Thomson’s New Cabin Is A ‘Dream’

Thomson have revealed their new cabin and livery for the new 787 Dreamliner which will come into service early 2013 with the airline. This new livery hopefully will get rolled out across the rest of the fleet and I have to say, it’s really quite beautiful. The flowing lines naturally rolling over the wingbox give the impression of the air moving around the plane through flight, and add motion to what was a static, yet still attractive livery. Thomson have played down their logo and instead added a dark blue wave to the tail section of the aircraft, adding weight to the rear section of the fuselage, helping balance the design and framing the tail, making it standout from the rest of the aircraft.

As I mentioned in a previous post, this is the first 787 to be painted almost fully in colour, so it will be interesting to see how it appears in real life, rather than an artists impression.

The interior of the 787 manages to continue the colour scheme of the previous fleet, whilst managing to update the look with simple touches such as complimentary coloured soft furnishings and LED mood lighting. There appears to be a very ‘holiday’ inspired pattern on the bulkheads that give a sense of holiday and relaxation whilst the cabin maintains a smart look with dark blue leather and simple tonal finishes in the chair backs and arms.

The mood lighting looks fantastic, and really will help make this an aircraft to remember, and as they claim, help reduce jetlag. This is just one of the benefits of the aircraft, including 60% less noise in the cabin, higher cabin ceilings and larger windows for a sense of space, and most importantly 20% less fuel burn, essential right now in ensuring not only cheaper seats, but a profitable and more stable airline. What is exciting is the 787 has a reach of 8,000nm, making far away destinations such as Honolulu an option for new routes, and if I were to spend 16 hours in a cabin for a route like that, this is where I would want to be. (Something that industry insiders have been talking about happening for a while)

Whilst not much has been mentioned so far about the TV’s onboard they do look vastly bigger, and have been said to have iPod connectivity, the perfect way of browsing your holiday snaps on the return journey on the big screen.

What does look great is the new Premium Club cabin. Big old recliner style wide business class seats are order of the day, with personal TV’s and 38″ legroom, the same as Virgin Atlantic and BA’s premium economy product. The 2x3x2 layout is nice and spacious too. The artists impression also seem to indicate they will all have inseat power too, which is great to charge your iPad or iPod before laying on those distant shores!

Can’t wait to see the real product when it comes out! Will keep you posted.