New Dreamliner starts operating from Manchester

It is a big day for Thomson AND Manchester airport. Today sees the end of a long wait for a UK airline to operate Boeing's new ultra-green Dreamliner plane. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner service will begin flying between Manchester and Orlando in Florida.

The plane has been plagued by a number of problems since its launch in 2008, even before several aircraft developed battery problems. Thomson had to scrap all its planned Dreamliner flights for May and June 2013 after battery smoke enamating on two Dreamliner flights operated by Japanese carriers led to a grounding of the world's 787 fleet and a halt to deliveries.

Boeing has carried out modification work and the planes, seen as quiet and fuel-efficient, are now flying again.

But Saturday's crash of an Asiana Boeing 777 in San Francisco will perhaps shake the confidence of some passengers.

Thomson, which is due to receive eight Dreamliners, is the UK launch customer for the plane and before the grounding had been busy promoting trips on the 787 which can seat between 210 and 290 passengers on medium-range routes.

British Airways was due to take delivery of the first of 24 Dreamliners in May 2013 and is in discussion with Seattle-based Boeing about the delivery schedule following the plane's return to service.

Virgin Atlantic is scheduled to get the first of its 16 Dreamliners in September 2014.