Apologies if this has been covered, did do a search but didn't see anything. I have read the threads with speculation about BA's first A380 flight, but this seems more concrete.

http://www.businesstraveller.com/mid...g-kong-earmarked-for-first-ba-a380

To quote Sir Martin Broughton, BA chairman:

"It's not confirmed but my guess is it would be Hong Kong, although Madrid will probably be the test flight."

Not too much of a surprise. Their first A380 is due for delivery in July 2013, with services expected ~September.

[Edited 2012-10-11 04:01:54]

NEXT JULY!?!?!
We've got another thread going that points out that Airbus has put on engines for the first one.
What on Earth do they need to do between now and July in order to make it deliverable??? You can build several A380's in that time period...that's ten months, more or less!

Quoting AA737-823 (Reply 1): NEXT JULY!?!?! We've got another thread going that points out that Airbus has put on engines for the first one. What on Earth do they need to do between now and July in order to make it deliverable??? You can build several A380's in that time period...that's ten months, more or less!

The aircraft is on the flight line at Toulouse now. First flight expected next month.

However, this is the first example of an HGW variant of the aircraft so it may require some more testing than regular A380s and thus the delivery date has been pushed further ahead.

The chairman is a long way removed from the operation and planning departments. Read that as it is, I.e. His opinion.

Quoting AA737-823 (Reply 1): You can build several A380's in that time period.

You can build them, but can you fit them out? I'm not sure whether this is going to be done by Airbus or BA's own engineering team at CWL, but you can bet that this will be where most of the schedule will be eaten up.

Quoting APYu (Reply 3): The chairman is a long way removed from the operation and planning departments. Read that as it is, I.e. His opinion.

But he's got access to a whole lot more information than anybody outside the company does. The Board will have seen potential uses, destinations, configurations and so on as part of the process to authorise the purchase, and I'm sure they get regular updates on these sorts of things.

That said, he wouldn't have said anything that would get him in trouble so his comments have probably been cleared internally. And it's not exactly a shocking revelation...

Where will they go after HKG? Somewhere else in Asia, or North America?

Remember is an opinion not an announcement.

It would be strange to open with a route which requires an international base to be trained on a new type. And it would introduce incredible complexity to a programme (HKG) which is already expensive to operate. I think HKG will be an early destination, but not until a third airframe or more is available.

Would they really have a new aircraft only operate only 3 return flights a week? (That's all the HKGs they could do with one plane I think)

We should all know for sure by the end of the month. The excitement builds.

[Edited 2012-10-11 05:58:35]

The fact that he thinks the end of the new First roll out is near shows how far removed he is from the operation! They are still only 80% Through the jumbos!

Not only is the Chairman a long way removed from operations - that particular individual hasn't been chairman for a long while - not since the IAG deal!

Quoting APYu (Reply 7): The fact that he thinks the end of the new First roll out is near shows how far removed he is from the operation! They are still only 80% Through the jumbos!

There are only about 5 or 6 more jumbos to receive the fit out. The rest wont be getting it!

Why did BA go for the HGW option for their A380's ? It's not like they will use them on routes which are can't be done with the " standard " gross weight version.

Interesting opinion from Martin Broughton. My belief is that BA will launch their A380 service LHR-JFK as this is their main route.

Quoting APYu (Reply 6): Would they really have a new aircraft only operate only 3 return flights a week?

If the first long haul revenue flight is LHR-HKG it does not necessarily mean that the aircraft will be dedicated to that route. When the first BA 77W entered service its first rotation was LHR-BOM-LHR (BA139/38). It was then slated to operate LHR-DEL-LHR (Day 2), LHR-ORD-LHR (Day 3), LHR-DXB-LHR (Day 4), LHR-BOM-LHR (Day 5), LHR-DXB-LHR (Day 5) and LHR-BOM-LHR (Day 7).

The introduction of the 77W was not so significant as the launch of the 380 will be. However it did offer a new customer experience as it was the first BA aircraft to be fitted with the Thales i500 IFE/AVOD in all seats and the revised W and Y seats/cabins that are now being fitted to the older 772 aircraft.

Quoting QANTASvJet (Reply 8): that particular individual hasn't been chairman for a long while

The British Airways web site thinks he's still Chairman:

http://www.britishairways.com/travel...ice-images-executives/public/en_gb

as does the article linked by the thread opener.

Quoting SKAirbus (Reply 2): However, this is the first example of an HGW variant of the aircraft so it may require some more testing than regular A380s and thus the delivery date has been pushed further ahead.

Exactly. They will need to not only do some flight testing, but also verify the aerodynamics of the 'wing twist' that is new too.

It takes 5 months to outfit an A380, a few months to flight test and document, and a month or two for BA to integrate the A380 into their fleet. The timeline sounds conservative, but reasonable.

Lightsaber

Quoting tonystan (Reply 9): There are only about 5 or 6 more jumbos to receive the fit out. The rest wont be getting it

As BA need to announce to their customers rather than just discuss internally.

I think they will use for European hops before long haul, like LH and AF did. maybe some flight to MAD, CDG, FRA even DME to make some media coverage, and then I think JFK because they can serve daily with only one machine and for crew is good to do shorter sectors, 7 hours rather than directly 13 hours flight.

Quoting TC957 (Reply 10):

I believe the HGW varient allows for more cargo = more profit.

Quoting KaiTak747 (Reply 17):

And the fact that changes like the increased wing twist will improve the efficiency of the aircraft, even if only slightly.

Quoting APYu (Reply 14): As BA need to announce to their customers rather than just discuss internally.

It has....plenty of times and has even been discussed to death on Business Traveller and other forums. BA mentioned it in their press release for the launch of the new First 3 years ago even.

Quoting AA737-823 (Reply 1): NEXT JULY!?!?! We've got another thread going that points out that Airbus has put on engines for the first one. What on Earth do they need to do between now and July in order to make it deliverable??? You can build several A380's in that time period...that's ten months, more or less!

BA announced a couple of months ago that A380 deliveries were being delayed until probably the 3rd quarter of 2013. I expect part of it is the wing cracking issue where aircraft already built require extensive modifications, and also wouldn't be surprised if it's also partly for financial reasons due to the current UK economic situation. They can probably cope quite well without the additional capacity.

Knew it would be VHHH.... As the first BA 744 pushes back, the other two are getting topped up in this evening shot!

Remember the BA gate agent saying all 3 flights full! Way to go BA.



RC

Actually I was wrong - strictly speaking he is still chairman of BA since it needs to have a board for legal reasons

Quoting KaiTak747 (Reply 17):

If I remember MSN095 as BA Head of Version is the first A380-800e.
It means a MTOW of 590 tons.

I don't know if ithe schedule has changed since but the only time I've flown from HGK to LHR with BA (last year) they had two 777s departing within half hour of each other around midnight. At the time I thought such an arrangement seemed rather weird and the A380 would be the perfect replacement.

Quoting tropical (Reply 25): I don't know if ithe schedule has changed since but the only time I've flown from HKG to LHR with BA (last year) they had two 777s departing within half hour of each other around midnight. At the time I thought such an arrangement seemed rather weird and the A380 would be the perfect replacement.

Five of the 8 current daily nonstops HKG-LHR leave in the 80 minute period from 2315 to 0035.

2315 - BA 744
2325 - VS 346
2345 - BA 77W
2355 - CX 77W
0035 - CX 744

Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 26):

Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 26): Five of the 8 current daily nonstops HKG-LHR leave in the 80 minute period from 2315 to 0035. 2315 - BA 744 2325 - VS 346 2345 - BA 77W 2355 - CX 77W 0035 - CX 744

Yup, all the 3 BA 744s were back to back.... within 2 hours!

Anyone know if they're still planning on LHR-MAD for crew training? (crosses fingers)

Quoting tonystan (Reply 19):

Poppycock. The press release three years ago stated the refurbishment would be completed by May 2012 and made no mention of the fact that 12 aircraft were never going to be refitted.

The discussions on business traveller are rumours and opinion and BA have made no clarification officially.

The only official hint has been the very recent change of the wording in BA.COM which in the last few months has changed to talking of completion of 'the planned refurbishment' - note careful introduction of the word planned.

The response to my complaint in May apologised for the inconvenience and told me the completion of the New First roll out is scheduled for late summer 2012.

Quoting RyanairGuru (Reply 21):

Ryan, unless you can operate it daily, it adds cost to the programme due to the more complex crew slips involved.

And while yes HKG crew picking up another aircraft is not a problem, it's easier for the airline to train London based crew on a new aircraft type initially

Quoting cx777 (Reply 27):

It's a while since BA had three night departures from HKG though right? They re introduced a third recently (daylight three days a week from QF) but that's now being dropped.

Quoting APYu (Reply 30): And while yes HKG crew picking up another aircraft is not a problem, it's easier for the airline to train London based crew on a new aircraft type initially

Although the Hong Kong flights all require Cantonese speaking staff don't they? I guess there probably are a few based at LHR that could be trained as a priority.

Interesting. If what he said realize, BA would be along with 6 other carriers TG, QF, CZ, EK, KE, SQ that come to HKG with their largest bird.



[Edited 2012-10-12 03:36:58]

Quoting APYu (Reply 28): Poppycock. The press release three years ago stated the refurbishment would be completed by May 2012 and made no mention of the fact that 12 aircraft were never going to be refitted.

Listen, I know youre Mr BA and all but I assure you that yes indeed it was mentioned in the official press releases....how do I know???? Well wouldnt want to totally mortify you on this forum.

But sure, you believe what you want to believe!!!!

In the mean time BA cover themselves on BA.COM by stating that not all products reflect the New First cabin.

Now run along young "poppycock"! And your comments about not launching a new aircraft on an ICC route??? Youve clearly never run an operation!

Quoting shilenb (Reply 11): Interesting opinion from Martin Broughton. My belief is that BA will launch their A380 service LHR-JFK as this is their main route.

I would have predicted JFK, too, seeing as how LHR-JFK is one of the busiest international airline routes in the world. I also predict that SFO will probably go from 2x744 to 1xA380 + 1x77W at some point.

Quoting shilenb (Reply 11): Interesting opinion from Martin Broughton.

Much more than an opinion.

The perception that a company chairman in the presence of the media would make a throw-away public statement at a company function about his company's operations without any knowledge of the subject of that comment defies both belief and the laws pertaining to disclosures of the future activities of a publicly owned company, in this case those of International Consolidated Airlines Group.

We can therefore be sure that at least at this time the BA thinking is to look to start long haul 380 operations of the LHR-HKG route after starting 380 revenue operations between LHR and MAD. But as Sir Martin made more than clear, this is the current and not necessarily the final situation.

Before the formation of IAG the British Airways Board of Directors was dominated by non-executive directors and was, as others have stated, some what distant from the day to day operations on the airline. That Board met ten times a year.

Since the formation of IAG the size of the BA Board has been substantially reduced. Then it comprised 12 members, Chairman Sir Martin Broughtgon, CEO Willie Walsh and CFO Keith Williams and nine non-executive directors. Today it comprises:

Sir Martin Broughton, Chairman
Keith Wiulliams, CEO
Nick Swift, CFO
Frank van der Post, MD Brands and Customer Experience

Sir Martin apart, the other three board members are the senior BA operational executive managers. So the current situation is very different to that that existed before the formation of IAG. Now the BA Board is the most senior operational "committee" in the airline as most of its previous functions are now vested in the IAG Board.

Since the formation of IAG, Sir Martin appears to me to be taking a more active role in the day to day business of British Airways. In addition to chairing meetings of the senior executive operational managers of BA he has apparently come to share being the public face of BA both in the UK and abroad with IAG CEO Willie Walsh. Hence his presence at the Madinat Jumeirah meeting in Dubai on 11 October. There he was the senior BA representative in an event to mark the 80th Anniversary of BA and its predecessors flying to the Middle East. During that meeting he made his comments on the 380 . This was at a time when Willie Walsh had been representing BA (not IAG) as QR's sponsors to become a member of oneworld in New York.

Tonystan.

On BA.com (press section), there is a press release dated 10th February 2010 called 'made in Cardiff' which states the new first rollout will be done over the next two years..

http://press.ba.com/?p=902

I couldn't see any other dates on new first related press releases there, but obviously you have found one so don't worry about mortifying me as I'm genuinely interested (as most F passengers are).

And when have BA ever launched a new type of aircraft on a route to an ICC base? I'm just basing that opinion on what they have done historically. Whilst sure they could do it, from an airline with such a focus on costs I would genuinely be surprised.

LHR-JFK doesn't make much sense to me; it's a route thriving on frequency. LHR-HKG, on the other hand, is route where, for all practical purposes, the departure window is very small, and who wouldn't prefer a 23:15 departure over a 00:15 one?

It won't be where BA will start flying the A380, but it might very well become the first scheduled service once route proving has been concluded.

Quoting B777LRF (Reply 37): LHR-JFK doesn't make much sense to me; it's a route thriving on frequency. LHR-HKG, on the other hand, is route where, for all practical purposes, the departure window is very small, and who wouldn't prefer a 23:15 departure over a 00:15 one?

Look at the planes on the route. All of them are 744s except for a 777?

Quoting YankeesFan (Reply 38): Look at the planes on the route. All of them are 744s except for a 777?

Let us know when you figure out how they plan to squeeze an A380 into JFK T7 during the evening peak without doing any work to change the gate spacing...

Quoting B777LRF (Reply 37): LHR-JFK doesn't make much sense to me; it's a route thriving on frequency.

Yes and no. It's one of the routes that thrives both on frequency and capacity. In fact, Airbus specifically had LON-NYC in mind when they designed the A380. It's already operated by the largest aircraft in existence after the A380 (the 744) and has been for some time. Demand on this route will continue to grow and available slots will not grow quite as quickly.

Furthermore, as a general rule, the longer a route, the less important frequency is. People going to London from New York are not going to pop over in the morning for a meeting and then pop back in the evening like SFO-LAX; they are going to stay a day or two.

Quoting qf002 (Reply 39): Let us know when you figure out how they plan to squeeze an A380 into JFK T7 during the evening peak without doing any work to change the gate spacing...

AF seems to manage, so there will be a way. JFK is going to have to figure out how to accommodate the newer, longer wingspans or it will quickly become an irrelevance in lieu of another local airport like EWR.

Quoting DTWLAX (Reply 40): I would expect LAX to get the 380 before SFO. One of the 3x daily 744 in the summer to switch over to the 380?

Whether LAX or SFO is first, I suspect both will be receiving the A380. I expect LAX will probably get more than one A380 eventually while SFO will probably get just one plus something smaller like the 77W or even the 772.

nice to hear the news, that 's the 8th daily A380 flight to HKG, (2 EK, 1 TG, 2 SQ, 1 KE, 1 QF , 1 CZ dropping soon)
is HKG the most frequent foreign airlines' A380 served airport? except for those are A380 home base airport.

Quoting qf002 (Reply 39): Let us know when you figure out how they plan to squeeze an A380 into JFK T7 during the evening peak without doing any work to change the gate spacing...

Well that is why T7 needs renovations....  

Quoting YankeesFan (Reply 38): Quoting B777LRF (Reply 37): LHR-JFK doesn't make much sense to me; it's a route thriving on frequency. LHR-HKG, on the other hand, is route where, for all practical purposes, the departure window is very small, and who wouldn't prefer a 23:15 departure over a 00:15 one? Look at the planes on the route. All of them are 744s except for a 777?

With very high fuel prices it makes sense to use the thirsty 744s on shorter routes like LHR-JFK where fuel is a smaller component of operating costs than on 12 hour+ long hauls.

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 41): AF seems to manage, so there will be a way. JFK is going to have to figure out how to accommodate the newer, longer wingspans or it will quickly become an irrelevance in lieu of another local airport like EWR.

The airport is easily able to support the A380, it's just BA's terminal where there are issues. I daresay that they could figure out a way to fit an A380 (probably using some loooong airbridges), but they'd need to be doing some work on it by now if JFK was planned as an early A380 destination for the next 10-12 months or so...

Quoting YankeesFan (Reply 43): Well that is why T7 needs renovations....

Or complete replacement  

Quoting Foilcat (Reply 42): is HKG the most frequent foreign airlines' A380 served airport? except for those are A380 home base airport.

I think LHR beats HKG as it has 9 currently rising to 11 per day n the near term- 3xEK [rising to 5 in the near future; 3XSQ [dropping back to 2+1x77w soon]; 2xQF; and 1xMH [rising to 2 in the near future]. Of course it won't be too long before LHR is disqualified from your comparison when it becomes a home base.

Someone at BA told me that HKG and LAX will be first routes.

Along the lines of two A380 flights to LAX daily vs. 3 current flights which will free up a LHR slot.