Welcome to the British Airways News and Discussion thread - 2022 edition. Please continue to post your news and discussions below.

Link to the locked 2021 edition:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1456127

Will start off with the Club Suite refit progress:

Currently 36 aircraft in the fleet have the new seat:

21 Boeing 777-200ER (15 are GE powered and configured 8F 49J 40W 138Y and 6 are RR powered and configured 48J 40W 184Y).

5 Boeing 777-300ER configured 8F 76J 40W 130Y

2 Boeing 787-10 configured 8F 48J 35W 165Y

8 Airbus A350-1000 configured 56J 56W 219Y

Some notes to add:
All LHR based GE 777-200ERs have completed refit.
5 787-10s and at least 1 A350-1000 are currently stored and due to be delivered at some point.
All remaining LHR based 777s are to be completed by the end of 2022.

817Dreamliiner wrote:

Some notes to add:
All LHR based GE 777-200ERs have completed refit.
5 787-10s and at least 1 A350-1000 are currently stored and due to be delivered at some point.
All remaining LHR based 777s are to be completed by the end of 2022.

Any updates on when they'll (finally!) start on the 788/789?

LAX772LR wrote:

Any updates on when they'll (finally!) start on the 788/789?

I believe the refits were to start this year, but given the progress of the 777 refit (and covid of course) which was actually due to be completed in 2021, I'd imagine it would be delayed towards the later part of 2022 or early 2023.

817Dreamliiner wrote:

Will start off with the Club Suite refit progress:

Currently 36 aircraft in the fleet have the new seat:

21 Boeing 777-200ER (15 are GE powered and configured 8F 49J 40W 138Y and 6 are RR powered and configured 48J 40W 184Y).

5 Boeing 777-300ER configured 8F 76J 40W 130Y

2 Boeing 787-10 configured 8F 48J 35W 165Y

8 Airbus A350-1000 configured 56J 56W 219Y

Some notes to add:
All LHR based GE 777-200ERs have completed refit.
5 787-10s and at least 1 A350-1000 are currently stored and due to be delivered at some point.
All remaining LHR based 777s are to be completed by the end of 2022.

With 4 x B772s leaving in 2025 to be replaced with 779s, it's a big expense to put their latest CS in a model being retired after 2yrs or so. No??

Only a guess, but figure who amongst the other A350 customers has a large shareholding in IAG? Pure coincidence that the IBE aircraft are also going nowhere fast. EC-NLP was registered and seemingly ready to go in Dec 2020.

Scotron12 wrote:

With 4 x B772s leaving in 2025 to be replaced with 779s, it's a big expense to put their latest CS in a model being retired after 2yrs or so. No??

Well some of the older ones have had the new seat for 2 years now, so by then they would have had it for at least 5-6 years. That length of time would probably earn back the expense of the configuration.

817Dreamliiner wrote:

Scotron12 wrote:

With 4 x B772s leaving in 2025 to be replaced with 779s, it's a big expense to put their latest CS in a model being retired after 2yrs or so. No??

Well some of the older ones have had the new seat for 2 years now, so by then they would have had it for at least 5-6 years. That length of time would probably earn back the expense of the configuration.

I'm not an expert on how aircraft seating installations work, so please don't flame me if what I suggest isn't viable, but could it be that BA have installed the new seat in the older aircraft so when they are retired in a a couple years they can move the seats over to the other 777s that haven't had the refit saving money on buying more seats for every aircraft?

BA A350-1000 G-XWBC suffered a tail strike while attempting to land at LHR on 2/1/222



https://twitter.com/mzulqarnainbut1/sta ... 14496?s=21

A388 XLED has returned to service today operating BA107 to DXB

https://twitter.com/aa380fanclub/status ... 96417?s=21

Opus99 wrote:

Wildlander wrote:

Only a guess, but figure who amongst the other A350 customers has a large shareholding in IAG? Pure coincidence that the IBE aircraft are also going nowhere fast. EC-NLP was registered and seemingly ready to go in Dec 2020.

I am surprised QR is able to pull that kind of clout. Well I guess money talks

Convenient to both IAG and QR atm to play the same song.

A388 G-XLED which only returned to service yesterday has returned from DXB with damage to Door 1 due to a jet bridge

https://twitter.com/mzulqarnainbut1/sta ... 91012?s=21

qf789 wrote:

A388 G-XLED which only returned to service yesterday has returned from DXB with damage to Door 1 due to a jet bridge

https://twitter.com/mzulqarnainbut1/sta ... 91012?s=21

Unbelievable..

Any plans on painting an aircraft in the OneWorld scheme?

Looks like BA may have cut a few routes staring next week.

BNA until mid May
MSY until end of April.

May be others.

Jshank83 wrote:

Looks like BA may have cut a few routes staring next week.

BNA until mid May
MSY until end of April.

May be others.

BWI as well

Zidane wrote:

Any plans on painting an aircraft in the OneWorld scheme?

Cosmetic repaints are on hold for the moment, although the "BA Better World" scheme on G-TTNA was an exception.

817Dreamliiner wrote:

Will start off with the Club Suite refit progress:

Currently 36 aircraft in the fleet have the new seat:

21 Boeing 777-200ER (15 are GE powered and configured 8F 49J 40W 138Y and 6 are RR powered and configured 48J 40W 184Y).

5 Boeing 777-300ER configured 8F 76J 40W 130Y

2 Boeing 787-10 configured 8F 48J 35W 165Y

8 Airbus A350-1000 configured 56J 56W 219Y

G-YMMG has completed refit and was ferried back to LHR this afternoon. Currently scheduled to go into service on Sunday to NAS and PLS per FR24.

Total completed: 37 aircraft:

22 Boeing 777-200ER (15 are GE powered and configured 8F 49J 40W 138Y and 7 are RR powered and configured 48J 40W 184Y).

5 Boeing 777-300ER configured 8F 76J 40W 130Y

2 Boeing 787-10 configured 8F 48J 35W 165Y

8 Airbus A350-1000 configured 56J 56W 219Y

Being reported by local media. They are blaming Omicron.
The bookings must really be bad.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/b ... hp&pc=U531

It looks like MSY and BWI have also been zeroed out.

BA is supposed to start A380 flights into DFW in mid-March, though I'm getting nervous that
could get postponed as well

When is the last flight out? I was just driving in Nashville and saw the BA 787 coming in to land at BNA about 10 min ago

gsg013 wrote:

When is the last flight out? I was just driving in Nashville and saw the BA 787 coming in to land at BNA about 10 min ago

Article says effective 16 January

I am not confident that many of these new routes from the 2018-2020 era are going to make it. We're nearing the end of the first phase of the pandemic, where it is oriented around vaccinated vs. non-vaccinated individuals, while the virus and variant(s) rage on. The second phase will continue through 2022-2023 with shocks to society (much like we're seeing now with supply chain shortages, labor shortages, etc). Then, finally, the rebuilding part with 2024-beyond. (this is largely summarized from a good article i read, to give credit where due).

As such, I am dubious about routes like SEA-BLR or ORD-BNE coming to fruition anytime soon.

IrishAyes wrote:

I am not confident that many of these new routes from the 2018-2020 era are going to make it.

The BWI route has been around for a long while. It is subsidized by the State of Maryland.

so AUS and SAN stay?

Sooner787 wrote:

BA is supposed to start A380 flights into DFW in mid-March, though I'm getting nervous that
could get postponed as well

i heard that was cancelled, BA moved the a380 to BOS instead

Sooner787 wrote:

BA is supposed to start A380 flights into DFW in mid-March, though I'm getting nervous that
could get postponed as well

That one is not happening after all, check the schedules for 27MAR22 onwards. Sorry!

Cubsrule wrote:

It looks like MSY and BWI have also been zeroed out.

Correct, the 3 are gone for good until May

https://simpleflying.com/ba-us-route-ch ... 1641841807

Interesting how BA hasn’t taken the lesson from US carriers that demand to Europe is really only strong in the summer. They have far more places in the world to fly those birds in winter.

usdcaguy wrote:

Interesting how BA hasn’t taken the lesson from US carriers that demand to Europe is really only strong in the summer. They have far more places in the world to fly those birds in winter.

LHR is one of the only TATL markets that holds its own through the winter. Not just BA, none of the major players had significant seasonal variation on LHR routes, at least in the pre-Covid environment.

usdcaguy wrote:

Interesting how BA hasn’t taken the lesson from US carriers that demand to Europe is really only strong in the summer. They have far more places in the world to fly those birds in winter.

BA is all about connecting the UK and Europe to North America. It's how it made much of its revenues for years.
With Asia looking to be closed for much of 2022 and Iberia taking Latin America for IAG... BA doesn't have a choice about where to send much of its widebody aircraft - North America is the only serious option.

dcajet wrote:

Sooner787 wrote:

BA is supposed to start A380 flights into DFW in mid-March, though I'm getting nervous that
could get postponed as well

That one is not happening after all, check the schedules for 27MAR22 onwards. Sorry!

In the words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friend! Looks like the 380 is scheduled to come to DFW from 7/1 onward, could be a placeholder however

Lemieux wrote:

dcajet wrote:

Sooner787 wrote:

BA is supposed to start A380 flights into DFW in mid-March, though I'm getting nervous that
could get postponed as well

That one is not happening after all, check the schedules for 27MAR22 onwards. Sorry!

In the words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friend! Looks like the 380 is scheduled to come to DFW from 7/1 onward, could be a placeholder however

Glad that may be the case after all. However, at this point in time, July is a COVID eternity away. As you well say, it may well be a placeholder.

Sooner787 wrote:

BA is supposed to start A380 flights into DFW in mid-March, though I'm getting nervous that
could get postponed as well

A380 to DFW takes over 1st July. It's 787 until mid-April then briefly 77W until July.

BA is desperately short of widebody aircraft and other resources - delayed 787-10 and A350 deiveries are starting to bite.

BA777FO wrote:

Sooner787 wrote:

BA is supposed to start A380 flights into DFW in mid-March, though I'm getting nervous that
could get postponed as well

A380 to DFW takes over 1st July. It's 787 until mid-April then briefly 77W until July.

BA is desperately short of widebody aircraft and other resources - delayed 787-10 and A350 deiveries are starting to bite.

Are there any regrets over 747 retirement?

Arion640 wrote:

BA777FO wrote:

Sooner787 wrote:

BA is supposed to start A380 flights into DFW in mid-March, though I'm getting nervous that
could get postponed as well

A380 to DFW takes over 1st July. It's 787 until mid-April then briefly 77W until July.

BA is desperately short of widebody aircraft and other resources - delayed 787-10 and A350 deiveries are starting to bite.

Are there any regrets over 747 retirement?

I don't think so. There might be a handful of routes the hi-J 747s would work on but the mid-J ones just have too many economy seats for the current market. With the age, I think the savings outweighed the potential revenue boost from having some of them operational now. Demand has weakened quite a bit since New Year. Hopefully that'll pick up for February or certainly by Easter.

There's plenty of scope to flex capacity with half a dozen A380s to return, but the real squeeze at the moment is the 787-8 sized aircraft. Many of the 747 crew have started 777 courses now and cabin crew shortages are starting to bite. It may be a combination of a sizeable number not returninh after furlough and covid isolation but recruitment is going to need to ramp up soon.

The fact that they are loading it back for daily when it returns in May I think is a show of some confidence.

My mother flew LHR-BNA on boxing day and said most people had a row in economy to themselves. Friends who flew BNA-LHR on Monday said the same thing.

dfdubflyer wrote:

The fact that they are loading it back for daily when it returns in May I think is a show of some confidence.

My mother flew LHR-BNA on boxing day and said most people had a row in economy to themselves. Friends who flew BNA-LHR on Monday said the same thing.

I flew this route several times pre-COVID and it was packed to the gills each time, both with business and leisure travelers. The timing of the re-launch was disrupted by Omicron and the continued strict requirements of both countries, which impacts people willing to make such a trip. No doubt that once this all shakes out and requirements are removed, there will be pent up demand to get back to international travel. When that will be, however, is the million dollar question.

BA CityFlyer has just announced new/resumed routes for this summer:

London City to:
-Barcelona - 6x weekly - begins 20th June
-Guernsey - 2x weekly - resumes 20th June
-Luxembourg - 23x weekly - begins 27th March (replacing LHR-LUX)
-Jersey - 2x weekly - resumes 20th June
-Milan Malpensa - 1x daily - begins 2nd April (reportedly replacing LCY-LIN)
-Thessaloniki - 1x weekly - begins 18th June

LCY-MUC has also been axed

Lemieux wrote:

dcajet wrote:

Sooner787 wrote:

BA is supposed to start A380 flights into DFW in mid-March, though I'm getting nervous that
could get postponed as well

That one is not happening after all, check the schedules for 27MAR22 onwards. Sorry!

In the words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friend! Looks like the 380 is scheduled to come to DFW from 7/1 onward, could be a placeholder however

Off topic, but where will they use their 380s until July?

TexasAirCorp wrote:

BA CityFlyer has just announced new/resumed routes for this summer:

London City to:
-Barcelona - 6x weekly - begins 20th June
-Guernsey - 2x weekly - resumes 20th June
-Luxembourg - 23x weekly - begins 27th March (replacing LHR-LUX)
-Jersey - 2x weekly - resumes 20th June
-Milan Malpensa - 1x daily - begins 2nd April (reportedly replacing LCY-LIN)
-Thessaloniki - 1x weekly - begins 18th June

LCY-MUC has also been axed

Really do not understand the logic of those bolded ones. Just going head to head with LG on the city shuttle route rather than offering the differential of onward connections, and no one wants to fly to far out MXP compared to LIN, especially if you specifically flew from LCY on a little Embraer to nip between the two smaller local airports.

eurotrader85 wrote:

Really do not understand the logic of those bolded ones. Just going head to head with LG on the city shuttle route rather than offering the differential of onward connections, and no one wants to fly to far out MXP compared to LIN, especially if you specifically flew from LCY on a little Embraer to nip between the two smaller local airports.

Agreed, especially considering Alitalia/ITA has also axed LCY-LIN.

Opus99 wrote:

I do understand the 787-10 delays because of Boeings production issues but I don’t understand the 350 delay hold up? The planes have been ready seems BA is not ready to pick them up

Yes, I think that the A350 deliveries were delayed by choice, with the agreement of Airbus. If you take delivery of the aircraft, you have to pay for it!!

With the ever changing UK government restrictions on travel causing continued uncertainty they maybe didn’t want to commit the money to taking delivery of aircraft they may not have needed.

I suspect with the tide looking like its starting to turn on restrictions, the new A350s will probably put in appearance at LHR in the next 3-4 months.

There are some untapped markets in Middle East and India region. They can explore flights to CCU/DAC or other cities in that area. With the momentum on nonstop flights, may be a good solution at least in the short term and then they can judge how they perform for the long term continuance.