BA to use all retro 747s on a domestic flight

Gazdon121 · Sat Jun 01, 2019 8:47 am

BA will use all of there retro 747s on the 25th August on domestic flights to celebrate there 100th birthday.

Be a nice flight to be on

https://simpleflying.com/british-airway ... 7-flights/

flipdewaf · Sat Jun 01, 2019 9:20 am

A great idea by BA just wish they’d bring it to my home airport as it’s just over 2hrs to Manchester for some pics.

Fred

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

opticalilyushin · Sat Jun 01, 2019 11:01 am

I got a ticket booked on the GLA-LHR sector just before the prices went insane..hoping for the Landor or BOAC livery

817Dreamliiner · Sat Jun 01, 2019 12:02 pm

opticalilyushin wrote:
I got a ticket booked on the GLA-LHR sector just before the prices went insane..hoping for the Landor or BOAC livery

The seatmap showed the High J version of the 747, so unless that changes you'll be on the BOAC aircraft. I'm booked on the LHR-MAN flight

george77300 · Sat Jun 01, 2019 12:46 pm

opticalilyushin wrote:
I got a ticket booked on the GLA-LHR sector just before the prices went insane..hoping for the Landor or BOAC livery

GLA is the BOAC.

MAN/NCL will be Landor/Negus.

I’m on both NCL legs so will have two flights on one of them.

Very excited...

marcogr12 · Sat Jun 01, 2019 5:32 pm

I booked the LHR-GLA part because the prices went crazy in just a couple of hours on the LHR-MAN/NCL..One problem i have is it wont let me buy front seats..The seatmap shows seats from row 33 and back while it distinctively says during booking no business class on this flight,..So i find it odd no seats from 33 to the front..and no window seats available..What's goin on?

n729pa · Sun Jun 02, 2019 12:33 am

marcogr12 wrote:
I booked the LHR-GLA part because the prices went crazy in just a couple of hours on the LHR-MAN/NCL..One problem i have is it wont let me buy front seats..The seatmap shows seats from row 33 and back while it distinctively says during booking no business class on this flight,..So i find it odd no seats from 33 to the front..and no window seats available..What's goin on?

I'm on MAN-LHR and the seat map was showing 11 to 16 or something and I couldn't book them either. (Might also be frequent flyer grade linked?)

When BA flew their A380 to FRA some years back they only sold the usual passenger load despite the size of the plane in case of a tech issue on the day. Not sure if that might explain the limited view or seats?

Canuck600 · Sun Jun 02, 2019 10:12 am

Maybe those seats that don't show are blocked for employees or VIP's?

sandyb123 · Sun Jun 02, 2019 10:24 am

I’m not seeing this on the BA website? Surely not sold out already! Which rotation is it from GLA?

Sandyb123

xijiayu · Sun Jun 02, 2019 10:59 am

sandyb123 wrote:
I’m not seeing this on the BA website? Surely not sold out already! Which rotation is it from GLA?

Sandyb123

GLA-LHR on 25th August BA1487 (leaving at 15:00) and one way economy fare to LHR now costs £306. It might be cheaper to book a return flight to the States on B747.

BritishB747 · Sun Jun 02, 2019 3:41 pm

My friends and I are booked on the 12:00 to Glasgow. Thankfully we got in there at the right time. My friend and I booked quickly after we found out on Friday. At that point the flight was £52 one way. It cost us £22.50 and 4000 Avios. By the time my other friend booked it had gone up to £86. Very glad we were quick off the mark!

BritishB747 · Sun Jun 02, 2019 4:00 pm

Out of curiosity I looked at how much a BA 747 return was to JFK in September. Cheapest price was £280 return.

So the choice is one way to the glamour of Glasgow, or a return to New York where there isn’t much to see at all.

hongkongflyer · Mon Jun 03, 2019 1:27 am

BritishB747 wrote:
Out of curiosity I looked at how much a BA 747 return was to JFK in September. Cheapest price was £280 return.

So the choice is one way to the glamour of Glasgow, or a return to New York where there isn’t much to see at all.

The major problem is their 747s are rotated throughout the system so you won't know which plan will operate your flight.

Antarius · Mon Jun 03, 2019 2:19 am

I'd just fly to GLA or MAN or whatever on an earlier flight and watch the 744 come in.

It's the same 747 as the other ones and you cant see the livery from the inside.

BritishB747 · Mon Jun 03, 2019 7:19 am

hongkongflyer wrote:
BritishB747 wrote:
Out of curiosity I looked at how much a BA 747 return was to JFK in September. Cheapest price was £280 return.

So the choice is one way to the glamour of Glasgow, or a return to New York where there isn’t much to see at all.

The major problem is their 747s are rotated throughout the system so you won't know which plan will operate your flight.

This is very true, you have no way of knowing what frame will operate a given flight until the day before, but I am quite happy to fly on any 747 these days. It may not seem it when you watch all the BA 747s arrive and depart Heathrow, but they are getting more and more difficult to fly on.

Bhoy · Mon Jun 03, 2019 8:36 am

hongkongflyer wrote:
BritishB747 wrote:
Out of curiosity I looked at how much a BA 747 return was to JFK in September. Cheapest price was £280 return.

So the choice is one way to the glamour of Glasgow, or a return to New York where there isn’t much to see at all.

The major problem is their 747s are rotated throughout the system so you won't know which plan will operate your flight.

But BA haven't actually said that it'll be the retro Aircraft, have they? It might just be three random Chatham Dockyard tails?

Lofty · Mon Jun 03, 2019 9:08 am

Just one point as LHR T5 do not have any B747 domestic gates, these flights will have to be coached so you should get a good look at the aircraft from outside.

CarbonFibre · Mon Jun 03, 2019 3:33 pm

hongkongflyer wrote:
The major problem is their 747s are rotated throughout the system so you won't know which plan will operate your flight.

GLA has been announced as a SuperHi-J aircraft, so will be BOAC if the heritage trio are used.

hongkongflyer · Mon Jun 03, 2019 3:54 pm

CarbonFibre wrote:
hongkongflyer wrote:
The major problem is their 747s are rotated throughout the system so you won't know which plan will operate your flight.

GLA has been announced as a SuperHi-J aircraft, so will be BOAC if the heritage trio are used.

But there are numbers of SuperHi-J 744 in BA fleet, you won't know which flight the BOAC one will fly until last few days.

BritishB747 · Wed Jun 05, 2019 2:03 pm

hongkongflyer wrote:
CarbonFibre wrote:
hongkongflyer wrote:
The major problem is their 747s are rotated throughout the system so you won't know which plan will operate your flight.

GLA has been announced as a SuperHi-J aircraft, so will be BOAC if the heritage trio are used.

But there are numbers of SuperHi-J 744 in BA fleet, you won't know which flight the BOAC one will fly until last few days.

I think with the 25th August being their 100th birthday, and these flights being scheduled to celebrate that, BA will try to use their retro/heritage aircraft on these routes to celebrate their history. Of course there is no guarantee that BOAC will appear in Glasgow on the 25th, it may be a dirty old OneWorld frame, but I would have thought that they would at least try.

hongkongflyer · Wed Jun 05, 2019 3:44 pm

BritishB747 wrote:
hongkongflyer wrote:
CarbonFibre wrote:

GLA has been announced as a SuperHi-J aircraft, so will be BOAC if the heritage trio are used.

But there are numbers of SuperHi-J 744 in BA fleet, you won't know which flight the BOAC one will fly until last few days.

I think with the 25th August being their 100th birthday, and these flights being scheduled to celebrate that, BA will try to use their retro/heritage aircraft on these routes to celebrate their history. Of course there is no guarantee that BOAC will appear in Glasgow on the 25th, it may be a dirty old OneWorld frame, but I would have thought that they would at least try.

I am responding to the previous reply suggesting that buying a ticket from LHR to JFK is more cost-efficient then the now rocket high domestic flight on 25 Aug in order to ride the retro 747.

LHRFlyer · Fri Jun 07, 2019 10:13 am

BA is now offering refunds to passengers who booked these flights thinking they would be celebratory flights:

https://londonairtravel.com/2019/06/07/ ... hat-arent/

CarbonFibre · Fri Jun 07, 2019 10:58 am

747s doing domestic flights on BA's birthday? What are they if they're not celebratory flights? I can't see the point of this article or BA offering refunds as nothing has changed.

LHRFlyer · Fri Jun 07, 2019 11:51 am

I think the point is some people may have booked these flights expecting a special celebration on board, rather than a standard domestic flight.

Also, the statement from BA suggests it may have other plans for the weekend. Enthusiasts who have booked these flights may want to see what else BA has yet to announce for the day.

wexfordflyer · Fri Jun 07, 2019 12:10 pm

LHRFlyer wrote:
I think the point is some people may have booked these flights expecting a special celebration on board, rather than a standard domestic flight.

Well I think that's the fault of the people booking rather than BA

817Dreamliiner · Fri Jun 07, 2019 12:10 pm

Well I just got the notification from BA. However my booking still shows the seatmap for the 747.

EDIT: it's an A321 now.

CarbonFibre · Fri Jun 07, 2019 12:12 pm

BA are sending out emails confirming the flights won't be operated by 747. No doubt those enviromentalist idiots were behind this.

marcogr12 · Fri Jun 07, 2019 12:15 pm

I didnt book for any kind of celebration apart from the fact that i have never flown a 747 so far...And that s celebration enough for me

Armodeen · Fri Jun 07, 2019 12:29 pm

Prices went mental for MAN. I'm glad I didn't book it in the end if they intend to yank the 747 off the flight.

Arion640 · Fri Jun 07, 2019 12:46 pm

There was no official announcement by BA these flights would take place, people just exploited the booking system and it went viral.

afcjets · Fri Jun 07, 2019 1:02 pm

By retro 747s do they mean grounded? What are these 747s doing now and if they are flying, what are they going to do on the routes they are coming from?

n729pa · Fri Jun 07, 2019 1:03 pm

Arion640 wrote:
There was no official announcement by BA these flights would take place, people just exploited the booking system and it went viral.

...it was announced on https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/ai ... ht=british airways
but also BA were showing the flights as 747s on their own website, so fair to say that was official if BA themselves were showing it I think.

Maybe BA couldn't get enough Afternoon Teas to satisfy demand....

LHRFlyer · Fri Jun 07, 2019 1:07 pm

Simon Calder going for the most negative angle possible was probably a factor:

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/ne ... 43031.html

CarbonFibre · Fri Jun 07, 2019 1:10 pm

Or maybe Simon Calder was to blame. https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/ne ... 43031.html

Arion640 · Fri Jun 07, 2019 1:20 pm

n729pa wrote:
Arion640 wrote:
There was no official announcement by BA these flights would take place, people just exploited the booking system and it went viral.

...it was announced on https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/ai ... ht=british airways
but also BA were showing the flights as 747s on their own website, so fair to say that was official if BA themselves were showing it I think.

Maybe BA couldn't get enough Afternoon Teas to satisfy demand....

Yes but that site just looks at booking system changes. I had a 747 dropped from BKK-HKG once but it is what it is. Unless there was an official annoucement from BA they can do what they like.

Probably got environmentalists claiming victory now.

You have to ask yourself can BA afford to drop 3 747’s off long haul flights during the summer peak?

CarbonFibre · Fri Jun 07, 2019 1:22 pm

I still think BA should give all those that were booked first refusal of any new flights or events.

ELBOB · Fri Jun 07, 2019 2:14 pm

Arion640 wrote:

You have to ask yourself can BA afford to drop 3 747’s off long haul flights during the summer peak?

I don't have to ask myself that; I had two seats in row 53 booked on a 747 to Glasgow. I know it was true.

Fair play to BA for providing full refunds on demand, which itself is implicit acknowledgement that they changed the plan.

CarbonFibre · Fri Jun 07, 2019 4:40 pm

Seems gold members are now first in the queue for the 'big surprise' due to be announced.

jghealey · Fri Jun 07, 2019 5:54 pm

afcjets wrote:
By retro 747s do they mean grounded? What are these 747s doing now and if they are flying, what are they going to do on the routes they are coming from?

BA repainted 3 of their regular 747-400s into retro liveries earlier this year; they will fly in these liveries until their retirement by 2024

bluefrog · Sat Jun 08, 2019 10:25 am

LHRFlyer wrote:
BA is now offering refunds to passengers who booked these flights thinking they would be celebratory flights:

https://londonairtravel.com/2019/06/07/ ... hat-arent/

looking at BA site now the MAN-LHR is a321 but still costs a very high £376 !!
a flight down to LCY leaving 5 mins later only £52

Boeing74741R · Sat Jun 08, 2019 7:39 pm

CarbonFibre wrote:
I still think BA should give all those that were booked first refusal of any new flights or events.

Why? It was true that a few flights were loaded into the booking system as 747’s, but there was no official announcement from BA themselves that they would specifically be the three retrojets apart from a couple of blog pages. It would be interesting to know who the sources were who wrote on those blog pages that it would be retrojets.

It might have raised awareness within BA that there’s demand to do something special, but I expect anything special to be organised more officially and advertised suitably instead of quietly slipping it into booking systems and people jumping to conclusions. Fair play to BA for offering refunds though when they didn’t have to.

I feel sorry for those who booked on specifically for a retro liveried 747 on a domestic flight - a few of my mates did so and I’d have done the same had I not had a few other things to pay for first - but there’s a few people blowing this out of proportion judging by their reactions.

blacksoviet · Sat Jun 08, 2019 8:15 pm

Does this mean that several intercontinental flights will switch to a 777?

rikkus67 · Sat Jun 08, 2019 8:52 pm

flipdewaf wrote:
A great idea by BA just wish they’d bring it to my home airport as it’s just over 2hrs to Manchester for some pics.

Fred

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Living in Canada, that is a typical drive between larger centers! But I hear you. I always hoped that YQL would see the big birds fly in, but YYC is the closest major airport, at just under 2 hours drive away.

But, Fred, never give up hope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9EO0D9I5OM

TedToToe · Sat Jun 08, 2019 9:38 pm

blacksoviet wrote:
Does this mean that several intercontinental flights will switch to a 777?

Although there must be a fair amount of slack in the 744 flying schedule, it probably wouldn’t take much to get at least one of the three out of position on the day: imagine the negative publicity that this would bring! Interestingly, it is the Landor liveried 744 that is currently out of action at LAS awaiting a replacement engine.

blacksoviet · Sat Jun 08, 2019 9:45 pm

TedToToe wrote:
blacksoviet wrote:
Does this mean that several intercontinental flights will switch to a 777?

Although there must be a fair amount of slack in the 744 flying schedule, it probably wouldn’t take much to get at least one of the three out of position on the day: imagine the negative publicity that this would bring! Interestingly, it is the Lander liveried 744 that is currently out of action at LAS awaiting a replacement engine.

Negative publicity? Does the 744 have superior premium seats?

Ziyulu · Sat Jun 08, 2019 9:52 pm

Will they be serving afternoon tea?

TedToToe · Sat Jun 08, 2019 10:04 pm

blacksoviet wrote:
TedToToe wrote:
blacksoviet wrote:
Does this mean that several intercontinental flights will switch to a 777?

Although there must be a fair amount of slack in the 744 flying schedule, it probably wouldn’t take much to get at least one of the three out of position on the day: imagine the negative publicity that this would bring! Interestingly, it is the Lander liveried 744 that is currently out of action at LAS awaiting a replacement engine.

Negative publicity? Does the 744 have superior premium seats?

From a scheduling point of view, I think the risk was twofold. First, slotting three domestic rotations in the middle of the long haul schedule risks delays and/or substitutions. As well as adverse publicity, compensation may need to be paid out to passengers, which could come from involuntary downgrades, for example. It isn’t the ‘superiority’ of the seats but the quantity in each cabin that matters. The second risk is, not being able to align all three retro liveried 744s at the planned date and time. Here, the adverse publicity would come from not operating the retro 744s on the domestic routes as planned.

blacksoviet · Sat Jun 08, 2019 10:15 pm

TedToToe wrote:
blacksoviet wrote:
TedToToe wrote:
Although there must be a fair amount of slack in the 744 flying schedule, it probably wouldn’t take much to get at least one of the three out of position on the day: imagine the negative publicity that this would bring! Interestingly, it is the Lander liveried 744 that is currently out of action at LAS awaiting a replacement engine.

Negative publicity? Does the 744 have superior premium seats?

From a scheduling point of view, I think the risk was twofold. First, slotting three domestic rotations in the middle of the long haul schedule risks delays and/or substitutions. As well as adverse publicity, compensation may need to be paid out to passengers, which could come from involuntary downgrades, for example. It isn’t the ‘superiority’ of the seats but the quantity in each cabin that matters. The second risk is, not being able to align all three retro liveried 744s at the planned date and time. Here, the adverse publicity would come from not operating the retro 744s on the domestic routes as planned.

I see. Economy passengers will be bumped off the flight. Premium Economy passengers will be downgraded to Economy. Business Class passengers will be downgraded to Premium Economy and First Class passengers will be downgraded to Business Class. Not good. I would not be happy if I paid for a First Class ticket and got downgraded to Business Class.

n729pa · Mon Jun 10, 2019 7:57 pm

We'll never know now. But I seem to recall if im correct, that when BA flew their A380s to FRA they only sold a limited number of seats on it so any last minute tech issues it could be replaced with the usual equipment and no stranded pasengers. So possible this could have been managed the same way. Academic now anyway.

TedToToe · Mon Jun 10, 2019 8:05 pm

n729pa wrote:
We'll never know now. But I seem to recall if im correct, that when BA flew their A380s to FRA they only sold a limited number of seats on it so any last minute tech issues it could be replaced with the usual equipment and no stranded pasengers. So possible this could have been managed the same way. Academic now anyway.

Yes, all academic, but I believe in economy they were only allocating A, B, C and H, J, K seats. So, easily substituted back to an A320/321 if required.

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