On Wednesday 13 November I was lucky enough to be on the inaugural Jetstar Boeing 787 Dreamliner service. Flight JQ432 from Melbourne to the Gold Coast was full of media and aviation enthusiasts, all very excited to be a part of aviation history. The flight departed a very dull and rainy Melbourne at 1128, arriving in a beautiful sunny Gold Coast at 1207 after a 1 hour 39 minute flight.
It was an amazing experience to be a part of this inaugural flight, I thoroughly enjoyed the flight. The Boeing 787 is such an amazing aircraft. Here are some of my photos with a few comments about the aircraft.
VH-VKA getting towed into Gate 21
The shape of the 787 is simply incredible
Decorations at Gate 21
Media gathering around the stage. Speakers included TV presenter Jules Lund, Jetstar Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka and a representative from Boeing.
Row 27
The window tint controls. There are five settings.
Taxiing out to RWY34 as we pass the Air India Boeing 787.
Here is a video I took on take-off.
Climbing out after take-off
Above the clouds as we climb up to 41000 feet.
View out the window on the darkest window setting.
The IFE Screen. The variety on the IFE system was quite good, it would be sufficient for long flights. The system was free for this flight, when the aircraft enters international service you will have to pay to use the full system.
Wingview from further back. That wing is incredible!
Descending into Gold Coast with a speed brake.
Over the beach
After landing on RWY32 with reverse thrust and spoilers deployed
Economy interior, there are 314 seats in Economy.
Business Class, there are 21 seats in Business.
Myself and around 20 others stayed back and managed to visit the cockpit. The flight deck of 787 is amazing! The pilots were saying that it is a great plane to fly.
One of the massive, and very quiet General Electric GEnx engines.
Stunning!
Decorations at Gold Coast Airport for the inaugural Jetstar 787 service.
On its way back to Melbourne!
The Boeing 787 is an amazing aircraft and the inaugural flight was fantastic! I definitely recommend aviation enthusiasts take advantage of the Jetstar Boeing 787 operating domestic flights. It is well worth it. A more detailed review of my flight can be found here...
