B787 offers new level of comfort

Kiyoko Furusho kept her moisturiser in her bag while flying on the first commercial Boeing Co. 787 flight. "My skin usually gets very dry when flying and I have to put it on every hour or two," said the 56-year-old housewife, who flies to New York every year. "But here the air is much more humid." All Nippon Airways, which operated the 787 flight to Hong Kong yesterday, and Boeing have touted the onboard environment, wider cabin and bigger windows as key advantages for passengers from the fuel-efficient plane. A fuselage made of high-strength carbon-fibre technology also supports a higher level of cabin pressure, reducing the discomfort travellers can experience on takeoff and landing. "My ears don't pop on this plane," said Tomoko Monjugawa, a 51-year old Tokyo office worker, who was on the first trip. Flight NH7871 touched down in Hong Kong about 4pm after a more than three hour flight from Tokyo's Narita airport. There were 240 passengers onboard, including about 90 journalists, said ANA spokesman Ryosei Nomura. The Tokyo-based carrier held a lottery among frequent flyers for the chance to buy tickets on the 264-seat aircraft and sold some in charity auctions. The cabin of the 787 is 75cm wider than a Boeing 767 and it is fitted with bigger luggage compartments and energy-saving light-emitting diode lights, according to ANA. The plane also has windows as much as 47cm high and 28cm wide as the composite materials are able to support larger openings than traditional airframes.