Boeing, Boeing gone to Seattle

IS IT time for Qantas to dispense with the aeroplane sick bag?

The Flying Kangaroo isn’t calling an end to passenger motion sickness just yet, but things are about to get a lot less shaky when turbulence does hit, the airline’s chief technical pilot says.

Alex Passerini, a pilot of 30 years, says new technology on planes soon to join the Qantas fleet has been shown to reduce turbulence significantly.

“We are not calling an end to it, but it certainly will be smoother,” he says.

Captain Passerini was on hand yesterday as the first Australian-made Boeing components for the Qantas 787 Dreamliner were shipped out of Melbourne, bound for Seattle, where the planes will be built.

The airline is due to take delivery of its first 787 in October.

He said the Dreamliner used technology that could detect and counteract turbulence far more effectively than anything on previous passenger flights.

Planes encounter turbulence when they fly through jet streams — “that can move at up to 300km/h”.

The Dreamliner was like “driving a bigger car with better suspension”, he said. “It is a superior experience.”

Flights from Melbourne to Los Angeles start on December 15 ahead of the launch next March of the airline’s first non-stop commercial flights between Australia and London.

Boeing Aerostructures Australia has a 1000-strong workforce in Melbourne making parts for the rear edge of the 787 wing including flaps, ailerons and a component that is a combination of both known as a flaperon.