Many agree that the introduction of the Dreamliner is as significant a leap forward as the introduction of the 747 in 1970. Some go further, insisting that the arrival of the 787 is almost as profound a change as when jetliners came into widespread use late in the 1950s. This paradigm-shifting program has been justifiably handsomely rewarded with just over 1,000 orders, making the 787 the fastest-selling airliner of all time—even before operating a single commercial flight.
Photo by Boeing
Unfortunately, to borrow another cliché, the dream frequently into a nightmare as years of manufacturing delays, teething issues, and those pesky unexplainable battery fires took a toll. These problems, along with others, contributed to an entry into service four years behind schedule. Few modern airliners, including the much maligned Airbus A380, suffered from such a long and troubled gestation period. Boeing has paid a severe price with the ire of customers and a compromised reputation, the sum of which prompted industry icon Steven Udvar-Hazy to comment that the company would need to sell 1,500 Dreamliners just to break even.
The silver lining in the story history is that time and success can gradually heal many wounds. History ultimately judges boundless moves forward not by the way they begin but how they end. In the long run, Boeing and many in the industry have the conviction that the program will be an enormously successful reality that once again changes air transport for the better.
When Boeing officially launched the Dreamliner it sought to question everything about designing, building, and marketing airliners. For perhaps the first time, the passenger and customer experience assumed equal billing with engineering and design—the latter functions taking place at a nondescript office park in Everett, Washington.
The Dreamliner Gallery, located a few miles down the road from Boeing’s Paine Field plant, is a ‘one-stop shopping outlet’ where customers have the ability to design their 787s. On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer to deploy such an asset, but it turns out it is a first for the industry.
The gallery opened in January 2007, seven months before a shell of a Dreamliner was first rolled out. This is not to be confused with a mockup studio, as the gallery is targeted toward customers who have already ordered the aircraft. The sales mockups of Dreamliner cabins, along with other Boeing aircraft such as the 747-8i and 737, are located 30 miles down the road in Renton.
Traditionally, Boeing customers have been able to configure their airplanes very specifically. For a multitude of reason, including standardized manufacturing to reduce costs and therefore sales prices, Boeing adopted a much more rigorous approach with the 787 to customer selections.
The idea is that customers can customize their aircraft, up to a point, from Boeing’s catalog of pre-certified items. Yet the options and combinations are varied enough for the carriers to maintain control of their product. It is hoped that this will improve flexibility and long-term dollar values. This is a major selling point not only to airlines but also to the all-important leasing companies.
Formerly, airlines to had to travel the world to suppliers to shop for seats, lavatories, galleys, IFE (inflight-entertainment systems), carpeting, etc. For the first time, Boeing has centralized all of these options under one roof (with the exception of premium class seating), where customers can see, touch, experience, and ultimately design their 787s in one place.
Thus, welcome to the 54,000sq ft Dreamliner Gallery. Unique in its mission as well as its design, the gallery was created by MyDesign, a leading studio that designs attractions, restaurants, and museum spaces.
As you enter the building, you encounter a larger lobby area that looks more like a high-end hotel than showroom. It is lit by the Dreamliner’s special LED lighting and is curved in a shape that mimics an airlines fuselage. Among the lobby’s other features are a striking model of a 787, interactive plasma screen displays, and a kitchen where coffee and espresso are offered upon entry.
Even the hallways wrap around in an ergonomic, comfortable arc lined with specially commissioned aviation artwork. One especially thoughtful touch is a collection of Dreamliner models representing each customer. If a particular customer is conducting a large working meeting, its model is often moved to the front of the display.
Adjacent to the lobbies are two suites of offices for the airlines, effectively a home base while on site. One suite has a Western theme; the other has a decidedly more Asian vibe.
There is a Galley Gallery, where airlines can not only view pre-approved flight kitchens but can operate them as well, using the same levels of power found on the aircraft. Airlines bring in flight attendants and run simulations and services as part of their selection process.
Also included is a full-scale cross-section of the 787 so customers can position and visualize the placement of forward, mid, and aft galleys. Rice cookers, coffee makers, bun warms, trash compactors, and even espresso machines are on display in this room. They are all specially certified for flight and onboard safety, and as a result have ‘Pentagon-style price tags’, such as a five-figure coffee maker. Looking like a Jedi lounge, in the middle of the room is a full-height eConfig screen that enables customers to evaluate the galleys’ ergonomics.
