Scoot's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner touches down at Changi Airport

Scoot chief executive officer Campbell Wilson (centre) making a mid-air toast on board the budget airline's first Boeing 787 during the delivery flight from Seattle to Singapore. -- ST PHOTO: JERMYN CHOW
Scoot chief executive officer Campbell Wilson (centre) making a mid-air toast on board the budget airline's first Boeing 787 during the delivery flight from Seattle to Singapore. -- ST PHOTO: JERMYN CHOW
Scoot's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner (pictured), which took off from Seattle on a delivery flight to Singapore on Feb 1, 2015, touched down at Changi Airport at 9.33am the next day. -- ST PHOTO: WANG HUI FEN

SINGAPORE - After an 18-hour flight from Seattle, Scoot's first of 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners arrived in Singapore on Monday morning, heralding the budget carrier's next phase of growth in the region.

For a cool 360 degree look at the new plane's interior, check out the photo taken by ST's Deputy Picture Editor Wang Hui Fen below.

The special delivery flight, TZ 787, touched down at Changi Airport at 9.33 in the morning amid cheers from its first passengers onboard, including Scoot Chief executive Campbell Wilson, Scoot staff and journalists.

The plane, nicknamed Dream Start, was welcomed by two fire trucks that blasted an arc of water as part of the water cannon salute, a long-held tradition to welcome special flights or planes to an airport.

The plane is also the first B787 to be based at Changi Airport.

Mr Wilson got the "keys" to the new plane from Boeing at its factory in Seattle on Sunday.

Those onboard the 375-seater twin-aisle plane got a preview of the new-look cabin during the 18-hour flight with a stopover in Osaka.

They were also able to try out the seats, touted to be more roomy and more comfortable.

As part of the festivities, there was sparkling wine and a mid-air toast. Certificates were also given out to everyone to mark the delivery flight.

Monday's arrival of Scoot's Dreamliner comes more than two years after it first announced that it will take over the 787s from parent company, Singapore Airlines.

Mr Campbell said the 787s are a "game changer", allowing allow Scoot to triple its fleet size, add new destinations and increase flight frequencies in the coming months and years - a growth plan that has been put on hold as the carrier was using six ageing B777-200s that were on loan from SIA.

Scoot plans to retire the B777s by August and transition to an all-Dreamliner fleet. This will mean cost savings for the carrier as the Dreamliner uses a fifth less fuel than the existing fleet.

Mr Campbell said this will allow the carrier to lower airfares "without harming the business".

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