All Nippon Airways (ANA) is taking delivery of the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner next week. How exciting! I think the name Dreamliner sounds so romantic.

Beautiful pictures available on the 787 Dreamliner website. From there you can click on links to get to more information and videos.

Be sure to look at the ANA Interior link to see the huge area allotted to each first class passenger - as big as office cubicles, really, and lie-flat capability.

Larger, Better Windows

The 787 features large dimmable windows, more than 30 percent larger than today's similarly sized airplanes - and larger than anything planned by the competition. Natural light and the view outside are an integral part of the passenger experience. On the 787, even passengers not seated at a window will be able to see outside. Like so many 787 innovations, this is made possible by the strength and durability of its advanced composite fuselage.

The windows also don't have conventional shades. Instead, passengers can regulate the intensity of light coming through their windows with the touch of a button. An electrochromic dimming system allows passengers to change the tint of the window from fully transparent to completely dimmed. The cabin crew can select the minimum dimming level from a central control to maintain the appropriate light level for activity in the cabin and the phase of flight. Passengers will still be able to darken their own windows further. Even with the overall cabin lighting completely dimmed, passengers will be able to enjoy the view through a deeply tinted window-without disturbing others who may be sleeping or watching a movie.

The electrochromic window system is a mature technology that requires less maintenance than plastic window shades. Light leaking into the cabin and broken plastic window shades are distant memories. As an added bonus, the system helps regulate cabin temperature while the airplane is on the ground in hot climates.

Overhead Bins Improved

Passengers have plenty of space for their belongings, out of the way but within convenient reach. Passengers can easily stow at least one large roll-aboard bag in an overhead compartment near their seat, minimizing the need to store bags beneath the seat.

Because of the unique cabin architecture and a new stowage bin design, the bins store up and away rather than cutting into overhead space like conventional stowage bins. The intuitive design and touch points of the bins make them easy for all passengers to open, load and close.

Better Air Quality

Cabin air in the 787 is cleaner than today’s commercial airplanes. Fresh air is introduced into the cabin via air scoops on the side of the fuselage. Like most current aircraft, the 787 system includes a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter to remove bacteria, viruses and fungi. Newly introduced on the 787, an additional gaseous filtration system also removes odors, irritants and gaseous contaminants, some of the primary contributors to throat, eye and nose irritation.

Lower Cabin Altitude

The 787’s cabin is pressurized to a new maximum level of 6,000 feet – 2,000 feet lower than most other aircraft. Altitude chamber tests show that because the body absorbs 8% more oxygen into the blood at this altitude, passengers experience fewer headaches and less dizziness and fatigue. In aluminum airplanes, pressurizing a cabin at 6,000 feet would be weight-prohibitive and cause structural fatigue concerns. But the 787’s composite fuselage permits cabin pressurization at this lower altitude with almost no weight impact.

Calmer Cabin

Noise quality in the cabin is an important part of the effort to reduce unpleasant symptoms that are sometimes associated with air travel for passengers and crew. A holistic approach to cabin noise quality, implementing multiple solutions throughout the aircraft, addresses causes of annoying noise and vibrations.

As far as I can tell from the diagrams, this boils down to technology to decrease vibration and squeaking as well as insulate from engine noise.

Dynamic LED Lighting

The spacious, comfortable look and feel of the cabin is further enhanced by soft LED lighting, thoughtfully balanced for leisure, work or rest. The lighting can gently simulate a full flying day for longer flights, gradually changing through a spectrum of lighting from day into night. Because LED lights have no filament, they last 10 to 20 times longer than the incandescent lights that are used on airplanes today. The LED lighting also generates less heat than conventional cabin lighting.