EVERETT, Wash.--"This will make some rock concerts pale by comparison," Boeing spokesman Tim Bader told me with a smile as we rode a company-hired bus to the long-awaited 787 Dreamliner launch event.
I knew this was a big event since, after all, the 787 is Boeing's biggest plane launch in years. But how big? I had no idea.
Well, let's just say that the event looks primed to do justice to the building it's being held in--the company's factory here, which is the world's largest building by volume.
Indeed, thousands and thousands of seats were set up for the event in order to welcome hundreds of media, thousands of 787 team members and other VIPs.
There's still a little while to go before the event begins--a countdown timer on the huge screen in front of us says 30 minutes to go. But the anticipation is rising, and there's a plane geek buzz going on that I've never felt.
Perhaps it's got something to do with the 787 that's under construction that everyone wandered by on their way in. A Boeing media escort told me that it will be 787 number two.
And if that's not product placement, I don't know what is.
SEATTLE--I was driving into Seattle from the airport today, on my way up to Boeing's Everett, Wash., factory--the world's largest building by volume--for the official launch of its brand-new 787 Dreamliner, when I saw something interesting off to the side of the highway.
For anyone who's driven in from Sea-Tac airport, the sight of Boeing Field on the west side of Interstate 5 is very familiar. But today, I noticed that the "Dreamlifter" was parked on the tarmac there. The Dreamlifter is the mammoth plane--it's a modified 747-400 with a huge hump--that flies in the 787's fuselage.
So this was a pretty cool sighting, I thought, given my destination. The only problem was that I was on the freeway and, well, that's not the safest place to take pictures from.
But I had a little time, so I jammed over to the nearest exit and backtracked, turned up a hill and drove around until I found a spot that looked like a promising place for a vista onto Boeing Field.
Sure enough, at the end of a dead end dirt road, I found it, on the other side of a fence, and through a wide swath of blackberry bushes and other weeds: a perfect view of the airfield and the plane.
Boeing's Dreamlifter is the plane that flies in the 787's fuselage.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)After yelling out some rather loud exhortations of my glee, I snapped off a few dozen pictures.
Then I noticed some small planes taking off and landing from the airfield, and as one of them taxied in, I was able to get it in the same frame as the Dreamlifter.
Boeing's Dreamlifter, which is based on the 747, dwarfs nearby small planes.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com)And, wow. Seeing the two planes in the same frame gave a pretty good sense of just how big the Dreamlifter really is.
Anyway, stay tuned for more coverage later today of the 787 launch event itself. It should be even bigger.
Just pack 'em in
(Credit: Airbus.com)I've always regarded the Airbus A380 with both awe and anxiety. I'm in awe of the technological achievement of producing the world's biggest airliner, even if it lacks the graceful lines of a 747. And though I'd fly on it if I had to sit on a cardboard box, I'm still anxious about spending 14 hours crammed into a coach seat hurtling through the air with the population of a small town. But according to an Airbus exec, 500 passengers is just a drop in the bucket compared with what the behemoth place could really carry.
Like this, but tighter
(Credit: Airbus)Speaking yesterday in Australia, Chief Commercial Officer John Leahy suggested that the A380 could be a viable option for budget airlines looking to fill hundreds of seats on the cheap. "We can do 11 abreast in coach," Leahy said. "Some have said we could split the cabins and have a high-density coach and full-service coach."
Though the plane currently is certified to carry up to 852 people (the average will be 400 to 525), stretched versions of the A380 that are currently on the drawing board could carry a mind-blowing 1,000 passengers. Wow.
Now just to give you some perspective, the 747-400 (the long-time gorilla of the sky) carries about 415 people, give or take a few. And that's in 10-abreast seating in coach. Just think about one airplane carrying double the number of bodies with each row having three seats on either side and five seats in the middle. Even with the A380's larger size, it absolutely would have a crowded feel. And here I thought Southwest Airlines was bad.
Now this is comfort
(Credit: Airbus)I'm not about to get alarmist about how the A380 would overwhelm airports. The 747 had its critics when it made its first commercial flight in 1970 but airports adapted to it in time. Yet, 1,000 people will no doubt be a logistical challenge and airports have made adjustments for the the plane already. Just think about that security line. And in any case, I'd much prefer this concept of an A380 first class with individual cabins.
Let's face it: Most of us, when we travel, will forever be condemned to ouch--er, coach--class. But we can dream, right?
(Credit:
Boeing Image)
Boeing has been teasing us for some months now with its promise of comfier airlifts in the 747-8 Intercontinental, an update of the now classic jumbo jet that's slated to enter commercial service in 2010. The interior is supposed to feel less like that of a plane and more like a room in your well-heeled neighbor's house. Some of the amenities include small bar tables and plusher seats. (Take a gander at scenes from the January unveiling: "Photos: Boeing's new way to fly.")
Now a unit of the aircraft giant, Boeing Business Jets, is talking up the 747-8 VIP. As the name implies, the emphasis is on "incomparable luxury" and "opulent features" including vaulted ceilings and video wall displays. And the company has the concept drawings to prove it.
(Credit:
Boeing Image)
The china and the tablecloth are a nice touch, but one hopes they'll reconsider the faux tome-laden bookshelves.
Including its Skyloft area, the 747-8 VIP has a little more than 5,000 square feet of cabin space and can carry 100 passengers.
Boeing says that it's already got four orders for the VIP jet from "undisclosed customers." Too bad Google's Larry and Sergei have already gotten themselves tangled up in that mess over the second-hand 767 they bought not so long ago.
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