thomson dreamliner

[Disneyfan27]

Morning all

me and my partner are going next September with Thomson and we will be flying on there Dreamliner plane in economy and I cant wait for the holiday but the flight is the only thing am not looking forward to as I goggled the plane and they have different seat arrangements so now its 3 sets of 3 seats so we will be sat next to a random person for the flight.

I just wounded if anyone has been on the Dreamliner and can tell me what the food is like, leg room etc.

 

[Elise79]

I haven't been on the Dreamliner but I would guess the food will be the same - it's going to be plane food and might or might not be edible

As for the seat configuration for economy on long haul they are all wide body jets which means seats in groups of 3 or 4 so you will neatly always have a stranger next to you.

Virgins A330 are 2-4-2 in economy but no longer serve Orlando. VA fly 747s which are 3-4-3 and BA fly 777s which are again 3-3-3

 

[RDP]

I wouldn't get too hung up on seat configurations. In our experience over the last few years we have nearly always been split as a family of four and have often had another passenger sat next to one of us ( flying with VA) would like to try the Dreamliner, looks great ! Enjoy!

 

[DLPDreams]

We are flying on the Dreamliner next summer and I can't wait! I am almost as excited about the flight as I am the holiday (well, almost ).

We decided to upgrade to Premium seats as they are a 2-3-2 configuration. Might this be better for you? I realise Premium is more, but once you take into consideration your baggage charge and seat selection charge of around £100 pp, you don't have that charge in Premium as it's in with the price.... I believe they just take that money you have paid in economy off your PE price if you decide to upgrade.

Also, believe food is nicer in Premium and you get more of a choice - think there are 3 meals to choose from, one normally being veggie. There are other pros like 3 kg extra hold baggage pp and 2 kg extra hand baggage etc. Lounge use at Sanford airport on way home - free drinks/snack/TV etc.

For us, it was a 'no brainer' but not everyone wants to pay more I know. There are 6 of us going, so we hope to sit 2/2/2 behind each other! I have seen photos of the cabins and the PE cabin just looks so spacious and not really like an airplane at all.

ETA - there have been issues with the access on PE seats - the armrests are so huge (they currently have TVs in them) that they prevent easy access in and out of seats. This is a bugbear and apparently Thomson are changing all PE seats at some point (was meant to start in May but has been delayed). They are looking to go with seat back TVs like economy so that armrests can be made smaller and seat recline better. Not sure when this will happen though.

HTH

 

[MrsJobba1]

We are flying on the Dreamliner next summer and I can't wait! I am almost as excited about the flight as I am the holiday (well, almost ).

We decided to upgrade to Premium seats as they are a 2-3-2 configuration. Might this be better for you? I realise Premium is more, but once you take into consideration your baggage charge and seat selection charge of around £100 pp, you don't have that charge in Premium as it's in with the price.... I believe they just take that money you have paid in economy off your PE price if you decide to upgrade.

Also, believe food is nicer in Premium and you get more of a choice - think there are 3 meals to choose from, one normally being veggie. There are other pros like 3 kg extra hold baggage pp and 2 kg extra hand baggage etc. Lounge use at Sanford airport on way home - free drinks/snack/TV etc.

For us, it was a 'no brainer' but not everyone wants to pay more I know. There are 6 of us going, so we hope to sit 2/2/2 behind each other! I have seen photos of the cabins and the PE cabin just looks so spacious and not really like an airplane at all.

ETA - there have been issues with the access on PE seats - the armrests are so huge (they currently have TVs in them) that they prevent easy access in and out of seats. This is a bugbear and apparently Thomson are changing all PE seats at some point (was meant to start in May but has been delayed). They are looking to go with seat back TVs like economy so that armrests can be made smaller and seat recline better. Not sure when this will happen though.

HTH

Hi
We are booked in the premium cabin on a Dreamliner next April - I'm so looking forward to it,
I didn't realise you would be able to use a lounge at Sanford

 

[flortlebap]

The other thing to consider is that September is historically a very low season (particularly if you're flying early September). I've flown on half empty VA planes in September twice where they've assigned us an entire row lol. So there's a chance that if you booked the two seats closest to the aisle, nobody will want the window seat on their own (depending obviously if the plane is full or not).

 

[foxxxy83]

