Boeing 787 Dreamliner Arrives in Thailand

[emilyb]

I suspect that it first flew in the USA, where it was assembled, rather than in Thailand.

Yes. Surely it flew in America first. In terms of where it flew with passengers first, ANA took delivery of its first 787s a few months ago (and has been flying routes with them since, I think, August?). ANA was the first carrier to put the 787 in service, so it is a bit of a testament to how Greyhound bus-like the American market has become that an Asian carrier grabbed the first of a new model off the assembly line. ANA was also the first carrier to wreck a 787, albeit in a pretty minor way that's totally forgettable other than noting the occurrence.

The 787 started off a lot cooler than it ended up, though the assembly (as has been described) is pretty interesting. What wasn't mentioned is that several of the vendors couldn't supply the parts Boeing needed on time, so Boeing had to buy the companies and make them in-house suppliers - this was responsible for a big chunk of the delays. The big thing about the 787 is that the wing was, for the first time, outsourced - to guess where...who got the first plane? Wing design and manufacturing has traditionally been a carefully guarded part of the process, so that was a honking deal in the industry.

Edited February 10, 2012 by emilyb

[ginjag]

Tombkk #52

Sounds like you beat me to the Job, You were at the meeting therefore you had a better chance of it. After answering your snide remark, you never mentioned if any of the 20 year old 747s had been re furbished, and according to posters they have NOT. having had at least 10 years out of date so the refurb was well overdue last year. Where are the new planes that were arriving ???? A380s---777ers. The boss said these were on the way. You didn't mention those that had been cancelled did you, or the ones that had been delayed=deferred. Since last year an announcement came on T.VISA that of the loss of was it billions. In their favour I did see that they had leased from an Indian company 777ers for the Ausie-Asian routs. A little bit to answer, but I guess you would not cover all. But with being at the meeting you should know what has been shelved. I am not promoting them like you-as a Royal Orchid member I did take interest, and I'm trying to find out what has happened since the meeting, I know what was planned, and that's all you have answered up to now.

[ginjag]

Doubtless the savings in fuel will be passed along to the passenger...

It would probably be put into the path of making TG profitable again.

If you mean to say that TG is too expensive, think for a moment. If they were consistently too expensive for the market, they would lose customers to the extent of flying empty.

Supply and demand determine the price, and while the price might be too high for you, other customers still choose to fly TG at the prices they offer. If the seats are upgraded and the fleet rejuvenated, I'll go back to using more TG flights again.

OK the new planes, if they are delivered will all have arrived by 2017, so big losses will be on the cards until then, as 1.or2 deliveries will not bring Thai back into profit. TG is too expensive for what you get, passenger numbers have dwindled. You also said IF the seats are upgraded, earlier it was announced last year that they would be, How many have been ???? If they have I will be more than pleased to hear it. Passenger reports suggest more ex pats are now NOT flying TG as before, and non have reported the new refurb on the European flights.

[shunima]

This is what it the retro liveried Thai 747 really looked like climbing out of Heathrow in December.

I believe it's not retro livered. They just peeled off the newer paint and now its back to the look of the first day it was delivered to them.

[shunima]

What's all the fuss about this aircraft?

I'm sure the airlines will again pack as many seats as possible into economy class, so you won't miss the nice feeling of your legroom shrinking to zero when the pax in front makes full use of the reclining capability of his seat.

- And when the seat in front, in economy is fully back, you can't use your notebook, read a newspaper etc.

- And will these aircraft have individual movie screens in economy? Still waiting for that on Thai.

- And if this is the standard, nobody would use TG,. In fact, I prefer TG over LH when flying to Germany, because TG has the much wider pitch between the rows.

- Yes, all TG aircraft will have individual screens. The existing aircraft are being refurbished (unfortunately, this will still take some time), and new aircraft will be equipped with them from the beginning. Khun Piyavasti is well aware of the current weaknesses and why people choose certain Middle-East airlines.

Remark: Unlike my other post, this one is about economy class.

I prefer OS or KLM over both TG and LH as the pricing is almost the same, IFE and food is better and there's actually no problem to connect through VIE or AMS. If KLM could retrofit its whole 747 fleet why can't TG?

[MikeOboe57]

What's all the fuss about this aircraft?

I'm sure the airlines will again pack as many seats as possible into economy class, so you won't miss the nice feeling of your legroom shrinking to zero when the pax in front makes full use of the reclining capability of his seat.

- And when the seat in front, in economy is fully back, you can't use your notebook, read a newspaper etc.

- And will these aircraft have individual movie screens in economy? Still waiting for that on Thai.

- And if this is the standard, nobody would use TG,. In fact, I prefer TG over LH when flying to Germany, because TG has the much wider pitch between the rows.

- Yes, all TG aircraft will have individual screens. The existing aircraft are being refurbished (unfortunately, this will still take some time), and new aircraft will be equipped with them from the beginning. Khun Piyavasti is well aware of the current weaknesses and why people choose certain Middle-East airlines.

Remark: Unlike my other post, this one is about economy class.

The layout of the A380 shows that Air France and Lufthansa cram the most seats in their economy class. Anyway, here is a survey for those interested in the most comfortable cattle class:

http://www.smarttravelasia.com/economy.htm

There is a reason why airline commercials never show their economy class...

[tombkk]

Doubtless the savings in fuel will be passed along to the passenger...

It would probably be put into the path of making TG profitable again.

If you mean to say that TG is too expensive, think for a moment. If they were consistently too expensive for the market, they would lose customers to the extent of flying empty.

Supply and demand determine the price, and while the price might be too high for you, other customers still choose to fly TG at the prices they offer. If the seats are upgraded and the fleet rejuvenated, I'll go back to using more TG flights again.

OK the new planes, if they are delivered will all have arrived by 2017, so big losses will be on the cards until then, as 1.or2 deliveries will not bring Thai back into profit. TG is too expensive for what you get, passenger numbers have dwindled. You also said IF the seats are upgraded, earlier it was announced last year that they would be, How many have been ???? If they have I will be more than pleased to hear it. Passenger reports suggest more ex pats are now NOT flying TG as before, and non have reported the new refurb on the European flights.

I don't know how many new planes have been delivered since the meeting, or how many have been refurbished. In fact, I didn't even memorize the chart that he showed, in which the plan clearly showed which type of aircraft will be refurbished when, so I cannot even answer your question about these details. Sorry to disappoint you.

My point is that something is being done, but slower than planned. If the customers decide that it's too slow, they will use other airlines. I am one of those customers, and I am looking forward to TG having seats that are up to today's expectations, and I am talking about both business and economy class, and then I'll be happy to use them again.

[tombkk]

What's all the fuss about this aircraft?

I'm sure the airlines will again pack as many seats as possible into economy class, so you won't miss the nice feeling of your legroom shrinking to zero when the pax in front makes full use of the reclining capability of his seat.

- And when the seat in front, in economy is fully back, you can't use your notebook, read a newspaper etc.

- And will these aircraft have individual movie screens in economy? Still waiting for that on Thai.

- And if this is the standard, nobody would use TG,. In fact, I prefer TG over LH when flying to Germany, because TG has the much wider pitch between the rows.

- Yes, all TG aircraft will have individual screens. The existing aircraft are being refurbished (unfortunately, this will still take some time), and new aircraft will be equipped with them from the beginning. Khun Piyavasti is well aware of the current weaknesses and why people choose certain Middle-East airlines.

Remark: Unlike my other post, this one is about economy class.

I prefer OS or KLM over both TG and LH as the pricing is almost the same, IFE and food is better and there's actually no problem to connect through VIE or AMS. If KLM could retrofit its whole 747 fleet why can't TG?

I just booked my ticket to Europe on OS for exactly those two reasons (IFE and food)! In fact, the food on TG is not bad, but OS is better. Main reason are the seats, though.

KLM is not on my radar, because they are not a member of the Star Alliance, but that's stuff for another topic. And we are getting off-topic anyway, because neither airline uses the 787.

[ralfbkk]

The 787 is simply beautiful. I have seen it arriving in Frankfurt 3 weeks ago (regular ANA flight from NRT) and it was an amazing sight.

[Oberkommando]

If you mean to say that TG is too expensive, think for a moment. If they were consistently too expensive for the market, they would lose customers to the extent of flying empty.

They did manage to lose B5 billion over 9 months of last year though.

A remarkable effort.

[monty1412]

PM to fly Boeing's Dreamliner

Marisa Chimprabha

Is there no end to her talents?????

So its come to this for the illustrious PM.. the only way to get a decent gathering of people to listen to her and be in her presence is lock them up effectively at 40,000 ft.

[WarpSpeed]

Doubtless the savings in fuel will be passed along to the passenger...

Nope especially when they need it to offset costs of modern, new aircraft..

[tombkk]

If you mean to say that TG is too expensive, think for a moment. If they were consistently too expensive for the market, they would lose customers to the extent of flying empty.

They did manage to lose B5 billion over 9 months of last year though.

A remarkable effort.

I'm not going to defend them. I neither read the financial reports over the last couple of years to check whether this is an improvement or not, neither do I know whether there were any special circumstances leading to that figure (which I didn't check either).

What I'm saying is that there is no point in complaining about their ticket price. Just use another airline of you feel TG is too expensive.

[z12]

PM to fly Boeing's Dreamliner

Marisa Chimprabha

Is there no end to her talents?????

So its come to this for the illustrious PM.. the only way to get a decent gathering of people to listen to her and be in her presence is lock them up effectively at 40,000 ft.

Did she join the mile high club?

Edited February 11, 2012 by z12

[sparebox2]

PM to fly Boeing's Dreamliner

Marisa Chimprabha

Is there no end to her talents?????

So its come to this for the illustrious PM.. the only way to get a decent gathering of people to listen to her and be in her presence is lock them up effectively at 40,000 ft.

Did she join the mile high club?

You naughty naughty.

[tombkk]

The 787 is simply beautiful. I have seen it arriving in Frankfurt 3 weeks ago (regular ANA flight from NRT) and it was an amazing sight.

I've seen it at the Singapore Air Show two days ago and can confirm it's a beautiful bird.