Thomson receives first Dreamliner
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The Dreamliner arrived at Manchester Airport this morning from Seattle a few weeks later than originally planned following the battery problems with the entire current Dreamliners in service.
Thomson’s new aircraft will fly from Gatwick, Manchester, East Midlands and Glasgow to Sanford, Florida and Cancun from 8 July.
Thomson is also due to receive three more Dreamliners this summer, which will be used on routes to Phuket, Thailand this winter and Mauritius and Puerto Vallarta next year. Thomson is the first UK airline to receive the aircraft model.
“After much anticipation we are very excited to welcome the 787 Dreamliner to our fleet and as the first airline in the UK to take delivery we hope our customers will enjoy the unique experience of this revolutionary aircraft,” said Chris Browne, managing director of Thomson Airways.
Todd Nelp, Boeing’s vice president European sales said the addition marked “the next chapter in history for both Thomson and the UK aviation industry”. Scroll down to see a brief history of aircraft.
Its Boeing deliveries have also been extended to include 60 new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft and the option to purchase a further 90. Under current list prices the order is worth GBP4 billion (USD6.09bn) with the aircraft to be delivered between January 2018 and March 2023 and used on short or medium-haul routes.
“This multi-billion pound investment in the B737 MAX – representing the future generation of more fuel-efficient aircraft for our short and medium-haul programmes – will be a further driver in delivering this,” said Peter Long, chief executive of TUI Travel.
“It comes as the first of our Boeing 787s touches down in the UK to commence replacement of our long-haul fleet with best in class aircraft. We are leading the way in re-defining mainstream holidays and putting our customers at the heart of everything we do is integral to our continued growth,” he added.
The aircraft could be used on any of TUI’s six airlines, which include Thomson Airways, TUIfly, TUIfly Nordic, ArkeFly, Jetairfly and Corsair.
Thomson sent Travel Daily Media this infographic looking at the history of aircraft design to mark the launch. Keep scrolling down to see all the information.
From 8 July 2013, Thomson Airways will fly the state-of-the-art aircraft from London Gatwick, Manchester, East Midlands and Glasgow airports, on long haul flights to Sanford, Florida, as well as flights to Cancun in Mexico.
