Royal Brunei 787 Dreamliner

[Waiping 12]

 

BTW- I'm going back to Brunei via Dubai next year in Late March- Will I get a chance to use this aircraft or use the RBA777?

 

Late March? Their B787 utilisation should be in full swing by then. Perhaps the B777 will be on standby or return to SQ?

[S V Choong 4]

A bit of a shame that the new colours of RBA looked a bit bland on the 787...

[Saiful 0]

A bit of a shame that the new colours of RBA looked a bit bland on the 787...

 

True, the previous color scheme would've looked amazing on the 787.

 

But at least they've darkened the grey on the belly a bit which to me improves the overall look of the new livery (by 0.1% better, because frankly i still hate it) than the original grey already painted on their other Airbuses.

[zeqa 1]

True, the previous color scheme would've looked amazing on the 787.

 

But at least they've darkened the grey on the belly a bit which to me improves the overall look of the new livery (by 0.1% better, because frankly i still hate it) than the original grey already painted on their other Airbuses.

Well the new colors suits the 787 well but not on their smaller Airbus A320 & A319.

 

Late March? Their B787 utilisation should be in full swing by then. Perhaps the B777 will be on standby or return to SQ?

 

oh yes. Lets hope..

[AlvinLvK 0]

V8-DLA live on FR24 now looks like coming in BWN from SIN, test flight ?

[zeqa 1]

I wonder if all 787 is lease or fully own by RBA?

[Mushrif A 3]

I wonder if all 787 is lease or fully own by RBA?

 

Leased. All 4+1.

[zeqa 1]

Leased. All 4+1.

I see. I spoke with some Bruneians- They said its fully own by RBA & it even stated in the Brunei media. I guess they are not aware of it being lease.

[JuliusWong 0]

Leased from LCAL of Kuwait, deal signed in 2008.

[Mushrif A 3]

I see. I spoke with some Bruneians- They said its fully own by RBA & it even stated in the Brunei media. I guess they are not aware of it being lease.

 

I recall reading about the "ownership" on BB or BT. It's incorrect.

 

Leased from LCAL of Kuwait, deal signed in 2008.

 

LCAL is from Dubai.

 

ALAFCO is Kuwait.

[Mushrif A 3]

Just some feedback from a friend on the inaugural...

 

Y was full-ish with media and travel agency folks.

 

Y was spacious..reckon 33" at least but here some cons...

- tray table is fixed and couldnt be pulled to be closer to the pax.

- the buttons for switching on the overhead reading lights and crew-service call are all virtual...as part of small icons on the TV screen. Not ideal as not all are ware of their locations, especially those who are elderly or those who have no interest with the PTVs.

[Ikman Ikreza 0]

 

Royal Brunei 787

‏@tweeting787

53s

 

@CharlesRyanTeo No there wasn't, as I'm not the 1st Dreamliner to set her wheels on Changi's tarmac. I will get the salute in KL tomorrow!

 

 

Water canon salute tomorrow at KL?

[Mushrif A 3]

Here's some more feedback...

 

- Avoid row 50 in Y as that's the windowless row.

- Toilets are also hi-tech with some mood lighting elements in all classes. The WC is like those japanese ones...you just wave your hand over the flush button, the WC cover will close automatically and then flush. In J, the toilets get an in-built bidet facility with varying degrees of water pressure and "angles-of-attack" - why cant MH have this in their J and F A380 toilets? There's also a mini seat in the J toilet.

 

- The J seat, as we now all know, is flat...not quasi-flat-ish like MH's A380. The J cabin has 3 rows of 2-2-2 seating. The last row has one less window. So except for this last row, all J window seats get 3 windows. And if you dim (the "e-shade") any one one of these three, all 3 will uniformally dim to the same desired level. In Y, although based on cabin layouts, certain wdw seats may get 1.5 "worth" of windows, they do not dim in unison.

 

- The entertainment system...Y is all touch screen with no separate controller. For J, it is the same controller that you get on MH's new 738s and A333s.

 

- In Y, you only get a USB charging facility, but there's a "hidden" 3-pin socket outlet underneath the seats - 2 outlets for every set of 3 seats. In J, you do get both at each seat within the centre armrest.

 

- The verdict - it is a much more pleasant plane to fly on than MH's A333 or even the A380, based on hardware alone. But the PTV/ music content on MH is more extensive than BI's (even on this new 787) ...and BI's cabin service & food quality is said to be two notches below MH's.

 

And no...there wasn't any water cannon salutes at SIN or BWN, outbound or inbound. For SIN, it was understandable as JL et al were the 787 pioneers, but even at BWN, the celebrations were relatively lowkey (just the usual, as-expected press conference bla bla and some food for invited guests and not the normal pax)....MH did a better job with its A380 inaugural...(and SQ did a much more fabulous job in celebrating any inaugurals). BI could have done much more with minimal marginal cost.

Edited October 18, 2013 by Mushrif A

[Suzanne Goh 0]

Here's some more feedback...

 

- Avoid row 50 in Y as that's the windowless row.

- Toilets are also hi-tech with some mood lighting elements in all classes. The WC is like those japanese ones...you just wave your hand over the flush button, the WC cover will close automatically and then flush. In J, the toilets get an in-built bidet facility with varying degrees of water pressure and "angles-of-attack" - why cant MH have this in their J and F A380 toilets? There's also a mini seat in the J toilet.

 

- The J seat, as we now all know, is flat...not quasi-flat-ish like MH's A380. The J cabin has 3 rows of 2-2-2 seating. The last row has one less window. So except for this last row, all J window seats get 3 windows. And if you dim (the "e-shade") any one one of these three, all 3 will uniformally dim to the same desired level. In Y, although based on cabin layouts, certain wdw seats may get 1.5 "worth" of windows, they do not dim in unison.

 

- The entertainment system...Y is all touch screen with no separate controller. For J, it is the same controller that you get on MH's new 738s and A333s.

 

- In Y, you only get a USB charging facility, but there's a "hidden" 3-pin socket outlet underneath the seats - 2 outlets for every set of 3 seats. In J, you do get both at each seat within the centre armrest.

 

- The verdict - it is a much more pleasant plane to fly on than MH's A333 or even the A380, based on hardware alone. But the PTV/ music content on MH is more extensive than BI's (even on this new 787) ...and BI's cabin service & food quality is said to be two notches below MH's.

 

And no...there wasn't any water cannon salutes at SIN or BWN, outbound or inbound. For SIN, it was understandable as JL et al were the 787 pioneers, but even at BWN, the celebrations were relatively lowkey (just the usual, as-expected press conference bla bla and some food for invited guests and not the normal pax)....MH did a better job with its A380 inaugural...(and SQ did a much more fabulous job in celebrating any inaugurals). BI could have done much more with minimal marginal cost.

 

Thanks for the updates! looking forward to it in november - will be flying out tomorrow morning, but not on the BI bird. Still hope i get to see it in the flesh though!

[Waiping 12]

Since we are talking about BI, does anyone know which gate they use at KLIA?

[Mushrif A 3]

Since we are talking about BI, does anyone know which gate they use at KLIA?

 

Their 319/320s usually end up at C11, C13 areas, just like Silkair most of the time. Maybe the 787 will be parked at where JL 763s are always parked in the evenings...C1, C3.

[jahur 0]

Rba 787 still stuck at gate in KUL..

[Teo 0]

according to some tweets,engine problem.not a good start for our dear RB Dreamliner

[Mushrif A 3]

Leased. All 4+1.

 

I see. I spoke with some Bruneians- They said its fully own by RBA & it even stated in the Brunei media. I guess they are not aware of it being lease.

 

Leased from LCAL of Kuwait, deal signed in 2008.

