A few weeks ago, with photographer Jerome Tso in tow, I got to tour the 787 Dreamliner Gallery, which is where airlines go to shop for the specific components they’ll put in their planes.

My story about that visit (with Jerome’s great photos) will appear on USATODAY.com (and in the paper) next week, but I wanted to share a few of my favorites from that tour.

(Seat choices in the Dreamliner Gallery)

(The colors and materials gallery for the 787 Dreamliner)

Today, Wednesday, Feb. 3, on a tour of  Boeing’s third flight-test 787 Dreamliner, I had a chance to see how the components from the Dreamliner Gallery fit together.

There are six planes in the flight test program and this one – the interior test plane – is the first one to be equipped with seats, lavatories, overhead bins, galleys and some of the other components that passengers care about – like the shade-less windows that can be dimmed just by pushing a button.

It’s great to see just about everything on a brand new type of plane, but there were two items from today’s tour that I found especially intriguing.

The first was in the bathroom.  In addition to touch-less faucets, the lavatories on the 787 Dreamliners have an infrared feature on the toilet that not only flushes but closes the lid!

(Wouldn’t that be handy in your house?)

The other feature that caught my eye was a bit of a mystery.

It looks at first like one of those tiny coat hooks that will fold out from the wall but lie flat when not in use.

But this tiny panel has a cigarette butt symbol on it.

Well, according to the Boeing officials showing us the test plane, even though smoking is indeed not allowed on airplanes, the rules still require that there be ashtrays.

So Boeing set out to design the teeny-tiniest ashtray allowable and came up with this cute one-butt model.

Categories: Air Travel, Airplanes, Bathrooms, Dreamliner Gallery, Smoking

Talk about planning ahead. The Vancouver 2010 Winter Games haven’t even started, but months ago officials at Vancouver International Airport (YVR) started making plans for the day the games end.

It makes sense. During the games, athletes and fans will come and go. So there will be crowds at the airport, but it shouldn’t be too overwhelming.

But once the closing ceremonies take place, everyone will be ready to clear out. And on the day after the games end, YVR expects to have its biggest traffic day ever.

But the airport is ready. Officials know everyone will be so anxious about the crowds at the airport that they’re going to try to arrive extra early. So early that they may end up hanging around the airport for hours. And that will muck up the works.

So in an attempt to keep folks with early hotel check-out times but late afternoon or evening flights from showing up at the airport too early, the airport has asked all area hotels to offer late check-out on the day after the closing ceremonies.

They’re also asking the hotels to place this sign on everyone’s door.

Will it help?  We’ll find out soon enough.

But city-wide late check-out on the day after a big event?  Now that’s a great idea.

Categories: Air Travel

Are you getting excited about the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver?

The folks at Alaska Airlines are.

Today (Tuesday, February 2, 2010), airline representatives will be at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Portland International Airport (PDX) asking passengers to help cheer on speed skater and Pacific Northwest native Apolo Ohno by “Apolo-izing” themselves with free stick-on Apolo Ohno ‘soul patches.’

And don’t worry if you’re not planning to be at either of those airports on Tuesday.

Like the folks pictured above, you can go on-line and “Apolo-ize’ yourself anytime with the handy Apolo-ize tool.

Categories: Airlines, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Sports

Last week the Dulles International Airport (IAD) started using its AeroTrain airport train system to replace some, but not all of the mobile lounges that have been taking passengers between the Main Terminal and the Midfield Concourses for years.

I really like those kooky lounges. Riding on them always offers a unique view of the airport.  And there’s a black and white picture somewhere in the airport’s archives that explains the “lounge” part perfectly: it shows females attendants serving drinks to passengers on their way to the plane.

Even this photo shows travelers who seem to have no worries at all about making their connecting flights.

There are certainly some upsides to the AeroTrain.

One benefit is that right now there’s a photography exhibit in the tunnel connecting the temporary Concourse C with the C-Gates AeroTrain station.

(Photo by: Kanji Takeno)

The exhibit “Washington, DC: Through Our Eyes,” includes photos shot by members of the White House News Photographers Association. The 44 photos currently on display are just the first group of more than 200 photos that will be displayed on a rotating basis.

And,  if you find yourself with a long layover at Dulles International Airport (IAD) and have wrung all the excitement out of riding the AeroTrain and looking at the photo exhibit, then check out the cool stuff at the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center just down the road.

The museum is big enough for the to Smithsonian to display thousands of aviation and space artifacts that just won’t fit on the National Mall.  Like the Boeing B-29 Superfortress  “Enola Gay.”

Categories: Architecture, Aviation history, Exhibits, Getting around, Layover, Lounges, Transportation

(Photo courtesy Pam Mandel, Nerd’s Eye View)

On Sundays, I unpack my bags and take a look at some of the fun, under $10, “of”the city items I picked up while stuck at the airport.

Last week, it was gee-gaws from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas.

This week, I’ve got souvenirs sent in by fellow travelers.

Beth Whitman, of Wanderlust and Lipstick, found two shelves of regionally-made soups at the Made In Washington store at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA)

And my buddy Cheryl Smalley went shopping at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD):

Did you find some great souvenirs last time you were stuck at the airport?

If so, please snap a photo and send it along. It may end up on next week’s Souvenir Sunday.

Categories: Airport shops, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday