British Airways Concorde Room, New York JFK (Image Credit: Oneworld Alliance)
Work continues on BA’s renovation of New York JFK Terminal 7.
The new First lounge opened late last year. The Club lounge is currently being refurbished. The Elemis travel spa and showers are currently closed.
The third departure lounge, the Concorde Room and arguably the best lounge on the network, is not being fully refurbished.
However, due to repair work on its kitchens, it will not open for BA’s sole morning departure from New York JFK, BA178, until the end of March this year. The lounge will now open from 15:00 to 23:00 daily.
Passengers travelling on BA from New York JFK in First Class can of course use the First lounge as an alternative.
LATAM New Business Class 2019 (Image Credit: PriestmanGoode for LATAM)
This year marks 40 years since the introduction of business class.
That’s if you believe Qantas’ claim that it was the first airline to introduce a dedicated business class cabin.
It was not the first airline to introduce a class between economy and First Class. BA introduced “Executive Class” in 1977, later to become “Super Club”. Pan Am introduced its “Clipper Class” on 29 October 1978. That year, Delta also introduced “Medallion Service”. However, this was essentially designated economy seating with enhanced amenities for passengers purchasing full fare tickets.
The basis for Qantas’ claim seems to it introduced a dedicated cabin on its Boeing 747s in 1979, as per the advert below for the UK press in 1983.
Qantas promised a dedicated check-in, priority baggage handling, a separate cabin with dedicated cabin crew, wider seats and a choice of meals served on fine bone china.
BA World Traveller cabin on LGW based Boeing 777 aircraft (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways is now more than half way through the refurbishment of its fleet of Boeing 777-200 aircraft at London Gatwick.
The main reason for the refurbishment is to increase the number of seats in the World Traveller economy cabin from 9 to 10 a row.
As at November 2019, ten three class Gatwick Boeing 777-200 aircraft (registrations G-VIIO, G-VIIP, G-VIIR, G-VIIT, G-VIIU, G-VIIX, G-YMMB, G-YMMC, G-YMMD and G-YMMF) have been refurbished as have three four class aircraft (G-VIIV, G-VIIW, G-VIIY). BA is expected to complete the Gatwick refurbishment this year.
On three class aircraft, BA has installed a new seat in a now larger World Traveller Plus premium economy cabin. It has decreased the number of Club World business class seats. The in-flight entertainment system has also been upgraded. On four class Boeing 777-200 aircraft, the overall change in seating configuration is much more modest.
This year, BA will also begin refurbishing its Heathrow based Boeing 777s. Two four class aircraft will receive a full refurbishment. This will include a smaller First Class cabin with 8, rather than 14, seats and an entirely new Club World cabin.
Given BA sees the need for seating configuration in World Traveller to be “competitive”, it’s expected that many more 777s will be refurbished.
Refurbished British Airways Boeing 777 World Traveller Cabin (Image Credit: British Airways)
Seat maps for 3 class Boeing 777 aircraft
If you are flying on a non-refurbished 9 abreast 3 class Boeing 777 at Gatwick you should see the following seat map (pictured left below) for your flight in the Manage My Booking tool:
Club World – Rows 1 – 11 (48 seats)
World Traveller Plus – Rows 12 – 14 (24 seats)
World Traveller – Rows 16 – 40 (3-3-3 configuration)
If you are flying on a refurbished 10 abreast 3 class Boeing 777 at Gatwick you should see the following seat map (pictured right below) for your flight in the Manage My Booking tool:
Club World – Rows 1 – 4 (32 seats)
World Traveller Plus – Rows 10 – 16 (52 seats)
World Traveller – Rows 20 – 46 (3-4-3 configuration)
BA’s fleet of 12 Airbus A380 aircraft continues to serve the airline well on major gateways from London Heathrow.
At least until BA and Virgin Atlantic take delivery of the Airbus A350, it one of the better ways to fly direct across the Atlantic from London.
Here’s our guide to where you can fly the BA Airbus A380 throughout 2019.
Please note that schedules are subject to change in the medium term. Aircraft can also be substituted at short notice due to maintenance requirements. Flights are now on sale at ba.com
Boston
One of BA’s four daily flights from London Heathrow and Boston, flights BA213 & BA212, will be operated with the A380 for the summer season from Sunday 31 March 2019 to Saturday 26 October 2019. It is currently scheduled to return on Sunday 29 March 2020.
Chicago O’Hare
The BA A380 will fly to Chicago O’Hare daily on flights BA297 & BA296 for the summer season from Sunday 31 March 2019 to Saturday 26 October 2019. It is currently scheduled to return on Sunday 29 March 2020.
Dubai
Due to the closure of the Southern runway in Dubai, from Tuesday 16 April 2019 to Saturday 4 May 2019, BA will operate the A380 to Dubai for the first time, on flights BA107 and BA106.
Hong Kong
BA flies the A380 on one of its two daily flights between London Heathrow and Hong Kong, flights BA27 & BA28.
Bar occasional swaps, the remaining flight, BA31 & BA32, is operated with a Boeing 777-300 aircraft.
From Sunday 31 March 2019 until Saturday 26 October 2019, the two flights swap and BA31 & BA32 will be operated with the A380. It then swaps back to BA27 & BA28.
To confuse matters further, BA27 & BA28 will swap flight numbers with BA31 & BA32 from Sunday 29 March 2020.
British Airways Fleet Montage (Image Credits: British Airways / Heathrow)
Welcome to our updated guide to British Airways’ plans to refurbish and renew its short and long-haul fleet for 2019.
Note: An updated version of this post for 2020 has been posted here.
The information below is based on plans published by BA’s parent company, International Airlines Group at its Capital Markets Day in 2018.
BA’s fleet plans are under constant review and can, in the medium term, be influenced by economic and geopolitical events.
BA’s parent company International Airlines Group is also expected to place a new aircraft order with Airbus and/or Boeing in the coming months. BA doesn’t currently have enough long-haul aircraft on order to meet its retirement plans, let alone its growth ambitions, so an announcement should be imminent.
Here’s a run through of recent and forthcoming deliveries and refurbishments by aircraft type:
Airbus A350-1000
BA has started to take delivery of the Airbus A350-1000, of which there are 18 on order.
The first Airbus A350s will be in a three class configuration, with no First Class. There will be 56 Club World seats, 56 World Traveller Plus seats, and 219 World Traveller seats.
The first confirmed long-haul routes are London Heathrow – Toronto (BA93 / BA92) from 1 October 2019, London Heathrow – Dubai (BA107 & BA106) from 8 October 2019, London Heathrow – Tel Aviv (B163 / BA162) from 1 December 2019 and London Heathrow – Bengaluru (BA119 / BA118) from 1 January 2020.
Please see here for details of the new Club World cabin and here for pictures of the Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.
Airbus A380
British Airways Airbus A380 Collage
BA has 12 Airbus A380s in service.
It currently operates on selected flights to destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Boston (summer seasonal), Chicago (summer seasonal), San Francisco, Vancouver (summer seasonal) and Washington Dulles. It will also operate briefly to Dubai from 16 April to 4 May 2019 due to the closure of the Southern runway.
Please see here for a detailed guide as to where the A380 will fly in 2019.
BA has options to acquire a further 7 A380s, which it has not exercised. Whilst the A380 clearly serves BA well on major gateways, IAG CEO Willie Walsh insists that the purchase price for new aircraft is too high.
There was talk some ago of BA’s leasing second-hand Airbus A380s but this has not come to anything, most likely due to the cost of reconfiguring aircraft.
A very Happy New Year to all our readers around the world.
We got new routes!
In 2019, we will see many new routes, and former routes from London reinstated.
By this time next year we may also know whether in three years’ time we will be able to fly to Sydney non-stop. Here’s a quick run through of new routes launching in 2019.
London Gatwick Long-Haul
Norwegian continues to reshape its London Gatwick network, launching Rio de Janeiro four times weekly from Sunday 31 March.
It will also swap routes from Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale and Oakland to Miami and San Francisco International respectively from 31 March.
Austin and Seattle will also resume following their winter seasonal suspension on Friday 1 March and 31 March respectively.
In theory, Norwegian is supposed to take delivery of the Airbus A321 Long Range this year and may announce more transatlantic routes but this is very much dependent on its overall financial health.
London Heathrow Long-Haul
Virgin Atlantic will transfer Las Vegas from Gatwick to Heathrow from 31 March.
Air China will transfer Chengdu from Gatwick to Heathrow from 31 March.
BA will return to Osaka after a near 20 year absence, four times weekly from 31 March.
American Airlines will launch a daily service to Phoenix from 31 March.
BA will return to Pittsburgh, four times weekly, from Tuesday 2 April.
BA will fly to Charleston twice a week from Thursday 4 April until Thursday 24 October. It’s relatively unusual for BA to launch a low frequency seasonal long-haul route, and if a success, this could presage more route announcements.
As easyJet approaches its 25th anniversary, the airline continues to mature to broaden its appeal to business and leisure passengers.
In keeping with its disciplined approach to cost and lean operations, this is largely through changing its offer on its website rather than physical changes to aircraft. Here’s a quick run through of what to expect at Gatwick in 2019.
New Frequent Flyer Programme
One of the biggest changes next year is the relaunch of easyJet’s frequent flyer programmes.
Currently, easyJet has two parallel schemes:
easyJet Plus is paid for membership scheme which offers free seat selection and fast track ground facilities.
Flight Club is an invitation only scheme for frequent flyers who book more than 20 flights a year with easyJet and are offered benefits such as free flight changes.
easyJet plans to relaunch its frequent flyer programmes next year with a new points based currency.
It will be behaviour led, to encourage activity that contribute to easyJet’s own bottom line. It will be possible to earn points in a variety of ways. This includes using certain online services or buying easyJet branded travel insurance. Third parties will also be invited to participate in the programme.
Points can then be redeemed on “exclusive rewards to enhance the trip” and reward flights for points and a cash payment. easyJet also suggests that the programme will have tiers which will provide additional benefits.
Separately, easyJet also plans to launch a corporate version of Flight Club for business customers. easyJet will also aim to improve its schedule for business travellers, most likely through the timing of “first wave” departures on key business routes from Gatwick. Continue reading “What To Expect From easyJet In 2019”
CGI Virgin Atlantic Airbus A350-1000 aircraft (Image Credit: Happy Ending / Bolder Creative for Virgin Atlantic)
As Virgin Atlantic approaches its 35th year, it remains a very strong brand in the UK. However, profitability in recent years has proved elusive.
The airline reported a loss for 2017. Next year, there will be a number of significant changes to improve its financial performance. Here’s a quick run through of what to expect.
Air France-KLM & Delta
Virgin and its 49% shareholder Delta are in the process of securing regulatory approval to combine their transatlantic joint-venture with that of Delta and Air France-KLM.
The primarily intention is to make the combined joint-venture much more competitive against American Airlines and BA.
This is particularly because Air France and KLM can offer many destinations in Asia and Africa not served by Virgin (or indeed BA). KLM in particular also has extensive coverage of UK regional airports and can offer many connection opportunities not offered by Virgin (or again BA in some cases).
This is likely to lead to extensive reciprocal codesharing between Virgin Atlantic and Air France and KLM. Virgin may also pursue greater co-operation with Air France and KLM on non-transatlantic routes. Subject to space, Air France and KLM may also co-locate with Virgin Atlantic in Terminal 3 at London Heathrow.
As part of this, Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group will cede control of the airline, by selling a 31% stake to Air France-KLM. This will leave Delta as the single largest shareholder.
Sir Richard Branson has long had little involvement in the day-to-day running of the airline. However, this is symbolic as Virgin Atlantic has been the one business he has previously resisted ceding control of.
Separate to these changes, Virgin’s CEO Craig Kreeger will retire on 1 January and be replaced by an internal appointment, Shai Weiss. Shai is currently Chief Commercial Officer and and has been with the airline since July 2014.
2019 is going to be an extremely busy year for BA with a lot of cabin and in-flight service developments, and of course, the airline’s centenary in August.
Here’s a run through of the major aircraft, cabin, ground and in-flight service, and route changes you can expect in 2019.
New Club World Seat
BA will introduce a long anticipated new Club World seat with the Airbus A350-1000.
The first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft will arrive in July. There will be four in service by the end of the year.
The new seat will also be retrofitted to two Boeing 777 aircraft as part of a full refurbishment. The number of Club World seats on these aircraft will increase marginally by 1 from 48 to 49, with the extra space likely to come from reducing the size of First Class.
This refurbishment programme will continue from 2020, with the majority of refurbishments taking place in 2020 and 2021. It will be fitted to over 100 long-haul aircraft and be completed in 2023.
BA promises direct aisle access for all, improved personal storage and privacy. There will also to be gate-to-gate in-flight entertainment, meaning that the TV monitor will be set in position, unlike at present.
The first Airbus A350-1000 routes should be confirmed shortly. The Airbus A350 is intended to replace the 52 Club World seat Boeing 747 which is deployed on a number of North American routes such as Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix. There will be no First Class on the first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft. However, there will be more Club World seats and significantly more World Traveller Plus seats compared to the 52 Club World seat Boeing 747. BA has not given an exact breakdown by cabin, but there will be 331 seats on the aircraft.
In terms of other Club World developments, the new catering standard should be rolled out at Gatwick. Do & Co should also start catering more Heathrow routes as it prepares to take on the full long-haul catering contact at Heathrow.
First Class
Whilst many airlines have withdrawn international First Class altogether, there is evidently still life in the cabin at BA, albeit with fewer seats and on fewer routes.
BA will introduce new First Class bedding, catering and amenities from May. There may also be other improvements to Heathrow ground services.
As mentioned above, there will be no First Class on the Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, which means that First is likely to be removed from a number of routes.
BA also will reduce the size of the First Class cabin from 14 to 8 seats on some Heathrow Boeing 777s, with a new seat, as part of a full refurbishment of these aircraft. It is also expected that some Heathrow Boeing 777s may be converted from 4 to 3 class. Continue reading “What To Expect From British Airways In 2019”
After a look back at 2018, it’s time to turn attention to the year ahead.
Two certain events are likely to dominate in 2019.
The first is BA’s centenary celebrations.
The airline will officially celebrate its centenary on Sunday 25 August 2019. This will mark 100 years since the first scheduled international passenger service between London and Paris.
It can be said with confidence there will be a lot of PR activity in advance of this. The airline has already said there will be “100 acts of kindness” throughout the year as part of its “BA Magic” series. You can also expect a lot of in-flight service improvements in the first half of the year.
The second is that both BA and Virgin Atlantic will take delivery of their first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.
Both airlines will be introducing entirely new Club World and Upper Class cabins respectively.
This is the first time both airlines will undertake a full redesign of their cabins since they each introduced fully flat beds. BA will be abandoning its patented “yin-yang” layout. Virgin is also expected to replace its current herringbone design.
It’s hard to envisage both airlines not going for something other than a forward facing 1-2-1 design. Though both will want to differentiate themselves in the market. Whoever comes up with the leading design, will Virgin let BA have the last word? Probably, not.
As events this year have shown, there is no shortage of willing entrants on the UK transatlantic market. JetBlue, subject to obtaining slots, may announce new transatlantic routes from Boston and New York to London.
Like JetBlue, WestJet is respected local brand. However, it’s entry into the transatlantic market a couple of years ago got off to a very difficult start, primarily due to the reliability of its Boeing 767s. Its competitiveness should improve significantly next year when it introduces the Boeing 787 with its first international business class cabin at Gatwick.
Qantas is also expected confirm next year whether it will launch non-stop flights from London to Sydney.
It is currently in discussions with Airbus and Boeing about placing an order for suitable aircraft. The launch of non-stop flights to Perth this year generated huge amounts of PR for the airline and has, at least as far as Qantas is prepared to say, has been a commercial success.
In terms of loyalty programmes, easyJet will be making another move onto BA territory by launching its first ever frequent flyer currency. Virgin will also relaunching its frequent flyer programme as it, subject to regulatory approval, launches a new combined transatlantic joint-venture with Air France-KLM.
The two big unknowns are Flybe and Norwegian.
Virgin Atlantic confirmed shortly before Christmas that it is still in discussions with Flybe. This does suggest that it is serious in its intent.
In theory, next year Norwegian is supposed delivery of yet more Boeing 737 MAX8 and Boeing 787 aircraft, and its first Airbus A321 Neo Long Range aircraft. However, it’s clear from an update shortly before Christmas that preserving cash is currently a priority. Norwegian will be selling aircraft – both existing and those yet to be delivered. Whatever happens next, the era of rapacious growth is simply over.
Things have gone very quiet regarding IAG and Norwegian. That is not to say there isn’t activity behind the scenes – it’s when there’s an impasse that there are leaks. IAG is not an organisation to shy away from hard work and would relish the “transformational” aspects of any acquisition, specifically in the Nordic region and at Gatwick. However, given the number of overlapping city pairs between IAG airlines and Norwegian, it’s hard not to see slot significant divestures being demanded by competition regulators.
