British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club World Service (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways is currently running test flights for its Airbus A350-1000 aircraft on London Heathrow – Madrid (flights BA464 / BA465) ahead of its inaugural long-haul flight to Dubai on Monday 2 September 2019.
BA has also this week carried out a full test flight from London Heathrow to Dubai. This involved performing the complete in-flight service for an aircraft full of passengers exactly as it would be run on a flight, apart from the fact that the aircraft never left the ground at Heathrow!
Here are some pictures of the in-flight service from earlier this month. Like previous pictures, these are professionally staged and shot, but do give a bit more of a flavour of the aircraft and the cabins.
As you can see from the pictures below, the in-flight service follows the same format as for other aircraft. In terms of the experiencing the service for yourself, it will take time for crews to get used to the layout of the aircraft so the service may be a little slower than usual to begin with.
British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club World Service (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club World Service (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club World Service (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club World Service (Image Credit: British Airways)Continue reading “British Airways Prepares For Airbus A350 Long-Haul Flights”
British Airways has officially unveiled its new Airbus A350-1000 aircraft featuring its new Club Suite and new World Traveller Plus and World Traveller cabins.
British Airways Airbus A350-1000 G-XWBA Aircraft, London Heathrow (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways has officially unveiled its first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, G-XWBA, which arrived at London Heathrow on Saturday 27 July 2019.
This is the first of 18 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft delivered to BA, with the first aircraft not featuring First Class. The aircraft features an entirely new business class cabin, branded the Club Suite, as well as new World Traveller Plus premium economy and World Traveller economy cabins.
As is to expected, the aircraft is fitted with high definition personal on-demand in flight entertainment from Panasonic, at seat power, WiFi, and mood lighting in all cabins.
However, with BA’s parent company IAG keeping a watchful eye on its configuration there are no on board bars or social spaces as passenger density takes priority.
The aircraft will fly on selected flights between London Heathrow and Madrid in August to allow for crew familiarisation. It will begin long-haul operations to Dubai from 2 September 2019. Flight BA107 from Heathrow to Dubai will be operated with the A350 from 2 September, except for 7-8 September and 1 – 7 October 2019. Flight BA106 from Dubai to Heathrow will be operated with the A350 from 3 September, except for 8-9 September and 2-8 October 2019.
The Airbus A350 will then fly to Toronto (flights BA93 & BA92) from 8 October 2019, Tel Aviv from 1 December 2019 (flights BA163 & BA162) and Bengaluru (flights BA119 & BA118) from 1 January 2020. For both Tel Aviv and Bengaluru, the return flights to Heathrow operate with the A350 from the following day.
The Aircraft
Here’s the Airbus A350-1000 pictured at London Heathrow today, in far better weather than the day of its arrival!
It is quite an aircraft, notably for its curved wing-tip featuring BA’s Chatham Dockyard flag.
British Airways Airbus A350-1000 G-XWBA Aircraft, London Heathrow (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 G-XWBA Aircraft, London Heathrow (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 G-XWBA Aircraft, London Heathrow (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 G-XWBA Aircraft, London Heathrow (Image Credit: British Airways)
Club Suite – Business Class
The aircraft features BA new Club Suite which provides, for the first time on BA, direct aisle access for every seat with all seats in 1-2-1 configuration, as well as optional privacy for all by way of a door.
The TV monitor is fixed into position meaning all passengers in business class can watch the in-flight entertainment gate to gate for the first time. The seat also features vastly more storage options, particularly at shoulder and arm level, compared to BA’s existing Club World seat.
As per the seat map on ba.com, the Club cabin is split into 11 rows at the front of the aircraft and a 3 row “demi-cabin” between the galley and World Traveller Plus. Had this demi-cabin been at the front of the aircraft, it would be very popular.
British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club Suite (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club Suite (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club Suite (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club Suite (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club Suite (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club Suite (Image Credit: British Airways)Continue reading “British Airways Unveils Its Airbus A350-1000 Aircraft”
British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Aircraft (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways’ first Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, G-XWBA, arrived at London Heathrow today, Saturday 27 July 2019.
The aircraft arrived from Toulouse, via Chateauroux, shortly before 14:00 BST.
This is the first of 18 aircraft to be delivered to the airline, with four expected in service by the end of the year. BA also has options for a further 36 aircraft.
The aircraft was due to be delivered on Friday before a special press event. However, this was postponed due to severe disruption at Heathrow.
Here are some pictures of the aircraft taken in Toulouse by Airbus – in far better weather than today – as well as mid-flight CGI renders, again set in far better weather conditions than today.
The arrival of the A350 is being filmed for a forthcoming Channel 5 documentary on BA’s centenary year which is now close to completion.
British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Aircraft (Image Credit: Airbus / British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Aircraft (Image Credit: Airbus / British Airways)British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Aircraft (Image Credit: Airbus / British Airways)Continue reading “British Airways’ First Airbus A350 Arrives At Heathrow”
British Airways has advised that the planned launch of Airbus A350-1000 flights from London Heathrow to Dubai has been brought forward.
Flights BA106 and BA107 between London Heathrow and Dubai were due to be operated with the Airbus A350-1000 from Tuesday 8 October 2019.
This has now been brought forward to Monday 2 September 2019.
The Airbus A350 will not operate BA107 on 7 & 8 September, nor BA106 on 8 & 9 September.
As the Airbus A350-1000 does not have a First Class cabin, passengers booked into First Class will be downgraded to Club World if they remain on these flights.
This also means that Toronto will no longer be the first BA long-haul route to be served by the A350 from Tuesday 1 October 2019.
If you did book a flight to Toronto to specifically fly on an early Airbus A350 flight, BA has in the past exercised discretion when there are changes to schedules for new aircraft, but this cannot be guaranteed.
Schedules for new aircraft do of course remain subject to changes at very short notice.
BA’s first Airbus A350-1000, G-XWBA, is due to arrive at London Heathrow next week and will operate passenger flights between Heathrow and Madrid for crew familiarisation purposes.
Passengers can check the status of their booking using the Manage My Booking tool on ba.com
Affected passengers should contact BA or their travel agent.
British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)
International Airlines Group has just announced that it has ordered 18 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft for British Airways for delivery between 2017 and 2023 and has secured a further 18 options.
The group has also secured delivery slots for Iberia, in anticipation of a future order for Iberia, subject to a satisfactory restructuring of the airline.
Whilst this is not the first long-haul order for Airbus by either BA or IAG, for Airbus this is still a significant long-haul order by BA as the A350-1000 aircraft is likely to form a major part of BA’s long haul fleet as a replacement for the Boeing 747-400.
