Chris Browne MD of Thomson Airways, UK launch customer for the Boeing 787, explains what the Dreamliner will mean for its customers.

“A flight is the start and finish to a great holiday; it helps us to wind down as we begin our trip and keeps us relaxed on the way home. Our challenge is to deliver a great in-flight experience for every customer on every flight, while meeting the needs the communities we work with and minimising our impact on the environment.

Since our inception as Air2000 in 1987, we have worked hard to set standards in leisure flying, making our flights an enjoyable and relaxing part of our customers’ holidays. Today, as they become more adventurous and look to travel further a field, our focus remains clear and we consistently work with business partners such as Boeing to make every flight comfortable, relaxing and stimulating.

In 2005 we introduced a fleet of Boeing 767s, with the spacious cabin architecture of the Boeing 777, seat pitch to rival scheduled airlines and a diverse seat back entertainment programme to keep all our customers relaxed and occupied during long haul flights. Feedback has been powerful, but as expectations grow, we must also evolve our in-flight experience to meet future standards.

When we introduce a fleet of six Boeing 787s, potentially opening up point-to-point long haul flying for UK holidaymakers looking to travel to destinations as far a field as South Africa and Hawaii - a whole new world to explore at affordable prices.

Respecting the environment also remains a clear priority for us, whether encouraging sustainable tourism or recycling more waste. We currently work to minimise fuel consumption, C02 emissions and aircraft noise. The Dreamliner will help us further reduce our impacts on the communities in which we operate, using 20% less fuel for comparable missions than current generation aircraft and a delivering much smaller noise footprint.

The possibilities this aircraft brings are simply endless. It will change the way we run our business and, most importantly, revolutionise our customers’ holiday aspirations - truly an aircraft to make dreams come true.”