I was excited when I saw the first 787 Dreamliner on the ground at the Boeing factory in 2009 and equally delighted when I saw an Air India Dreamliner take off as the first commercial 787 in Australia, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to get up close, really close, and tour Australia’s newest aircraft before it takes to the skies on scheduled commercial services on 13 November – Jetstar’s Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.
I was invited by a Qantas staff member to the Qantas and Jetstar Family and friends day to tour the aircraft at the Qantas Jetbase at Sydney Airport. Qantas is the parent company for the low cost carrier, Jetstar and with this initial 787 Dreamliner, the first of 14 for Jetstar, being based out of Melbourne, it was a rare opportunity for Sydneysiders to inspect the aircraft both inside and out 🙂
It was amazing how close we were all allowed to get to this brand new aircraft, right under the fuselage and peering into the wheel bay was a pretty cool experience,
The fuselage is made up of composite materials which make the aircraft lighter thus using less fuel.
One of the engines casings were open so all could view the inner workings of the massive jets which with their advanced technology consumes 20% less fuel, produces 20% less CO2 emissions and are among the quietest jets in the sky.
Jetstar claims these factors – the lighter more fuel efficient aircraft, will help the carrier maintain its position as having ‘All day, every day, low fares’
As I made my way up the steps past the front of the aircraft, to get my first glimpse inside, I couldnt help thinking how ultra-modern those sleek lines of nose looked, yet also reminiscent of the first commercial jet in service in the 1950’s the De Havilland Comet.
After walking through a spacious entry area it was into the Business Class which is, as mostly usual, in the forward cabin of the aircraft with the 21 recliner seats in a 2-3-2 layout.
Directly behind the Business Class cabin is a discreet economy cabin, seating 27 passengers in a 3-3-3 configuration of two rows on the right hand side, three rows in the middle section and four rows on the left hand side. These seats are known as ‘up front’ seats and will be an additional cost.
The first thing you notice when you enter the main cabin is the incredible spaciousness, brought about by many factors, but mostly the larger oval windows, the LED lighting giving off a feel of natural light and the higher overhead bins.
With the higher overhead luggage bins, from the outside they appear to hold less space. But they hold more than usual as they close up and away into the ceiling leaving more overhead space throughout the cabin.
The windows on the 787 Dreamliner are large – much larger than any other aircraft – and give almost everyone on the plane a view outside. There are also no window shades but at the touch of a button the window can be tinted between 5 different shades. One of the flight attendants showing me around this aircraft also mentioned that the tinting can be overridden by the flight attendants to adjust all windows to the same tint.
The seats in both Business and Economy all come with seat back entertainment, however, being a low cost carrier – expect to pay!
The Jetstar 787-8 Dreamliner will enter commercial scheduled services domestically from Melbourne to the Gold Coast and Melbourne to Cairns from 13 November until it goes into service on International routes from 18 December with the first service flying from Melbourne to Denpasar Bali.
I am super excited to announce I’ll be onboard one of the inaugural domestic flights so stay tuned!
Matty Somewhere 
YAY for you! I love how much you love planes! I know that if I ever have an airline question, I can just ask you! 😀