EVERETT – The Boeing Co. may have taken away the airlines’ excuses for ugly and uncomfortable jet interiors.
In the past, airlines literally had to fly around the world to pick out the different pieces that go inside an aircraft: its seats, lavatories and galleys. An airline official might fly to Japan and Ireland to check out different seats and then head to Italy to look at a galley. As a result of the disjointed process, aircraft buyers never get to see the whole interior of their planes until it’s essentially too late to make changes.
“Today configuration can be time-consuming and costly,” said Terry Eastley, a senior vice president for aircraft specification at ILFC, a Boeing customer.
Starting in January, airlines that buy Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner will come to Everett for one-stop interiors shopping.
At the 54,000-square-foot Dreamliner Gallery, at 6200 23rd Drive W., customers like Eastley can see and touch the interior of their Dreamliners.
Customers can take two days to two weeks to decide on what goes inside their new 787, said Patty Rhodes, with Boeing’s sales, marketing and in-service support team.
They will receive a pass to their own home base – one of two such areas in the gallery. This allows competing carriers to be in the facility at the same time without eyeing each other’s selections.
Seven seat suppliers and one galley manufacturer will display their products in the Dreamliner Gallery.
Airplane customers can try out plush, cream-colored leather seats that mechanically recline, and they can roll carts across actual Dreamliner galley floors.
Next year, Boeing will provide a 57-foot mock-up that will come equipped with the plane’s actual lighting, allowing customers to see how their seats and color schemes will look once installed.
Boeing also brought in interactive software that lets customers watch on-screen as all of their selections come together.
“You can configure your airplane from anyplace in the world,” Rhodes said.
Using Boeing’s “eConfig” software, customers can toy with the layout of their planes – from the number of seats to the placement of galleys and lavatories.
On a life-size projection screen, airplane representatives can decide if their “installed” ovens and beverage makers will be comfortable and convenient for flight attendants to use. When they’re done, eConfig will craft a virtual stroll through the insides of the airplane using 3-D technology.
“Customers no longer have to travel all over the world,” Eastley said.
Michelle Dunlop: 425-339-3454; mdunlop@heraldnet.com.
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