Citation needed..
ich bin der musikant
mit taschenrechner in der hand
kraftwerk