Thailand welcomes Boeing 787 Dreamliner

BANGKOK, February 11 (TNA) - Thailand Thursday welcomed a Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane at the country's main Suvarnabhumi International Airport, the first stop of "Boeing Dream Tour" in Southeast Asia. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner touched down at the Suvarnabhumi International Airport, after flying 15 hours, over 12,350 kilometres, non-stop from Seattle’s Boeing Field in the US Washington D.C. State. The Boeing new mid-sized plane made a demonstration flight from Bangkok to Thailand's northern resort Chiang Mai Province on Friday, carrying executives and pilots of Thai Airways International (THAI), the national flag carrier, and special guests, before returning to the Thai capital, with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and government officials having been among the aviation guests. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft was scheduled to fly to Singapore on Saturday, as the last destination of its Southeast Asian tour, to join the Singapore Airshow 2012 scheduled for February 12-14, during which it will be on static display. THAI plans to add Boeing 787 Dreamliners into its fleet over the next two years. According to the national airline, the 210-250-seat Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner and the 250-290-seat Boeing 787-9 passenger planes are energy saving, with 20 per cent less fuel consumption than comparable aircraft and will also be 30 per cent cheaper to maintain. (TNA)