Flight 007 left from gate 8, at the far western end. Passing the TSA checkpoint one enters the building’s older section, which is more or less as I remember it from years ago, with lots of gray aluminum and segmented windows staring towards Revere. The spacious, wood-panel interior is softly lit and, unlike most US airports, blissfully quiet - free of the incessant PA announcements and infernal CNN monitors that plague most of America’s terminals. The check-in hall is entirely new and arguably the airport’s handsomest spot. Though not exclusively: the cluster of gates at the eastern tip, once the home of Braniff and later Northwest, are today used by AirTran and Southwest. Then, as now, it is the only terminal at the airport with customs and immigration facilities, and it is home to all of Logan’s overseas carriers. Volpe International Terminal,” named after the former Massachusetts governor. When I was a kid, this was called the “John A. It’s clean, bright, easy to navigate, and who doesn’t love the inter-terminal connector walkways, with their harbor and skyline views, and inlay sea-life mosaics? It wasn’t always this way, but following a decade of major renovations, including an expanded Terminal E and the construction of Delta’s Terminal A, Logan has emerged as one of the most modern and functional major airports in North America. Call me a hometown cheerleader (I grew up in the Boston area and live there still), but Boston-Logan has to be the one of the most underrated airports in the country. (United has since taken delivery of its first of several 787s, and Ethiopian Airlines will soon launch the plane on its popular route between Washington-Dulles and Addis Ababa.)įirst, the airport. JAL’s BOS-NRT flights were launched last spring the first-ever nonstop service between Boston and Asia, and the first scheduled 787 service anywhere in North America. A few weeks ago I was fortunate to catch a ride from Boston to Tokyo-Narita on one of Japan Airlines newly delivered ships. So, instead, here’s a critique of the 787 from a passenger’s point of view. It’s been how many years, and we still don’t have an FMS or ACARS interface with a QWERTY keyboard?) (Plus, I’m protesting the glacially slow progress of cockpit ergonomics.
However, I figure the various aviation magazines and websites have the jet’s gizmos and plumbing well-enough covered. I can’t imagine there’s a pilot out there who wouldn’t want to fly one. There’s no denying that the 787 has a great-looking cockpit and some fascinating systems architecture.
It’s the pointy end of a spiffy new jet that piques the interest of most pilots. Now, if they could please fix the windows… Boeing’s new jetliner is quiet, sleek, and comfortable.
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