British Airways London Gatwick Archives

BA’s 10 Abreast Economy Boeing 777 May 2019 Update

An update on the progress of the refurbishment of British Airways Boeing 777 fleet at Gatwick.

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BA World Traveller cabin on LGW based Boeing 777 aircraft (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways is now approximately two thirds of the way through the refurbishment of its fleet of Boeing 777-200 aircraft at London Gatwick.

The primary 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 May 2019, eight Boeing 777-200 aircraft, registrations G-VIIO, G-VIIP, G-VIIR, G-VIIT, G-VIIU, G-VIIV, G-VIIW and G-VIIX have been refurbished. A ninth aircraft, G-VIIY, was sent to Singapore for refurbishment on 5 May 2019 and should return to Gatwick in June.

Non-refurbished aircraft include registrations G-VIIK, G-YMMA, G-YMMC, G-YMMR and G-YMMS.

Of refurbished aircraft so far, six are three class Boeing 777-200 aircraft. On these 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 and it is a radical improvement on the previous system.

The remaining two refurbished aircraft are 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.

British Airways Suspends Gatwick – Fort Lauderdale

British Airways has suspended its route from London Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale from Saturday 7 September 2019.

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Fort Lauderdale Beach (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

British Airways is to suspend its route from London Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale.

The last flights between Gatwick and Fort Lauderdale are scheduled to operate on Saturday 7 September 2019.

The route currently operates three times weekly. It launched in 2017 and, like BA’s now suspended route to Oakland, followed the launch of this route by Norwegian at Gatwick.

Norwegian has in the past month switched its Gatwick – Fort Lauderdale route to Miami International. This means London will have no direct link to Fort Lauderdale. This is a shame as Fort Lauderdale is a worthwhile destination in its own right and an alternative to what is a very unpredictable arrivals experience at Miami International.

Passengers whose flights have been cancelled are entitled to a full refund. Alternatively, passengers can be re-accommodated on American Airlines and BA services from Heathrow to Miami International. However, any additional costs such as ground transportation will be at your own expense.

American and BA will operate five joint daily flights between Heathrow and Miami from Sunday 27 October 2019.

Affected passengers should check the status of their booking at ba.com and contact either BA or their travel agent.

Update: BA has published guidance which adds that affected passengers can also choose to fly from Gatwick to Orlando or Tampa in Florida. Again, any consequential costs will be at passengers’ expense.

British Airways Launches Gatwick – Milan Bergamo

BA will fly from London Gatwick to Milan Bergamo six times weekly from 1 September 2019.

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Naviglio Grande Canal, Milan (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways is to launch a new route from London Gatwick to Milan Bergamo.

BA will fly from Gatwick to Milan Bergamo (Orio al Serio International Airport) six times weekly, excluding Saturdays, from Sunday 1 September 2019. The airport is located approximately 60km away from Milan city centre.

Flights will operate year round. As tends to be par the course for BA at Gatwick flight times vary by day.

BA already flies from London City to Milan Linate and from London Heathrow to Milan Linate and Milan Malpensa. It is of course possible to “mix and match” airports if convenient. Milan Linate airport is due to close for three months from 27 July to 27 October 2019 for runway repair work.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

British Airways London Gatwick Summer Schedule

Here are details of BA’s London Gatwick summer schedule from Sunday 31 March 2019.

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British Airways has almost finalised its schedules for the Summer 2019 season which officially begins on Sunday 31 March 2019.

A list of changes for London Heathrow has been published and here are known changes at London Gatwick so far. Flights at London Gatwick can be booked now at ba.com

Long-Haul Changes

Cancun increases from three to four times weekly with an additional flight on Thursdays.

Cape Town ends for the winter on Saturday 30 March and resumes on Monday 11 November.

Lima resumes for the summer on Sunday 31 March until Friday 25 October.

Male ends for the winter on Friday 29 March and resumes on Sunday 27 October.

Toronto resumes for the summer on Friday 3 May until Friday 25 October.
Continue reading “British Airways London Gatwick Summer Schedule”

BA’s 10 Abreast Economy Boeing 777 2019 Update

An update on the progress of the refurbishment of British Airways Boeing 777 fleet at Gatwick.

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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.

At the moment three class Boeing 777-200 aircraft are being refurbished. On these 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.

Four class Boeing 777-200 aircraft will also be refurbished this year, but the overall change in seating configuration is much more modest.

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)

For passengers travelling with infants it is important to note that the refurbishment of aircraft does change the location of bassinet seats.
Continue reading “BA’s 10 Abreast Economy Boeing 777 2019 Update”

British Airways launches London Gatwick – Lyon

BA will fly from Gatwick to Lyon on Saturdays and Sundays from 15 December 2018 to 21 April 2019.

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British Airways Lounge, South Terminal, London Gatwick (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has announced a new seasonal weekend service from London Gatwick to Lyon.

The airline will fly from Gatwick to Lyon (Lyon–Saint-Exupéry airport) on Saturdays and Sundays from Saturday 15 December 2018 to Sunday 21 April 2019.

This will complement BA’s existing year round service from Heathrow to Lyon which operates up to three times daily. BA also flies from Gatwick to Grenoble three times weekly from Saturday 15 December 2018 to Sunday 31 March 2019.

It is of course possible to “mix and match” departure and arrival airports in London and France if that is convenient.

