Boeing is in an unenviable position: their latest showstopper aircraft has been plagued by safety issues due to the bleeding edge usage of lithium-ion batteries to propel many important systems on-board.
So what to do after a series of globally publicized incidents involving the newly-minted flagship plane? A direct flight tracker that allows the curious from all over the world to see all currently en-route Dreamliners.
Using Google Earth technology, the feature shows a list of every Dreamliner currently in transit.
Users can select an airborne flight, and either see short flight details, book that particular flight, or follow along visually within the Google Earth interface.
Each aircraft appears in its respective livery, and can be watched as it makes its way along the flight path. The camera angle shifts along with the plane - check out the waves in motion! - offering a neat perspective on a plane in flight.
Passenger View also offers a different vantage point, with a window seat view of the flight path.
Users can also zoom out to see all the Dreamliner flights, and then click on one to quickly zoom into the details.
Overall, a very clever exercise, both as a public relations effort and as an 'avgeek' playground. It's easy to lose 30 minutes bouncing around the globe, visualizing planes and flightpaths, destinations and departure points. And a far less cramped perspective on the Earth than actually flying, to boot!