NORTH West holidaymakers will be able to fly further and in greater comfort from Manchester from this summer after Thomson took delivery of the first of its fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft from manufacturer Boeing.

The “Dreamliner” is much smaller than rival Airbus' A380, carrying only 291 compared to 517 that can travel on the A380, but its state of the art design means it uses 20 per cent less fuel than similar-sized aircraft as its chassis is made of a high-tech composite material, making it much lighter. It is surprisingly quiet too.

Todd Nelp, Boeing's vice president of European sales said: "The Dreamliner's noise footprint is 60 per cent less than the current generations of airplanes, so it's going to be a great friend to the local community, too."

Thomson will use the 787 on its Manchester to Cancun in Mexico service and the Sanford, Florida routes from July 8. The airline is already planning to use the aircraft on new long-haul destinations such as Mauritius and Thailand, though it has not been decided yet if it will operate theses routes from Manchester.

For details of Thomson Holidays visit www.thomson.uk.com.