SCOTS air passengers will get their first glimpse of the revolutionary new Dreamliner aircraft today.

Boeing, the US giant behind the 787 Dreamliner, claim the plane will revolutionise air travel. The inaugural Glasgow flight took off for Mexico – but as RUSSELL LEADBETTER discovered, one person on board had already sampled what the new jet can offer.

CHRIS Browne is the woman who liked the Dreamliner so much, she has bought eight of them.

The managing director of Thomson Airways, the UK's third-largest airline, has given the new Boeing plane a considerable vote of confidence.

The plane takes off on its inaugural flight from Glasgow at 9.40am today –and, alone of all the passengers on board, Chris already knows at first hand what the Dreamliner can offer.

A few weeks ago, Thomson took delivery of its first £150 million Dreamliner, when it was flown across the Atlantic from the Boeing Everett Factory in Seattle, the northwestern US city where it was built, to Manchester, in the UK.

Chris said: "I'm slightly biased but I think it looks beautiful.

"When you first see it, it definitely looks different.

"It's big, the first thing that strikes you is the wingspan. It looks gorgeous."

The Dreamliner has a lot going for it. It can carry up to 291 passengers, and flies at 41,000ft at a top speed of 540mph.

It is specially designed for long-haul flights, uses 20% less fuel than comparable jets, and creates 60% less noise than other planes of its size and capability.

It has larger windows, and more cabin space for passengers.

That noise factor is important for the airline, not to mention those people who live near the country's main airports.

Chris said: "I was at a meeting at Hanover airport, in Germany, just a few weeks ago, and as we opened the windows there were several short-haul aircraft landing, it was quite noisy.

"We were doing training flights on the 787 and it was remarkably quieter than much smaller aircraft.

"That is one of the first things people will notice."

Thomson Airway's involvement in the new Boeing stretches all the way back to 2004.

Chris said: "It was only a drawing on a piece of paper back then.

"We had analysed all the aircraft that would be suitable for our markets but the Dreamliner came out tops.

"I didn't know back then we were going to have to wait nine years for it, though – but the wait has been worth it."

Chris, who recently received an OBE for services to aviation, lives in Kilmacolm.

She was born in Strabane, County Tyrone, and did languages at Queen's University Belfast, before studying travel and tourism at Strathclyde University.

She started her career almost 30 years ago with a Spanish holiday company, in London, and later worked for Iberia Airlines, rising to become general manager for the UK and Ireland.

Subsequent posts took her to Carlson Worldchoice then to First Choice.

Thirteen years ago she became managing director of First Choice Airways in Manchester.

In 2007 she joined Thomson Airways, a merged company that brought together First Choice and Thomsonfly.

Thomson now has three Dreamliners. A fourth arrives later this summer, and four others will follow before May 2015.

Passengers may admire the Dreamliner, but what will count for them is their comfort on lengthy, continent-crossing flights.

Chris does not anticipate many problems in this area once the new Boeing hits its stride.

She said: "The thing about aircraft and airlines is that you make big decisions about planes years and years before you actually take delivery of them.

"You obviously have to keep at the cutting-edge of technology.

The in-flight entertainment system on board is the newest available. It has a great choice of films. The screens are larger.

"You can charge your own iPhone or iPad.

"The seat comfort is tremendous. In our market, we don't have first class or business class, nor do we charge prices to match.

"So to be able to have 33 or 34" of leg-room in economy, and 38" in premium economy, at a very affordable rate, I think customers will be really pleased when they step on board.

"I flew 10 hours from Seattle to Manchester and I genuinely wasn't tired when I arrived.

"I really did feel the difference between the Dreamliner and ordinary aircraft, because of such factors as the air humidity, and the depressurisation in the cabin."

The Dreamliner fleet was grounded earlier this year over incidents caused by smouldering batteries, but US federal authorities lifted the grounding order on 19 April.

Chris said: I was frankly surprised by the grounding, but we would not put an aircraft in the air that was not absolutely safe.

"The amount of testing the Dreamliner has been through is phenomenal."

The Thomson Dreamliner will initially fly from Glasgow to Cancun, in Mexico, and Florida, with the Dominican Republic being added in the winter.

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said late last year that the Dreamliner was at the 'cutting edge of aircraft design' and would give Scots passengers a 'unique flying experience'.

The key question is whether the Dreamliner feels like a genuine improvement on other passenger aircraft.

Chris said: "It really does.

"Probably the biggest test we have had so far was when we took people on board, not just airline people, and they noticed the difference, which to me is proof that we have got it right.

"The big test for us is will obviously be Monday, because that will be the first time we will fly long-haul, and we hope passengers will like it as much as we do."