Gatwick welcomes first ‘hub-busting’ Dreamliner

London Gatwick today welcomed the Thomson Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the airport for the first time, ahead of scheduled services to Cancun and Phuket later in the year.

The one-off Thomson service to Menorca will provide passengers with the full Dreamliner experience, which includes up to 34 inches legroom in economy and dynamic LED lighting that can mimic dawn and dusk. The aircraft also has environmental benefits as the Boeing 787 has a reduction of twenty percent in fuel and CO2 emissions1.

Gatwick and Thomson already serve Cancun, but from early July passengers will be able to fly to the popular Mexican destination on a scheduled long haul service on the Dreamliner before a new route to Phuket is opened for the winter in November.

The Dreamliner as an aircraft, along with Airbus A350s, are set to play a pivotal role for the future of aviation and how passengers travel, offering more access to direct flights to new destinations that are further afield. Airlines, which plan decades ahead, are investing heavily in these new generation long-range aircraft and moving away from the traditional ‘hub and spoke’ model that generates transfer passengers2.

Around 800 Dreamliners and more than 600 Airbus A350s are currently on order from airlines around the world – more than triple the orders for the Airbus ‘superjumbo’ A380.

London Gatwick has already proved that new direct long-haul routes from the UK can be supported by providing direct routes to Vietnam and China. From autumn 2013, Gatwick will also offer Europe’s first direct route to Jakarta, Indonesia.

Guy Stephenson, Chief Commercial Officer at London Gatwick, said: “This is an exciting milestone for us as this innovative aircraft offers our airlines even more potential to create new long haul routes in the future from Gatwick.

“We have already made great progress in opening new routes to key emerging markets such as China and Vietnam, and have a strong long-haul leisure business. We look forward to continuing this success and we continue to work closely with all of our airlines to provide the best passenger experience.”

David Burling, Managing Director of Thomson Airways’ parent company TUI UK and Ireland, joined passengers on-board the historic first flight. He commented: “Today has been several months and years in the planning and after a lot of hard work I am absolutely thrilled to celebrate the first flight from London Gatwick, which is a very important event in the company’s history. We’re very proud to be the first UK airline to fly the Dreamliner and will operate this state-of-the-art aircraft on short and mid haul routes in preparation for our inaugural long-haul flights to Cancun and Florida on 8th July.”

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Aeromexico prepares for Dreamliner delivery

Aeromexico has confirmed it will take delivery of its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in the first half of August this year.

The move mean the carrier will become the first Mexican carrier to operate the airline industry’s most current and equipped aircraft.

The carrier will start to serve its commercial operations with the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner in October this year.

The aircraft is scheduled to first serve the Mexico City-Monterrey and Mexico City-Tijuana routes on October 1st, followed by the Mexico-New York City route between October 2nd and 13th this year.

On October 14th, Aeromexico will fly its inaugural flight between Mexico City and Tokyo, Japan, route it now serves with three flights a week.

Aeromexico will take delivery of its second and third Dreamliners in September to start serving the Mexico City-Paris route with a daily service, plus certain weekly flights to New York from October.

These are first three Boeing 787 Dreamliners Aeromexico will add to its fleet as the first of the 19 Dreamliners it will incorporate over the next few years.

“This aircraft will change the experience of flying with its structural and technological advances made available to passengers,” Aeromexico said in a statement.

“Our incorporation of the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner to its fleet represents the carrier’s consolidation as the leading airline in Mexico, and one of the most modern on the continent, thus reiterating its commitment to provide world-class products for its customers and partners alike.”

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Boeing announces latest Dreamliner at Paris Air Show

Boeing has announced today at the 2013 Paris Air Show that it has launched the 787-10 Dreamliner, the third member of the super-efficient 787 family.

Commitments for 102 airplanes from five customers across Europe, Asia and North America provide a strong foundation to support development and production of the newest Dreamliner.

Customer launch commitments for the 787-10 include Air Lease Corporation, with 30 airplanes; GE Capital Aviation Services, with ten; International Airlines Group / British Airways, with 12 subject to shareholder approval; Singapore Airlines, with 30 and United Airlines, with 20 airplanes.

The new 787-10 will fly up to 7,000 nautical miles (12,964 km) — covering more than 90 per cent of the world’s twin-aisle routes — with seating for 300-330 passengers, depending on an airline’s configuration choices.

The second member of the family, the 787-9, is in final assembly in Everett, Washington, and is set to make its first flight later this year.

“The 787-10 Dreamliner will be the most-efficient jetliner in history.

“The airplane’s operating economics are unmatched and it has all the incredible passenger-pleasing features that set the 787 family apart as truly special,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president Ray Conner.

“The 787-10 is 25 percent more efficient than airplanes of its size today and more than 10 percent better than anything being offered by the competition for the future.”

Design of the 787-10 has already started at Boeing, and international partners will be involved in detailed design in the months ahead.

Final assembly and flight test of the 787-10 are set to begin in 2017, with first delivery targeted for 2018.

“Our ongoing investment in the 787 family is well-founded,” said Conner.

“With the 787-10, we’ve designed an exceptional airplane supported by an efficient and integrated production system that can meet increasing demands and create new opportunities for us.

“Our team and our customers are excited about growing the product line and expanding our presence with this family of airplanes.”

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