Is it safe to fly on 787 Dreamliner?

Boeing's Sanderson isn't defending the delays, but stresses that “All 787s in service and in our inventory are perfectly safe to fly.” The planemaker sees a silver lining with learnings applied to build even better 787s and new aircraft like the next-generation 777-9.



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Excellent design choices all around. Better sleep on long flights. Because the 787 is pressurized at about 6,000 feet rather than 8,000 feet, you'll breathe easier. More oxygen in your lungs means better sleep, less chance of headache, no difficulty breathing (flying at altitude is like sleeping at a ski resort).

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Smoother Ride Technology: Sensors on the 787 sense and dampen turbulence for a more comfortable ride and less motion sickness.

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The Boeing 787 has similar safety features to the 777, but also features improvements such as a wider and longer aisle space for passengers and smoother engine takeoff capability which can reduce air turbulence and improve safety during takeoffs.

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However, particularly high praise should be given to older aircraft, such as Boeing's 737-600 and 737-900 models, that have never had a hull loss, despite having been in service since the turn of the century.

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The 787's latest problem mirrors production issues discovered over 2020 and 2021 that included improperly fitted shimming that led to paper-thin gaps between surfaces on the Dreamliner's fuselage.

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While passengers love the experience in the back, it's also a great place for the pilots to work. A number of features on the aircraft set it apart from other aircraft types. So, even when your working day can be 19 hours long, I'd much rather be doing it in a Dreamliner than any other type.

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Boeing 787 Dreamliner is equipped with smooth ride technology, an active gust alleviation system. It mitigates effects of turbulence by adjusting control surfaces in the opposite direction.

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The Bottom Line: The Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 787-9 are very similar aircraft, suited for similar missions. As one would expect, the slightly larger A350-900 has a seat-mile cost advantage, while the 787-9 has an advantage in cost per block hour. These aircraft are competitive, and nearly tie in economic performance.

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To combat the sound of jet-blast from the rear of the engine, Boeing, General Electric, and NASA developed serrated edges called chevrons for the back of the nacelle and the engine exhaust nozzle. The chevrons reduce jet blast noise by controlling the way the air mixes after passing through and around the engine.

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On January 17th, 2013, the FAA ordered the entire 787 fleet across all airlines to be grounded, and the NTSB launched an investigation. The culprit was eventually identified as a lithium-ion battery. A cell within the battery was believed to have short-circuited, causing what is known as a thermal runaway.

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This high aspect ratio wing design combined with efficiency enhancing raked wing tips allow the 787 to be one of the fastest commercial aircraft (Mach 0.85 cruise speed) while consuming less fuel than today's comparably sized aircraft.

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The FAA said the leaks could damage critical equipment and lead to a “loss of continued safe flight and landing.” The agency said one airline found wet carpet in the cockpit of a plane and, when it inspected its entire fleet of 787s, found “multiple” planes with leaking faucets.

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The Dreamliner is a successful aircraft, still in production with more than 1600 delivered or on order. The list price for a new Boeing 787-8 is $239 million dollars. Yet even as international travel opens again for these long-range aircraft, two Dreamliners barely ten years old are waiting for the wrecker's ball.

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On board the Boeing 787-9, you can expect a new, comfortable travel experience and many innovations that will make your flight even more relaxing in the future. Look forward to the Dreamliner effect on your next trip.

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Exacerbating the problem for some passengers, the bulge of the wall between windows doesn't always align well with the seat rows and, every few rows, the projection of the wall robs the window seat passengers of a couple of inches of already tight shoulder space.

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While the 787 Dreamliners have not been grounded, the FAA had ordered a halt to deliveries of the widebody jet between May of 2021 and July of 2022 as it looked into questions about quality control during its assembly process.

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The more-electric architecture of the 787 Dreamliner family eliminates the pneumatic and bleed-air system. The electric system improves efficiency by extracting only the power actually needed during each phase of flight.

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However, statistically speaking, a seat close to an exit in the front or rear, or a middle seat in the back third of the plane offers the lowest fatality rate. That said, flying is still the safest form of transport.

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Therefore, the ERJ135/140/145 members of the family are among the safest airliners in history. The Airbus A340 is also one of the safest, with no fatal accidents involving any of the 380 units since its introduction in March 1993.

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Are small planes less safe than larger? It might seem that way, but there are other contributing factors. In a nutshell, the size of an airplane is not in any way linked to safety, explains Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StretegivAero Research.

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