Next year, Thomson Airways will become the first leisure carrier to begin passenger operations with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The airline, part of the European tour operator TUI, plans to introduce the type into service from May 1, 2013 and is currently looking at the exciting network opportunities the modern generation airliner will bring to its customers.
When Boeing launched the Dreamliner programme, its sales executives highlighted the wonderful new flight options it would bring to potential customers, but with some of the world’s leading business airlines among the first to operate the jet, it has to date mainly been used to serve key markets. The arrival of the first aircraft with Thomson Airways late in the first quarter of 2013 will see the Dreamliner make its debut in the charter sector and will bring opportunities for the carrier’s parent to offer many new niche travel options that it previously could not operate.
Thomson Airways has revealed that the aircraft will initially enter service on routes from London Gatwick, Manchester, East Midlands and Glasgow airports to Orlando Sanford in Florida, USA and Cancun, Mexico but speaking exclusively to The HUB earlier this year, Chirs Browne, Managing Director, Thomson Airways confirmed that a number of new markets are also on the cards.
“As the UK’s third largest airline, it is a major coup for us to become the first UK airline to take delivery of the 787 Dreamliner. We are thrilled to be flying the aircraft in our Summer 2013 flying programme,” she said. “Starting to fly the Dreamliner is a key step in our journey to modernise the holiday experience we provide for our customers. Our holidays are expertly designed to suit each customer, and everything from selecting exclusive properties that are only available to Thomson customers, to the in-flight experience has been taken into consideration to ensure customers experience a dream holiday.”
To celebrate the arrival of the new aircraft, a revised aircraft interior and the brand new livery design for Thomson Airways, as well as other TUI Travel Group airlines has been launched. Thomson intends to configure its aircraft to carry 291 passengers. A Premium Club cabin will seat 47 in a 2-3-2 configuration, each with a 38” pitch, and the Economy Club cabin will seat 244 in a 3-3-3 configuration, each with a 33” or 34” pitch.
The Dreamliner is also fitted with a unique LED lighting system which recreates the sunrise and sunset of the customer’s destination. Customers are gradually eased into the time zone change which reduces travel fatigue. Higher humidity levels in the cabin, through the use of advanced materials, reduce symptoms of dryness and dehydration which can cause jet leg.
“The 787 Dreamliner will revolutionise air travel and leave Thomson Airways customers more relaxed and refreshed than ever before, safe in the knowledge that their journey will be lighter on the environment than typical flights with a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions,” explained Browne. “Benefits include unrivalled comfort and wellbeing features on-board; to reduce the effects of jet lag; make for a quieter and smoother flight; and give customers fantastic views ensuring that their holiday begins the moment they step on-board.”
Over the next three years Thomson Airways will receive eight of the 13 Dreamliners currently ordered by TUI Travel, but with 13 purchase options there is scope for further growth. The first four are provisionally due to arrive in 2013, three more in 2014 and the last in 2015. “It’s been a long time coming. We ordered the aircraft back in 2005 so it will be an eight year period before we start flying it. But, I think it is certainly worth the wait. It is phenomenally quiet and I think the customers will love this aircraft,” said Browne.
Using the well-known pun ‘The Sky is The Limit’, Browne noted the tremendous network opportunities the aircraft presents to Thomson Airways, although the first stage for the carrier is to simply replace its older Boeing 767s on a one-for-one basis. “Once that is complete we are looking at a number of new exotic destinations,” confirmed Browne. “On the shortlist at the minute for launch in the next 12 to 18 months are Thailand, South Africa and Vietnam.”
The range and operational performance of the aircraft will also enable new direct links to be introduced from some of the smaller airports across the UK. “One of the big advantages of this aircraft is that we will be able to do point-to-point travel from regional airports across the UK rather than just offering services from London and the South East. Passengers don’t necessarily want to have to travel London to then fly to long-haul destinations and there are obviously also tremendous environmental benefits to fly directly from local airports.”
Ahead of the scheduled introduction of the 787 on May 1, 2013, Browne confirmed that the type will be used on crew familiarisation flights across its existing short-haul network, meaning that a number of its Mediterranean destinations will be among the first to handle the modern generation jet.
“We have to get our training sectors up before we begin the long-haul flying so our passengers turning up at London Gatwick and Manchester next year and flying to places like Arrecife, Tenerife, Palma and other destinations will be in for a big surprise with the chance to fly the aircraft,” she said.
Its arrival may be much later than planned, but there remains a real buzz about the 787, like that enjoyed by the A380 recently. Many airlines flying the A380 were creative with their fare pricing structures to take advantage of this interest in the aircraft, although they were reluctant to confirm publicly that a premium was being charged to fly the aircraft.
Browne is much more candid about the 787. “We asked many of our customers. Would you pay a little bit more to fly on the aircraft? The response was very positive. We are only talking about £10 each way, and for £10 each way I think this is tremendous value for money,” she said. “We are thrilled that our customers are going to be able to experience the benefits of travelling on the Dreamliner on our most popular long-haul routes. We know that this addition to our fleet will set us apart from our competition.”
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