WSJ -- A 22-Hour, 42-Minute Trip Spotlights Boeing's Move Into Marathon Traveling .....................
November 11, 2005
On a Record Flight: Night and Day, Then Night and Day
A 22-Hour, 42-Minute Trip Spotlights Boeing's Move Into Marathon Traveling
By J. LYNN LUNSFORD
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
LONDON -- It was the ultimate red-eye: a 22-hour, 42-minute nonstop flight from Hong Kong to Heathrow, flying east. Passengers witnessed two sunrises as the jet passed from Thursday into Wednesday and then back again. When it was over, the plane's maker, Boeing Co., claimed a new distance record for an airplane its size: 13,422 statute miles.
Boeing says the new jetliner, the $220 million 777-200LR, can stay in the air fully loaded about an hour longer than the closest competitor and is the first that can fly nonstop between any two cities in the world. But will road warriors coop themselves up on a plane for that long?
Yesterday's marathon carried employees of Boeing and engine maker General Electric Co. as well as 12 journalists for a total of about three dozen people. It offered deluxe amenities that everyday passengers probably wouldn't enjoy on regular commercial flights.
Each seat came with a 15-inch television screen, a choice of 60 movies and videogames. Motorola Inc. handed out free cellphones that worked over the airplane's satellite communications system. A spacious front lobby featured world maps, widescreen plasma television sets and an endless supply of cookies, chips and salsa, peanuts and other snacks.
Keeping track of the plane's route was a popular diversion. It flew eastward across the Pacific Ocean, North America and finally the Atlantic Ocean before reaching London. At several points the plane zigzagged to add mileage and help it beat the previous distance record of 12,531 statute miles set in 1962 by a Boeing B-52 bomber.
Boeing handed out flannel pajamas -- company vice president Lars Andersen, head of the 777 program, was seen padding about in his for a time. For the handful of Boeing employees who were flying in the coach seats, it also placed foam mattresses in an empty area in the back of the plane.
Journalists also were allowed into a roof area above the passenger compartments, where the plane has tiny bunks for flight attendants similar in size to those on old rail cars. The compartments include reading lights and television screens.
The bunks were cozy but not perfect: Because they're located near the tail, occupants felt even the slightest turbulence and found themselves reaching for their safety belts at times over the North Atlantic.
A few airlines already offer flights that are almost as long, using the A340-500 plane made by Boeing's archrival, Airbus. Since last year Singapore Airlines has flown an 18-hour nonstop route between Newark, N.J., and Singapore.
Boeing and a growing number of airlines believe many jet-setting passengers will be happy to pay extra for super-long flights to avoid a changeover. Boeing is working on a version of its new plane that it says would enable Qantas Airways to fly from London to Sydney, Australia, nonstop even during the strongest seasonal headwinds. Qantas says it's still evaluating several long-range models from Boeing and Airbus.
In the late 1930s and 1940s, the same London-Sydney flight was made by the long-haul plane of the day, a Boeing flying boat known as a Clipper. At top speed, the journey required 32 stops and 10 days.
The plane used for yesterday's test flight will be refurbished after certification testing is completed and delivered next year to Pakistan International Airlines. It intends to use it and another plane for flights between Karachi and New York and Karachi and Houston.
It isn't clear yet what type of amenities airlines will offer to keep passengers entertained on the Boeing 777-200LR. (The letters stand for "long range.") In the past, airlines have abandoned experiments at offering snack bars, piano lounges and the like in favor of cramming more seats onto their planes. They have recognized that floor space on a $200 million jetliner is some of the most expensive real estate around.
Still, both Boeing and Airbus say their customers are beginning to edge back toward some of these features because passengers can't stay stuffed in their seats forever. "Finding the best configuration for a plane like this is striking a balance between comfort and an airline's ability to make a profit," says Randy Tinseth, Boeing's director of product marketing.
He thinks Internet connections and cellphone availability will eventually become standard on long flights. The cellphone service on the Hong Kong-to-London flight wasn't ready for prime time. Because of limited bandwidth on the airplane's satellite communications system, only three people could call at a time.
Singapore spokesman James Boyd says the airline has beefed up its entertainment offerings on its longest flights. It gives every passenger more than 500 choices including movies, video poker and language courses. "On ultralong hauls, in-flight entertainment is not a frill, it is a necessity," he says.
Singapore has widened its seats, boosted legroom and added 1.5 inches to its armrests, "which can make all the difference after a few hours," says Mr. Boyd. It encourages passenger to walk around and lays out snacks and water bottles on counters where passengers can congregate.
To help create a sense of open space on the 777-200LR used in the test flight, Boeing removed the overhead baggage bins in the center of business class and replaced them with panels that depict the night sky. When the cabin lights were dimmed, thousands of tiny twinkling lights showed constellations such as the Big Dipper.
A Boeing engineer led the group through about 10 minutes of stretching exercises halfway through the flight. On an earlier flight from Seattle to Hong Kong, a couple of engineers took out a tape measure and figured that it would take 17.3 laps around the plane to make a mile, but no one was up for that much exercise.
Attaining the record wasn't a slam-dunk. A few years ago Boeing had narrowly missed it on another 777 flight. This time the plane took off with nearly 54,000 gallons of fuel in the tank. Rod Skaar, the Boeing official in charge of plotting the flight, said the zigzags were designed to take advantage of tailwinds to add to the mileage without depleting too much fuel. The plane landed with 2,791 gallons to spare -- still enough to fly to Paris, Mr. Skaar said.
Write to J. Lynn Lunsford at lynn.lunsford@wsj.com
Copyright © 2005 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
