Just when I was looking for a bit of excitement, I received a last minute invitation to fly to Zurich for a day to experience Air Canada's new 787 Dreamliner. Sixteen hours on a return flight to Switzerland in Business Class? Sign me up! As any parent knows, long flights are a holiday in itself. Hours of luxurious uninterrupted time to watch movies, read, have meals delivered to your seat, and drink wine.
My hope was the Dreamliner experience would be "me-time" on steroids.
Before take-off, I was invited to the cockpit with my friend Erin Blaskie to chat with the pilots flying this new Boeing aircraft for the first time. To the untrained eye, the dashboard looks like a big video game. The pilots described the 787 as the "Tesla of Airplanes," referring to it being the first fully electric plane entirely powered by a computer (and six backups just in case).
Technical innovation and comfort is what the Dreamliner experience is about. For long haul overnight flights like the one I was embarking on, the new seats are a treat. With an electronic touch screen, you can adjust the firmness of the seat, make it recline all the way into a bed and turn it into a massage chair.
Seat reclined. Pillow and duvet in place. It was movie time! The Entertainment System is top notch. A personal 21-inch wide screen TV can be used as a touch screen or works with a remote. Flight attendants pass out noise-cancelling headphones which make watching in-flight movies an experience. I chose two awesome chick flicks — Philomena with Dame Judy Dench and then Saving Mr. Banks starring Emma Thompson. Both times I found myself totally lost in the films and ended up weeping uncontrollably in my pod — all while dining on a delicious three-course meal.
Which leads me to the wine. (I told you it's paradise for moms).
During the film I was able to order a second glass of wine using the touchscreen menu on the monitor. I also perused the Duty Free catalogue on the screen and checked in on the plane's progress through a series of interactive maps.
Halfway through the flight, the soft cabin lighting started to very subtlety get darker. I found out later there are a series of presets for mood lighting to help passengers relax, fall asleep, and then slowly wake up using lighting to simulate a sunrise. There aren't any window coverings. Instead windows are electronically darkened and lightened with the push of a button.
The Dreamliner claims to be quieter. It definitely is. In fact, you barely feel like you're even flying. Another impressive innovation the engineers at Boeing managed to bring to the aircraft is reducing the cabin pressure. Even though our flight flew at an altitude of 38,000 feet, cabin pressure was set at 2,000 feet rather than the standard 6,000 to 9,000 ft. The lower cabin pressure is easier on our bodies and doesn't dry you out like a regular plane does.
The Dreamliner still has some glitches to sort out. The coffee machines aren't calibrated properly, so coffee tastes like water (they're fixing that), there's no WIFI which baffles me (they're slowly rolling that out throughout the fleet), and the "Email Another Passenger" feature on the touchscreen feature isn't working yet.
Other than that, the Dreamliner experience is impeccable — from the service, the entertainment, and the amenities. I was able to relax and sleep to prepare for my big day as a tourist in Zurich. I barely felt jet lagged and was able to function normally after this red-eye flight.
Oh, and ya, my day in Zurich was awesome!
A big thank you to the folks at Air Canada for sending me on this whirlwind trip. In this case, the journey was just as good as the destination!
If you like this story, you might also enjoy my adventure driving to Orlando with my family. There was also the time I spent 11 days visiting England, Scotland and Ireland with my kids and my mom. That was an amazing family vacation!
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