We went Premium Economy on the Thomson Dreamliner flying Manchester to Orlando Sanford last October and it was AWESOME! Premium Economy customers have their own queue at check in, passes for the fast track lane through security (was a big plus for us as it was HEAVING the day we went but I guess it depends how big the airport is, your departure time etc) and they board Premium Economy first. There's only 47 seats in PE and they give you a drink and snack while they board the rest of the plane. I know there have been issues with seat access and I do think seat back TV would be a good option but I haven't heard anything about them changing the current seat situation so I'm sorry I can't comment on that. We didn't have any issues with it but I guess it may depend where you sit etc. There was a good variety food wise and it tasted as if they'd really thought about what they were doing! We were treated like royalty from start to finish with the cabin staff coming round asking if we were ok, serving drinks and snacks regularly. The headphones for with the TV were great. No noise leakage at all which meant as soon as you put them on, you could immerse yourself in whatever it was you were doing. Good range of movies, a few games and a music system that was like an iPod and allowed you to make a playlist (great for track hoppers like me). Someone on Tripadvisor complained there weren't enough toilets in PE... there were 3 for 47 people! They also gave us a free newspaper and a pack of 3 magazines on both outbound and return flights. The question of jetlag... my son didn't get jetlag at all and his body clock seemed to adjust really well after both flights whereas I couldn't sleep for days when we got there and needed a week to get over it when we got back so I think it depends on the person. PE section is first off the plane as well. Lounge at Sanford is free to all Thomson Premium customers who book the Dreamliner as part of their Disney package but not to those with Premium flights only (we booked Thomson PE Dreamliner flight only and hotel through Disney for trip in Oct and Thomson Airlines confirmed this). The lounge is great though.. complimentary tea, coffee, juice and biscuits but you have to pay for any other snacks. There's free Internet, a cinema room where they show Disney movies, a quiet room and a baby play room as well as a lounge just to chill and have your coffee in. Sorry I can't answer much about Economy but a few people were chatting to us near luggage carousel and said they were now wishing they'd upgraded. Hope that helps and if anyone has any questions about Dreamliner, please feel free to message me on here. Hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[queendisney]

I haven't been on the Dreamliner but I would guess the food will be the same - it's going to be plane food and might or might not be edible

As for the seat configuration for economy on long haul they are all wide body jets which means seats in groups of 3 or 4 so you will neatly always have a stranger next to you.

Virgins A330 are 2-4-2 in economy but no longer serve Orlando. VA fly 747s which are 3-4-3 and BA fly 777s which are again 3-3-3

Also right at the back of the 747 its 2-4-2...if I'm not in PE (more often not unfortunately) I always go for the 2 at the back of the 747 and hope the arrivals hall isn't too busy!!!! But we have never had a long wait even being last off the plane..

 

[married2mm]

Hi
We are booked in the premium cabin on a Dreamliner next April - I'm so looking forward to it,
I didn't realise you would be able to use a lounge at Sanford

 

[2Tiggies]

if anyone has any questions about Dreamliner, please feel free to message me on here. Hope you enjoy your trip!

Or alternatively, they could post directly to the thread so that the information benefits everyone.

 

[DLPDreams]

Lounge at Sanford is free to all Thomson Premium customers who book the Dreamliner as part of their Disney package but not to those with Premium flights only (we booked Thomson PE Dreamliner flight only and hotel through Disney for trip in Oct and Thomson Airlines confirmed this).

We are flight only and we have our booking information already - we have a voucher for all of us for the Sanford Lounge . So, flight only definitely get lounge access too. From what I gather, Sanford isn't that great an airport for returning home journey, so the lounge is meant to be good for this reason. You can also pay for this - I have read people paying about £15 pp for this, but obviously it all chips off the price difference for PE.

I have had an email from Thomsons CS confirming that they are looking to change the PE seats, however, all they would say was they are still reviewing seat designs. It is going to happen, but not sure when. For us, access isn't too much of an issue as our children will be in the window seats and there will be just us to disturb if they need to be out. News first emerged when a recent passenger (Spring flight) said they'd flown in PE and the Captain came out and started having a chat with them, he told them Thomson weren't happy with Boeing about the seats as Thomson had wanted a different design, and so they were changing them as soon as possible. But, no news since.... other than my email confirming it will happen but not when!

Have also read, as pp says, that the noise reducing headphones in PE are great (people even asking where they can buy them!). Haven't heard such good things about the economy ones - but then I am sure they are fine and fit for purpose tbh....

Oh btw, not sure how, but the Dreamliners are also meant to prevent or significantly reduce air sickness. Clearly that isn't specific to just PE, but with two girls who have both been sick on previous flights to places, it is something I am keeping my fingers crossed works!

HTH

 

[DLPDreams]

There is a lounge at Newcastle-but it's not included in the premium upgrade-,you have to pay the extra pp.

We are flying on the Dreamliner in 8weeks time-But not premium!
We have paid for the lounge, as a surprise though.


Next October we are going for a week with dmil,we are flying premium-
And will be enjoying lounges in Newcastle and Sanford.

Yikes - 8 weeks - it's flying by . I am SO looking forward to your flight review when you return .

 

[edinburghlass]

It's been a while since I flew in and out of Sanford but as it's so much smaller than MCO I do remember it as being a very pleasant airport to travel through.

 

[married2mm]

Yikes - 8 weeks - it's flying by . I am SO looking forward to your flight review when you return .

Eeek,I know!

We're all very excited to be flying both from Newcastle and on the Dreamliner.

3 weeks of fab fun.

 

[Disneyfan27]

Thanks all I have been talking to the partner and were still paying off the holiday and it is my partner first time at disney so an upgrade to PE might be an option just got to find out how much it will be

 

[foxxxy83]

Hope you both have a FAB trip either way! x