Boeing Altering Planes to Help Passenger Beat Jet Lag

During the development of the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing encountered countered countless engineering hurdles. One of which was the decision to build much of the plane out of carbon fiber reinforced plastics and other composite materials instead of aluminum most, commonly used on airliners. While the engineering of the composite airframe may have been a challenge, it’s a decision that allowed Boeing to make a major change to its aircraft that could greatly reduce the effect of jet lag on its passengers. The Dreamliner has a composite fuselage and that allowed them to pressurize it at whatever altitude they wanted because the material is not as susceptible to fatigue.

The very symptoms they attribute to jet lag may actually be attributed to acute mountain sickness, which affects individuals exposed to altitudes above 6,500 feet. A study with the help of Boeing found that flyers that go from sea level up to 8,000 feet saw the oxygen content in their blood fall 4%. The research showed passengers’ bodies reacted at 6,000 feet similar to that at sea level. So they decided to pressurize the Dreamliner at 6,000 feet. At 6,000 feet, the cabin air is denser and has a greater level of oxygen saturation. As result, the body does not have to work as hard to oxygenate blood and sustain itself. Boeing has also increased in cabin humidity as well as hot a new air-filtration system to reduce jet lag. Boeing upcoming 777X wide body mini jumbo jet, which comes into service in 2019m will also be pressurized at 6,000 feet.