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We receive a lot of enquiries from readers regarding what type of aircraft is due to operate on their BA flight.
On this page we’ve set out an overview of what aircraft BA operates and how it makes a difference to the seating configuration and in-flight experience.
Following COVID-19 there have been significant changes to BA’s fleet and route network.
You can also see our dedicated BA long haul route network page and short haul network pages for London City, Gatwick and Heathrow. These are continuously updated.
We have also prepared a more detailed guide to BA’s short haul and long haul fleet.
In summary by airport:
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London City
All short-haul BA flights are operated using Embraer E-190 aircraft.
These are in a 2-2 configuration in both Euro Traveller economy and Club Europe business class cabins.
London Gatwick – Short Haul
All short haul flights are operated using Airbus A320 aircraft.
Due to crew shortages some flights are be operated by Iberia Express.
London Gatwick – Long Haul
All long haul flights are operated with Boeing 777-200 aircraft.
These are in a three class (Club World, World Traveller Plus, World Traveller) configuration. The Boeing 787, Airbus A350 & A380 do not operate at Gatwick.
BA has refurbished its Gatwick Boeing 777s to increase the seat density in economy, as well as install new in-flight entertainment systems and new World Traveller Plus seating.
London Heathrow Short Haul
Almost all short-haul flights are operated using either Airbus A319, A320 and A321 aircraft.
BA is introducing the Airbus A320 Neo and Airbus A321 Neo at Heathrow. As at June 2022 there are 17 Airbus A320 Neo and 10 Airbus A321 Neo aircraft in the fleet.
Due to crew shortages some flights are operated by Finnair and Iberia respectively.
Aircraft are not allocated to specific routes or flights and will switch, sometimes at short notice, according to demand.
The airline is also progressively reducing the number of A319 aircraft.
BA has 4 Airbus A321 aircraft configured with 23 flat beds in business class and an economy cabin. These historically operated medium haul routes such as Amman. These aircraft are grounded.
London Heathrow Long-haul
At Heathrow, BA operates the Airbus A350-1000, Airbus A380, Boeing 777-200ER, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10 aircraft.
The Airbus A380, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787-9 & 787-10 all operate in a four class (First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller) configuration.
The Airbus A350-1000 and Boeing 787-8 operate in a three class configuration.
Airbus A350-1000
BA is taking delivery of 18 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.
As at May 2022, 12 aircraft are in service at Heathrow. Full images of the Airbus A350-1000 interior can be seen here.
Routes currently operated with the Airbus A350 include Accra, Austin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego and Sao Paulo.
Airbus A380
BA has 12 Airbus A380s at Heathrow.
Airbus A380 aircraft are returning to service after the fleet was grounded due to COVID-19.
The A380 is planned to operate these flights in summer 2023:
Boston – BA213 & BA212 until 30 September 2023
Chicago O’Hare -BA297 & BA296
Dallas / Fort Worth – BA193 & BA192
Dubai – BA107 & BA106 (selected flights)
Johannesburg – BA57 & BA54 and BA55 & BA56
Miami – BA207 & BA206
San Francisco – BA287 & BA286
Washington Dulles – BA293 & BA292
Boeing 777-300ER
BA has 16 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft at Heathrow.
All operate in a four class configuration.
The latest four aircraft delivered in 2020 feature a modified 8 seat First Class cabin and the airline’s latest Club Suite cabin.
The remaining 12 aircraft originally featured a 14 seat First Class cabin and the Club World cabin of rear and forward facing seats. BA intends to retrofit the Club Suite and modified First Class cabin to all Boeing 777-300 aircraft by the end of 2022.
Routes operated with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft include flights to Barbados, Boston, Cape Town, Dallas / Fort Worth, Johannesburg, Lagos, Los Angeles, New York JFK, San Francisco and The Maldives.
Boeing 777-200ER
BA has 43 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft in service across Gatwick and Heathrow.
The Boeing 777 is the mainstay of BA’s long-haul operation and touches much of the network.
BA has begun to refurbish its fleet of Boeing 777-200 aircraft at London Heathrow. This encompasses a reduction in First Class seats to 8, the installation of BA’s new Club Suite and increasing seating in World Traveller from 9 to 10 abreast.
BA aims to refurbish all Heathrow Boeing 777-200 aircraft by the end of 2022.
Boeing 777-200ER routes include Abuja, Barbados (selected flights), Bermuda, Delhi, Miami, Nairobi, Nassau, Newark, New York JFK (selected flights), Philadelphia, Phoenix and Riyadh.
Boeing 787-8
BA has 12 Boeing 787-8 aircraft at Heathrow. These all operate in a three class configuration, with no First Class.
Routes operated with 787-8 aircraft include Baltimore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Montreal, Mumbai, Nashville, New Orleans, Pittsburgh, Portland, Rio de Janeiro and Toronto.
Boeing 787-9
BA has 18 787-9 aircraft at Heathrow. These aircraft all operate in a four class configuration, with an 8 seat First Class cabin.
Boeing 787-9 routes include Atlanta, Bahrain, Boston, Chicago O’Hare, Denver, Houston, Kuwait, Mexico City, San Francisco, Santiago, Singapore, Sydney, Tel Aviv and Washington Dulles.
Boeing 787-10
BA has started to take delivery of 12 Boeing 787-10 aircraft, with two aircraft at Heathrow.
These two aircraft principally operate flights to Chicago and Seattle. The delivery of the remaining aircraft are delayed.
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