Partner Article

Boeing's Dreamliner makes flying visit to Newcastle

Boeing’s headline-grabbing new aircraft, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, is set to touch down at Newcastle International Airport this morning.

The British Airways operated aircraft is making a special journey to the North East ahead of BA’s longhaul flights from Heathrow to Toronto and Heathrow to New York, later this year.

This visit is designed to build pilot’s flying hours and train staff at Newcastle, should they need to handle a diversion.

Richard Tams, British Airways’ head of UK & I sales and marketing said: “We’re very excited to have flown our new Boeing 787 Dreamliner into Newcastle International Airport, which hundreds of thousands of our customers use every year to transfer onto international flights at Heathrow.

“Our customers in the north of England are hugely important to us, and we wanted them to be among the first to see the new aircraft and to learn about all the benefits it brings.”

The Dreamliner boasts a “whisper-quiet” cabin pressurised 2,000ft lower than other aircraft (6,000ft), along with the biggest windows of any commerical aircraft.

BA have order 24 of the Dreamliners to arrive by 2017 as part of a £5bn investment in products and services. Parent company IAG has also announced options to buy a further 18.

Newcastle International Airport chief executive Dave Laws, said: “It’s wonderful to welcome the new British Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Newcastle. British Airways is taking the Dreamliner to several regional airports that it serves and we are honoured to be the first.

“British Airways’ Heathrow service is a vital link for business and leisure travellers in the North East and one which sees thousands of passengers connect onto international services. These passengers will be able to enjoy the Dreamliner experience and British Airways’ excellent customer service.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .