a coleet of 757 are planned until about 2017, depending on what boeing comes up with ie 737 max, as current 800's cant do i/b from Cape Verde without a fuel stop or severe weight penalty, plan is to refresh cabin this winter and reduce seating to about 221 seats to make them more appealing on longer routes!
Do you or anyone happen to know what types of weight penalty TOM would need to take on a 738 in terms of PAX loads on the Cape Verde - UK flights? Obviously this would only be on the return sector from Boa Vista (BVC) as Sal (SID) has a huge runway easily making the 738 capable to operate to and from the UK non-stop at 100% capacity.
I know other operators including TUIfly, Arkefly, Jetairfly etc have all operated the 738 on the Cape Verde routes for years now. However I know certain if not all of these airlines operate the return flights from Boa Vista (BVC) via Sal. I guess in the future unless a runway extension is made at BVC, TOM will also have to operate in this way - I don't think the UK public will be as forgiving though, having been used to direct return 757 flights so far. So perhaps the 787 may be introduced?
As for the 757's, The slimline Recaro seats on all aircraft and the re-introduction of IFE on these flights and I think TOM is onto a winner!
