The good, the bad and the downright creepy features of the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner

TRAVEL editor Lindsay Saunders took to the skies aboard Jetstar's 787 Dreamliner's inaugural commercial flight from Melbourne to Gold Coast.

TRAVEL editor Lindsay Saunders took to the skies aboard Jetstar's 787 Dreamliner's inaugural commercial flight from Melbourne to Gold Coast. Here's his thoughts.

The bloke in row 28 looked a little bemused by all the fuss.

As TV crews filmed, industry types mingled and 'av geeks ' snapped hundreds of photos, our man may have been the only passenger on this flight who didn't care what the aircraft was.

Mind you, unless this was his first flight anywhere, even he must have noticed the differences the 787 brings to air travellers, with or without flight JQ432s hoopla.

The Dreamliner's road hasn't been the easiest and it's dramas have, naturally, been well documented.

PHOTOS: The Dreamliner's first commercial flight to the Gold Coast

Boeing is gambling a lot on its 787 and there's been plenty of hype about it's next generation technology that makes it the greenest plane flying, increased passenger comfort thanks to lower cabin pressure and a host of nifty bits and bobs.

So from seat 27C here's what we reckon about the Dreamliner.

The Good

First impressions count and the much vaunted bigger windows plus the setback overhead lockers give the cabin a much airier feel, even on a wet Melbourne day. The roof seems higher and headroom while boarding is generous. We reckon the windows aren't any wider than usual just considerably higher.

Little things count and we love the back of seat USB port to charge power hungry devices. Ditto the headphones coming with a separate adaptor so you can use your own headphones in the two-prong plug.

For the easily bored the 'gate-to-gate' entertainment system is a winner - you can start watching almost from boarding to disembarkation. Of course, aside from a few channels, it will cost you -$12 in fact.

The nifty window shades - electronic darkening, no moving parts - are cool but really don't do a better job than the old sheet of plastic style. Still, it's very George Jetson.

The same goes for the 'mood' lighting that can vary from relaxed blues to vibrant reds and plenty in between. The idea is to recreate natural light on long haul flights ... we'll believe them.

While the short hop from Melbourne to the Gold Coast was never going to test it, we get the science behind the lower cabin pressure and humidity to reduce jet lag. Anything that does that obviously gets a tick.

Things are quieter too, during takeoff and landing and the actual flight, even on a flight loaded with media, plane geeks and travel industry types chattering.

Economy class on Jetstar's 787 Dreamliner. Pic: Brendan Radke

The bad

Not a lot actually and 'bad' is a bit severe.

However it has to be said the legroom in economy at least is no better (or worse) than the A320 we flew to Melbourne on. Bit disappointing really. Still, if your long of shanks like me you need to stump up the cash for business or at least an exit row.

The only other was a minor one - due to the setback overhead bins there's no way to reach the air conditioning vent from the aisle seats, even with my long reach of about a metre. It's a good thing the reading light and cabin crew summons are on the touchscreen.

The slightly puzzling

The entertainment system includes Seat Chat - you can send typed messages to passengers in other seats, which is either pretty neat or a bit creepy. Let's hope it's used for good instead of evil.

Jordan Smith from Sydney was on the inaugural flight. Pic: Brendan Radke

The die-hard fan

Jordan Smith saw it 'born', and now he's flown in it.

Jorday, a travel industry professional and 'professional frequent flyer' from Sydney visited the Boeing factory in Seattle in May to see Jetstar's 787 being built.

Today he was on-board that same aircraft as it made its maiden commercial flight.

With about three dozen flights under his belt this year alone, how does he rate the Dreamliner?

"It's number one. It's modern aircraft for the modern age," he said before today's flight.

"The passenger facilities are first class. You actually feel better flying on it."

Jorday flew from Sydeny to catch the flight and will spend just enough time on the Gold Coast to catch a flight home.

"After seeing this one born, I couldn't miss this flight," he said.