 

Researched a bit deeper on this matter...RBA did later acquire the rights to the LCAL order and have ownership to the aircraft. A local Islamic bank provided the financing (though it was effectively left to right pocket). So though we werent convinced by the local media due to lack of details, it was actually accurate reporting.

[Mushrif A 3]

according to some tweets,engine problem.not a good start for our dear RB Dreamliner

Seems to have only departed at about 4:45pm...thats a good 4 hours behind schedule.

 

I'm curious what Plan B is for the day-trippers who planned to take BI 873 back to KUL. Will BI 873 wait for them?

[Mushrif A 3]

Seems to have only departed at about 4:45pm...thats a good 4 hours behind schedule.

 

I'm curious what Plan B is for the day-trippers who planned to take BI 873 back to KUL. Will BI 873 wait for them?

 

The joys and perils of catching inaugurals...

[Naim 6]

They surely got their money's worth today.

[Leong Chuo Sheng 0]

I was supposed to go along with a handful of us doing a daytrip. However as the delay continued, it was evident that we would not have made the return BI 873 to KUL at 1805. So, BI offered 2 options:

 

1. Continue on BI 872 and miss BI 873. Hotel provided and reaccomodated to BI 871 the next morning.

2. Postpone travel to another date, free of charge.

 

4 of us opted for #2. Not sure about the rest. We had Julius Wong, Norman (and family), Wai Ping (who was transferred on MH to BKI), Rayner (transferred on MH to KCH) and 2 others from 9-Victor (who also opted to be offloaded). I may be missing a few from this list

 

Anyways, BI offered us a RM 25 voucher to spend at Burger King or Jalan Alor cafe. I declined and opted for Plaza Premium instead.

according to some tweets,engine problem.not a good start for our dear RB Dreamliner

 

On the 2nd pushback, smoke was evident from engine #2 which went on for quite a while after the tug was disengaged. I guess it was safe to continue to BWN as evidenced by its departure.

 

Smoke was visible coming from under the cowling. Will post a pic when I am able

[Mushrif A 3]

I was supposed to go along with a handful of us doing a daytrip. However as the delay continued, it was evident that we would not have made the return BI 873 to KUL at 1805. So, BI offered 2 options:

 

1. Continue on BI 872 and miss BI 873. Hotel provided and reaccomodated to BI 871 the next morning.

2. Postpone travel to another date, free of charge.

 

4 of us opted for #2. Not sure about the rest. We had Julius Wong, Norman (and family), Wai Ping (who was transferred on MH to BKI), Rayner (transferred on MH to KCH) and 2 others from 9-Victor (who also opted to be offloaded). I may be missing a few from this list

 

Anyways, BI offered us a RM 25 voucher to spend at Burger King or Jalan Alor cafe. I declined and opted for Plaza Premium instead.

 

 

On the 2nd pushback, smoke was evident from engine #2 which went on for quite a while after the tug was disengaged. I guess it was safe to continue to BWN as evidenced by its departure.

 

Smoke was visible coming from under the cowling. Will post a pic when I am able

 

 

That was very kind of them to throw in a night-in-Brunei option!

 

For those who had opted to be offloaded, unfortunately you would have missed out on the 787 inaugural giftpack given out with the violin live performance onboard - unless BI was gracious enough to hand these out to those who had to stay back at KUL..

[Leong Chuo Sheng 0]

 

Rear economy cabin of V8-DLA

 

 

Smoke visible on Engine #2 on second startup at 1630

That was very kind of them to throw in a night-in-Brunei option!

 

For those who had opted to be offloaded, unfortunately you would have missed out on the 787 inaugural giftpack given out with the violin live performance onboard - unless BI was gracious enough to hand these out to those who had to stay back at KUL..

 

Indeed - I would have taken it if I was better prepared.

 

KS Ong was our 'media' - he had the gift pack which consisted of a passport holder, pen and a USB stick. None of us offloaded souls got anything

Edited October 19, 2013 by Leong Chuo Sheng