ANA passengers say 787 experience is a dream

Travel Jun. 25, 2012 - 06:07AM JST ( 11 )

TOKYO —

Nine in ten passengers who have flown on the Boeing 787 with ANA say their overall experience met or exceeded expectations, according to a customer survey showing very high levels of satisfaction with the comfort and performance of the Dreamliner.

A similar number expressed a preference or strong preference for flying in the Dreamliner over other aircraft and a quarter of passengers said they would go out of their way to book a flight on the 787 again.

The results of the survey, the first to be carried out since the 787 entered service with ANA in October last year, show that passengers are attracted by the unique features of the Dreamliner, which include higher cabin humidity and lower cabin altitude, more headroom and larger windows and overhead luggage bins than conventional aircraft.

Four in five passengers said the higher humidity levels in the 787 – made possible by the composite fuselage structure – met or exceeded expectations while 92% responded that cabin ambience was as good as or better than they had expected.

The survey among nearly 800 passengers flying long-haul on the Dreamliner between Tokyo and Frankfurt, also found that:
· Air quality and cabin pressure met or exceeded expectations for nine in ten passengers
· Four in ten passengers felt that headroom was better than expected
· Cabin lighting exceeded expectations for 90% of passengers
· The lavatories – which feature windows as standard – exceeded expectations for half of all passengers
· Eight in ten passengers said the amount of personal space met or exceeded expectations
· Smoothness of the flight was as good as or better than expected for 87% of passengers

Passengers also commented favorably on the unique ‘electronic shades’ which allow them to adjust the amount of light coming through their window at the touch of a button. Nearly half of passengers said window dimmability was better than they expected while a further 38% said it fully met expectations. The size of the Dreamliner’s windows – which are 20% bigger than those on competing aircraft – exceeded expectations among four in 10 passengers and met them for a further 50%.

Appreciation of the unique characteristics of the Dreamliner was greater amongst those who fly often, with more frequent flyers saying that window size and dimmability, seat comfort, air quality, air pressure and humidity exceeded their expectations than other passengers.

Of the 780 passengers who were surveyed, just over half (54%) flew fewer than six times a year while only 10% took more than 25 round trips by plane a year. Of those surveyed, two thirds were flying economy and one third in Business Class. Just under three quarters were male. Four in 10 passengers had chosen the flight intentionally because it was on a Dreamliner and only 12% of those surveyed had never heard of the plane before they got on board.

Some 98% of passengers said they would like to fly again on the Dreamliner with ANA or another airline or go out of their way to do so. One passenger commented: “Humidity is the big change compared to other planes.” Another observed: “The shape of the wings is wonderful.”

ANA is the launch customer for the 787 and is due to take delivery of 55 Dreamliners by 2017. The revolutionary aircraft is a key element in ANA’s plan to expand international operations over the next few years. ANA is currently operating the 787 on eight domestic routes and Haneda – Frankfurt route. ANA is due to launch new 787 services from Tokyo to Seattle and San Jose on the U.S. West Coast in the current fiscal year ending March, 2013.

ANA today separately announces that the 787 has exceeded expectations in terms of fuel efficiency. At launch, it was anticipated that the 787 would save 20% in fuel for each international flight, but ANA is pleased to confirm that the saving amounts to 21% per flight. In the six months since ANA’s first 787 flight, this saving equates to around 5,000 kiloliters of fuel compared with the 767, or the equivalent of the fuel used for the Tokyo-Frankfurt route over one month.