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Here is our guide to British Airways’ short haul fleet across London City, Gatwick and Heathrow airports.
As at June 2025, BA’s short haul fleet stands at around 170 aircraft.
The majority of BA’s short haul fleet is equipped with WiFi. BA has confirmed this will be upgraded to high speed gate-to-gate Starlink WiFi from 2026 onwards. This will be free for all passengers.
WiFi is not available on Embraer E190 aircraft based at London City airport and there are no plans to add WiFi to these aircraft.
Details of how to connect and charges are on ba.com. Free messaging is currently available for members of the British Airways Club and this is probably sufficient for most on short haul flights for now.
Here’s a breakdown of the different types of aircraft in BA’s short haul fleet:
You can also see our dedicated short haul route network pages for London City, Gatwick and Heathrow.
Quick Links
Fleet Summary
| Aircraft Type | Total June 2025 | Future Deliveries | Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A319 | 27 | ||
| Airbus A320ceo | 64 | ||
| Airbus A320neo | 30 | 7 | |
| Airbus A321ceo | 11 | ||
| Airbus A321neo | 18 | 4 | |
| Embraer E190 | 20 | ||
| Total | 170 | 11 |
Airbus A320 and A321neo Aircraft
There are 30 Airbus A320neo and 18 Airbus 321neo aircraft at Heathrow.
BA will receive 7 more A320neo aircraft and 4 more A321neo aircraft by the end of 2026. BA has no options for additional aircraft.
Deliveries of aircraft from early 2024 feature new interiors, new seats, the return of the middle seat trays in Club Europe and larger overhead bins.
This is a reversal of the “zero base” IAG originally adopted to have as much commonality as possible with its subsidiaries. This was intended to take advantage of economies of scale and move aircraft between airlines. This lead to compromises for BA, such as no tray tables in the middle seat in Club Europe.
As of November 2025, 17 aircraft feature this new interior.
Airbus A319, A320, A321 ceo Aircraft
As at 31 December 2024, BA has 26 Airbus A319, 64 A320, & 11 A321 aircraft.
Airbus A319 aircraft operate at Heathrow only. This fleet is steadily reducing. Airbus A321 aircraft operate at Gatwick only. Around 26 A320 & A321 aircraft are based at BA’s subsidiary BA Euroflyer at Gatwick.
Most A320 and A321 aircraft have been “densified”. The number of seats on A320s increased from 168 to 180. The number of seats on A321s increased from 205 to 218.
All Airbus short haul aircraft operate in a flexible configuration with 3-3 seating in Euro Traveller economy, which can be converted to a 2-2 configuration for Club Europe business class passengers at the front of the aircraft.
Embraer E-190
BA has 20 Embraer E-190 aircraft.
These are operated by BA CityFlyer at London City Airport. There are no indications that BA plans to order any more aircraft, or add any other aircraft types at London City.
BA has densified its Embraer fleet by increasing the number of seats from 98 to 106. This means an end to the relatively generous leg room compared to Airbus aircraft.
Boeing 737-8 / 10
In May 2022 IAG ordered 25 Boeing 737-8200 and 25 737-10 aircraft, with options for 100 more.
It was originally planned these could be used by BA at Gatwick and Vueling. IAG confirmed on 1 August 2025 these would be delivered to Vueling only, and not BA.
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