The first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner to enter the Thomson Airways fleet has been handed over with new Tui livery in preparation for next year’s company rebrand.
The 787-9 is six metres longer than the 787-8 Dreamliner with a capacity for 45 more seats.
The aircraft will carry 345 passengers to long haul destinations from Jamaica and Dominican Republic to Mexico.
The airline will be taking delivery of up to four 787-9 Dreamliners before June 2019, so there will be nine Boeing 787-8 and five Boeing 787-9 in the fleet.
Thomson plans to operate the aircraft on short haul routes before entering long haul service.
The new aircraft is scheduled to operate its first commercial flight from Manchester to Malaga on July 1 before commencing regular services to to Montego Bay in Jamaica on July 15.
Thomson Airways managing director John Murphy said: “Since we took delivery of our first Dreamliner in May 2013, the aircraft has been a big hit with our customers and we’ve received excellent feedback.
“Our new bigger Dreamliner will allow even more customers to enjoy the revolutionary benefits this aircraft offers, when travelling to their holiday destination.
“This aircraft is key to expanding our long haul programme. We are always looking at new and exciting destinations to offer customers even more holiday choice. For this winter we have introduced holidays to Sri Lanka and next summer St Lucia will also be added to our holiday line-up.
“The Dreamliner 787-9 is also a significant milestone for us in our rebrand journey, as the new aircraft has arrived in the new Tui livery.
“We see this as the perfect opportunity to begin introducing our customers to the Tui brand as we embark on our journey of switching from Thomson at the latter part of 2017.”
