Thomson Airways and former Virgin Atlantic stewardess Danielle Lineker will welcome the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the UK when it arrives at the Farnborough Air Show on Sunday.



Thomson is the UK launch customer for the long-awaited Dreamliner, which is lighter and more fuel efficient that previous aircraft.

It is set to make long-haul travel cheaper and will be capable of travelling to more long-haul destinations from smaller airports, opening up more destinations to more people.



Production of the aircraft at Boeing’s Seattle factory has been plagued by delays. In October last year Tui Travel cancelled 10 of the 23 aircraft it had on order and put back delivery to early 2012 – three years after the original delivery date of spring 2009.

But Thomson said once it service it would give customers a more comfortable flying experience as well as more choice of destinations.



These include more personal space with wider aisles and seats, larger windows fitted with electric dimmers, a lighting system that recreates the sunrise and sunset time of the destination to reduce jetlag, and higher humidity levels in the cabin to reduce dehydration.



Lineker, married to former England footballer Gary Lineker, will return to air stewardess uniform to mark the occasion.