Appropriately, a display of Boeing-approved lavatory mockups is located near the galleys. They are not fully powered, and no plumbing is attached, so no demonstrations are allowed. Customers can chose from amenities such as bud vases, faux-mosaic flooring, baby changing tables, and bidets.
Next is a room of rather Spartan furnishing, particularly emergency equipment, partitions, and crew seating. Oddly enough, some airlines have inquired about adding their logo to the emergency equipment.
Along the hall, a rather exciting room features a full-size mockup of the cockpit and cabin crew rest areas. The crew loft with three beds is positioned above the passenger cabin in the mockup, as is the pilots’ rest area behind the flight-deck, as they would be in the actual aircraft.
Ever since British Airways and Virgin Atlantic Airways first introduced mood lighting early in this century, it has taken on new significance. Studies have shown that the color, ‘temperature’ and quality of light are major factors in reducing body fatigue and jetlag; thus Boeing has included dynamic LED lighting as standard on all 787s. The Lighting Lab is a mini cabin mockup where the full spectrum of colors used for cruise, meals, sleep, and pre-landing can be experience. In this mockup the rather cool-looking seats are for display on, you’d never find them in service.
Boeing’s dreaming doesn’t stop there, though, with the Colors and Material Design Studio looking more like SoHo than Seattle. Customers can view and touch key components such as carpet, fabrics, bulkheads, and wall coverings that subliminally contribute greatly to an airline’s image.
A clever display here is an actual cutaway of a fuselage panel with a working window that highlights one of the appealing features of the Dreamliner: the passenger windows. With dimensions of 10.7×18.4in, the 787’s windows are 65% larger than that of the Airbus A340, for example. They are positioned higher as well, at eye level, so that passengers can maintain a view of the horizon. Even though other new designs, such as the Airbus A350 XWB, promise large windows, Boeing has a US patent on the eye line.
From a passenger’s perspective, these generous windows are the most obvious advantage of a composite-based aircraft. This being the Dreamliner, if passengers choose to sleep, they can ‘dim’ the windows instead of pull down a shade. The now well-known technology utilizes an auto-dimming technology that enables the window to remain transparent, even at its darkest state. To watch the windows transform electrically from completely transparent to nearly opaque in a few seconds is dramatic. Imagine auto-tinting glasses, and you’ve got the idea.
The largest gallery is the Seats and In-Flight Entertainment room. It features rows of premium and economy seats from suppliers in the 787 catalog. As the seats are on tracks, they can be adjusted for pitch. While the full range of available economy class seats are on display, there are only a few premium options. Despite the push for standardization, Boeing understands that airlines’ innovation, design, identity, and profit often largely lie in the premium seating areas. For obvious competitive reasons, airlines are very possessive regarding the design of their premium cabins, so most opt for more bespoke solutions designed privately off-site from the gallery and away from the prying eyes of their peers. The IFE display contains two competing products, both pre-certified: one from Panasonic, and the other from Thales.
At the penultimate stop on the tour, is what looks like a private home theater. This room is the home of the aforementioned 3-D tool called eConfig, enabling customers to evaluate and change every layout, seat, galley, and instrument on the flightdeck with the click of a mouse. These options are uploaded from choices made throughout the galley, as well as software distributed to customers. Once ‘locked’ the decisions made here in eConfig can be automatically integrated with 787 engineering, manufacturing, and operations.
The final stop is a working mockup where customers can see their decisions in full physical form. Unlike at the Renton plant, this is not a full-size glossy sales tool, but an actual hands-on tool whereby airlines can experience the results of their decisions before they become reality.
Future passengers and crew, even more than the airlines themselves, will ultimately be the final arbiters who determine the success of all the hard work behind the scenes at the gallery.
The Dreamliner Gallery is a remarkable paradox. It’s a place where standardization and differentiation successfully combine. For all its flair and wizardry, very serious business is conducted here. Decisions are made that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and last for decades. And as each new airplane flies away to begin life on the line, you can bet most of them started here.
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