Thomson airlines, the European launch customer for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, have been running a competition to name their first plane using the hashtag: #nameourplane This is a clever way to get publicity for their first 787 which will arrive in early 2013 with services starting 1st May, 2013. Another three are expected to be delivered in 2013, three more in 2014 and one in 2015. This will give the carrier eight of these planes.
The ‘Thomson 787 will carry 291 passengers, which is more cozier than any other carrier so far. This compares with Ethiopian’s 270, United’s 219 and ANA’s 158. There will be 47 seats in the Premium Club cabin and 244 in Economy Club. Seating configuration will be 2-3-2 in Premium and 3-3-3 in economy. Thomson has not released a seat plan.
The 787’s first routes will be Orlando Sanford and Cancun from Gatwick, Manchester, East Midlands and Glasgow. The 787 will serve Gatwick-Phuket from November 2013. There is expected to be a three month proving trial with the plane flying some of Thomson’s shorter routes including Egypt. Schedule is at: http://dreamliner.thomson.co.uk/flying-schedule/.
Tomson’s extra features are to be an onboard juice bar by the main doors, broadband access and HD entertainment on demand with touch screen TVs and IPod connectivity. Interesting to see how these pan out. In the meantime, if you are flying their 787 next year, practice squeezing.
For more check out the Thomson dreamliner blog.
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