The Boeing 777 is one of the best-selling wide-body planes ever made. Because of this, it makes up a big part of the long-haul fleets of many airlines, such as Boeing 787-9 Etihad.
One of the things the 787 promised was to make people more comfortable. There are a number of improvements in this area, such as higher air pressure inside the cabin. The cabin is pressurized at 6,000 feet, while most other planes, like the 777, do it at 8,000 feet. But the new 777X will be the same in this way as the 787.
This improvement is possible because the famous composite material fuselage of the Boeing 787 makes it possible. This should make people more comfortable and help them feel better rested and less affected by jet lag. The quieter cabin is another important thing about the 787. This is because the engine noise and vibrations are less, and the air conditioning is quieter.
The cabin of the 787 has been updated in a big way in terms of lighting and design. It has new lighting inside the cabin that can be changed for different parts of the flight (and wake passengers up more gradually). The design of the cabin is also newer. It has an open, arched look, and the overhead bins are bigger but hidden higher up.
One of the most well-known things about the 787 is that it has bigger windows with electronic blinds (instead of plastic blinds). This is a great feature if you like to look out the window. It also makes the cabin much lighter, which is obvious.
The Premium Seats Are A Mixed Bag
With these changes to the cabin, the modern 787 makes a strong case for being the better choice. It has a lot of great features, and any change to the cabin is welcome on flights that can last up to 12 hours or even longer. The seats in the Dreamliner cabin are not as good as they could be.
This is because its premium cabins (World Traveller Plus (premium economy), Club World (business), and First) are very similar to the 777’s. In fact, more new Club World suites have been added to older planes recently. In April 2022, Premium Flights said that these suites were on 25 777-200ERs and 6 777-300ERs. In contrast, neither a 787-8 nor a 78-9 has this product.
Club World suites will eventually be added to small and medium-sized Dreamliners, but for now, only the 787-10 with a longer fuselage has them. This new cabin is much better than the ones on the 787-8 and 787-9. It has four seats in a row (1-2-1) instead of seven seats in a row (2-3-2).
How Does It Compare To Business Class?
Economy class on the 777 and 787 is not as similar. It has chosen a nine-abreast (3-3-3) economy configuration, which is the same as most other airlines. Seatmaps.com shows that Etihad Airways (EY) seat maps on the 787 are 17.5 inches wide, while the seats on some 777-200ERs are 18.1 inches wide.
This extra seat can make a big difference in a cabin that is already full, making it feel even tighter. The distance between seats on both planes is 31 inches, but the last few rows on the 787 are lowered to 30 inches.
So, Which Plane Is The Best?
Most people would probably feel more comfortable on the 787 as a whole. New technology and general improvements to the cabin are great additions. Of course, the extra space in the World Traveller cabin is a good choice if you are flying on a route with an older Boeing 777-200ER.
But since these are quickly becoming 10-abreast, this may not be an option for much longer. If you are flying on a route that offers the new Club Suite product, which happens more often on the 777 than on the 787, that would be another exception. There aren’t many routes that offer this much-improved service right now, but as time goes on, there will be more and more options.