For full details of BA’s Gatwick winter schedule, please see here. Please also see here for seasonal winter ski and Christmas routes from London.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

London Gatwick – Lyon

Flight BA2618 Depart London Gatwick 11:35 – Arrive Lyon 14:15 (Saturday)
Flight BA2618 Depart London Gatwick 06:45 – Arrive Lyon 09:25 (Sunday)

Flight BA2619 Depart Lyon 14:55 – Arrive London Gatwick 15:35 (Saturday)
Flight BA2619 Depart Lyon 10:15 – Arrive London Gatwick 10:55 (Sunday)

BA’s 10 abreast economy Boeing 777 September Update

An update on the progress of the refurbishment of British Airways Boeing 777 fleet at Gatwick and the routes on which refurbished aircraft are expected to operate.

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British Airways is now more than a third of its 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.

At the moment three class Boeing 777-200 are being refurbishment. For these aircraft, BA has also installed a new World Traveller Plus premium economy seat and increased the number of seats in this cabin. It has decreased the number of Club World business class seats. The in-flight entertainment system has also been upgraded. Four class Boeing 777-200 aircraft will also be refurbished, but the overall change in seating configuration is much more modest.

As at November 2018, six Boeing 777-200 aircraft, registrations G-VIIO, G-VIIP, G-VIIR, G-VIIT, G-VIIU and G-VIIX have been refurbished. Each refurbishment takes around four to six weeks.

The initial plan was that up to 25 Boeing 777s will be subject to “densification”. Given, from anecdotal evidence, there appears to be no adverse customer reaction, it is highly likely that this will be extended to many more aircraft. Heathrow based Boeing 777s are expected to be refurbished in 2019.

Seat maps for 3 class Boeing 777 aircraft

If you are flying on a non-refurbished 9 abreast 3 class Boeing 777 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 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)

For passengers travelling with infants it is important to note that the refurbishment of aircraft does change the location of bassinet seats.
Continue reading “BA’s 10 abreast economy Boeing 777 September Update”

BA relaunches Kos at Gatwick

British Airways will fly from London Gatwick to Kos three times weekly from 15 May to 26 October 2019.

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British Airways is to reinstate a summer seasonal route to Kos, Greece at London Gatwick.

BA previously flew to Kos on a summer seasonal basis at Heathrow. However, the route was suspended in 2017.

BA will fly to Kos three times weekly from Wednesday 15 May to Saturday 26 October 2019 on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. As is par the course for BA at Gatwick, flight times vary widely by day.

Flights will be operated with a mixture of Airbus A319 and A320 aircraft in the standard two class, EuroTraveller and Club Europe, configuration.

This should just be the start of a number of summer seasonal route announcements both at Heathrow and Gatwick.

In terms of coverage of Greece, this summer BA has flown to Crete, Corfu, Kalamata, Kefalonia, Mykonos, Santorini and Zakynthos from Heathrow. It has also flown to Crete, Rhodes and Thessaloniki from Gatwick and Mykonos and Skiathos from London City.

Flights are available for booking now at ba.com.

BA launches winter seasonal London Gatwick – Cologne

British Airways has launched a new winter seasonal route from London Gatwick to Cologne from Friday 16 November 2018 to Friday 29 March 2019.

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Cologne Cathedral (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

British Airways has launched a new winter seasonal route from London Gatwick to Cologne.

The airline will fly to Cologne four times weekly on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday from Friday 16 November 2018 to Friday 29 March 2019. The exact flight times vary widely by day. This will be the only direct route between London Gatwick and Cologne.

It’s worth noting that Cologne is very easily reached by train from Dusseldorf airport. Therefore, it should be easy to “mix and match” this route with BA’s six daily flights between London Heathrow and Dusseldorf, if convenient.

BA also serves Friedrichshafen and Nuremburg on a winter seasonal basis at Gatwick. Please see here for BA’s Gatwick winter schedule. Further route announcements may be made over the next few weeks.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

BA Gatwick 10 abreast economy Boeing 777 Update

BA is progressively the number of economy seats on Boeing 777 aircraft at Gatwick from 9 to 10 seats a row. Here is an update on the progress of the refurbishment.

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British Airways is now more than a third of its way through the refurbishment of its fleet of Boeing 777-200 aircraft at London Gatwick.

The refurbishment programme includes new seats in World Traveller and World Traveller Plus, new in-flight entertainment systems and cabin interiors. Most importantly of all, the seats in World Traveller are increased from 9 to 10 a row.

Please see here for images of the first refurbished aircraft which were unveiled on Monday 5 March 2018.

At the moment only three class Boeing 777-200 aircraft are being refurbished. As at November 2018, six Boeing 777-200 aircraft, registrations G-VIIO, G-VIIP, G-VIIR, G-VIIT, G-VIIU, and G-VIIX have been refurbished. Each refurbishment takes around a month. Once the Gatwick fleet is complete, BA will then refurbish some Heathrow aircraft.

Seating Plans Of Refurbished Aircraft

BA has updated the seat maps on its website to include the new cabin configuration.

If you are flying on a 9 abreast Boeing 777 you should see the following cabin configurations on the seat map for your reservation in the Manage My Booking tool:

Club World – Rows 1 – 11 (40 seats)
World Traveller Plus – Rows 12 – 14 (24 seats)
World Traveller – Rows 16 – 40 (3-3-3 configuration)

If you are flying on a 10 abreast Boeing 777 you should see the following cabin configurations on the seat map for your reservation 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)
Continue reading “BA Gatwick 10 abreast economy Boeing 777 Update”