Dreamliner: changing entire travel industry

Posted 05/10/2011

The long-awaited arrival of Dreamliner changed not only air travel but all aspects of the travel industry, according to some observers.

“You will not notice it by searching on Expedia (or Google, for that matter) or checking-in at your favorite hotel, or even boarding a flight, but the travel world changed this week,” writes Evan Konwiser in Tnooz.

“You have no idea what you've achieved," Boeing Executive Vice President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes Jim Albaugh told company workers in a ceremony commemorating the delivery of the first plane to Nippon Airlines.. "It's not often in a career or a lifetime we have a chance to do something like this."

"The 787 Dreamliner is the biggest innovation in commercial aviation since the Boeing 707 introduced the world to passenger jet travel more than 50 years ago," said Jim McNerney, Boeing chairman.

Just two important reasons:

“Because it’s also set to consign airsickness and jet lag to history,” say The Independent.

Konwiser, co-founder of FlightCaster and general manager of travel at Next Jump, and others point out that airline travel today is often as “cramped drudgery.” But the new planes should change all that.

Boeing spent an estimated US$32 billion and ten years of research by psychologists and architects to improve the passenger experience.

New airplanes have come and gone but the Dreamliner starts new era in aviation where the vehicle itself will impact booking decisions. There are several reasons:

 

 Ticket prices will not go down but once Boeing delivers the entire 800 units under its contract. And observers say prices are not likely go down. Better Fuel efficiency should encourage carriers to lower prices in the future, however.

By David Wilkening

 

 

Originally published 5 Oct 2011 at: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/398/f/5923/s/19092e94/l/0L0Stravelmole0N0Cstories0C11496430Bphp0Dmpnlog0F1/story01.htm