London Air Travel

British Airways Heathrow – Cairo Aircraft Change

British Airways flights between London Heathrow and Cairo will be operated by a short-haul Airbus A321neo aircraft for 11 days in July 2019.

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BA Boeing 787 at British Airways Maintenance Cardiff (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has advised that its daily service from London Heathrow to Cairo will be subject to an aircraft change in July 2019.

These flights will be operated by a two class short-haul configured Airbus A321neo aircraft instead of a three class long-haul configured Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner:

Flight BA155 London Heathrow – Cairo – Tuesday 9 July – Friday 19 July

Flight BA154 Cairo – London Heathrow – Wednesday 10 July – Saturday 20 July

The reason for this is due to ongoing maintenance requirements to the Rolls-Royce engines of BA’s fleet.

As a consequence of this:

Club World passengers will be seated in Club Europe.

A full meal service will still be offered. Passengers will be proactively offered a partial refund of their fare. There is also the option of rebooking into an alternative BA flight, if available.

World Traveller Plus premium economy passengers will be downgraded to EuroTraveller short-haul economy.

Passengers will receive a EuroTraveller baggage allowance and Avios earning entitlement. A partial refund of the fare will be offered.

In EuroTraveller, a hot meal tray will be not be provided due to galley space limitations.

Only a cold sandwich and cereal bar will be offered.

No in-flight entertainment will be available on the aircraft.

This, like recent cancellations to Abu Dhabi, has been announced at quite short notice which suggests BA is still grappling with Boeing 787 maintenance and aircraft availability.

This route will be subject to further disruption as Air Belgium is due to operate this route from 18 August to 31 October 2019.

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.

London Air Travel’s Atlantic Update – 3 July 2019

A weekly bulletin on transatlantic travel, published every Wednesday at 06:00 BST.

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Provincetown, Cape Cod (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

Hello and welcome to London Air Travel’s Atlantic Update providing a weekly bulletin on developments on transatlantic travel between Europe and North America. The Atlantic Update is published every Wednesday morning at 06:00 GMT.

It is of course a week of public holidays with Canada Day on Monday and the Independence Day holiday tomorrow, 4 July.

Delta revamps long-haul economy service

It’s not often you hear of investments in long-haul economy, particularly from US airlines.

Delta is to revamp its long-haul economy service from November of this year.

Economy passengers will be offered a complimentary “Welcome Aboard” cocktail such as a Bellini (made with sparkling wine and peached puree) after take-off.

Delta also promises an improved main meal service described as “bistro style” with improved starters, a larger main course with dessert served separately, all on improved tableware. Beers, wines and spirits remain complimentary.

Delta Long-Haul Economy Catering (Image Credit: Delta)

A hot towel service will also be offered after take-off and before landing.

One difference between flying internationally on US airlines and European/Asian airlines is often there is a perception of no-one really leading the in-flight service. Delta also promises that senior crew members have undergone additional training and will have added responsibilities such as greeting passengers on boarding the aircraft.

In the grand scheme of things, these changes may seem relatively modest but they do put a stop on other airlines being tempted to pare back their own in-flight service.

As reported last week, Delta is also refurbishing its fleet of Boeing 767-400 aircraft will operate on the majority of flights from London Heathrow next year.

London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 1 July 2019

Welcome to our weekly briefing on air travel in London and around the world, published every Monday at 06:00 BST.

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KLM100 Event Amsterdam Schiphol June 2019 (Image Credit: KLM)

Hello and welcome to our Monday Briefing for the week beginning 1 July 2019.

KLM Celebrates 100 Years

British Airways is not the only airline celebrating a centenary this year.

Monday 7 October 2019 will mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of KLM in 1919, ahead of its first flight in May 1920.

In a rather pointed reference, KLM says: “On 7 October, KLM will become the world’s first airline still operating under its original name to mark its 100^th anniversary.”

The centenary celebrations launched at an official event at Amsterdam Schiphol on Saturday. Yesterday, KLM also took delivery of its first Boeing 787-10 aircraft “Orange Blossom”.

There’s a dedicated microsite with a history of KLM at KLM100.

Fleet News

There were quite a number of fleet developments in the past week:

Staying with KLM, its parent company Air France-KLM announced a reallocation of future deliveries of Airbus A350-900 and Boeing 787-10 aircraft between Air France and KLM. 6 Boeing 787s intended for Air France will be delivered to KLM, taking its total Boeing 787 fleet to 27 aircraft. 7 Airbus A350-900 aircraft ordered for KLM will be transferred to Air France. The Airbus A350-900 will enter service at Air France in October.

BA retired one of its Boeing 747s, G-BNLN, last week. This leaves 33 Boeing 747 aircraft in service at BA.

IAG announced that it has converted two Airbus A320neo options into firm orders for Iberia. These will replace existing Airbus A320ceo aircraft and will be delivered in 2021.

If Apple designed aircraft cabins?

As has been widely reported, Apple’s Chief Design Officer, Sir Jony Ive is leaving the company after 30 years to set-up is his own creative business, LoveFrom.

Marc Newson will also join the new firm from Apple. Marc has significant aviation experience having been Creative Director for Qantas from 2005 to 2015.

Projects for Qantas included its first lie flat seat the “SkyBed”, cabins for the Airbus A330 and A380 aircraft, as well as its acclaimed international First Class lounges in Melbourne and Sydney.

There has been no shortage of innovation in premium cabins and lounges over the decades. However, there are still areas ripe for change.

Whilst there has been talk of bunk beds and some attempts such as short-lived economy seat that reclines without intruding into the space of the passenger behind, no airline has managed to fundamentally reinvent the experience of economy passengers.

Jony Ive no doubt has a fair few air miles under his belt and a collaboration with Marc Newson, subject to willing clients of course, could produce interesting results.

BA Club World Miami – London Heathrow

A review of British Airways Club World on the Boeing 747 from Miami to London Heathrow.

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British Airways Boeing 747 aircraft, Miami International Airport (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

After our review of BA Club World from London Heathrow to Miami, here’s a review of the return flight back to London.

Pre-Departure

BA flights from Miami depart from the Central Terminal.

The BA check-in desks do move around a lot. If you’ve flown out of Miami before, don’t assume they’ll be in the same place next time! Miami is of course a huge American Airlines hub. Security queues, even the priority lines, can be quite long.

The designated lounge for BA passengers is the Premium lounge which is located after security. This is on level 5 of Concourse E and can only be accessed by lift. This often results in queues to leave the lounge when boarding is called in the lounge.

It’s an expansive lounge but the decor is a little dated. There are shower rooms. If you want to use these you need to ask at reception. There has been talk of a refurbishment for some time, but no firm plans have been announced yet.

Premium Lounge, Concourse E, Central Terminal, Miami International Airport (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

How the busy the lounge is depends on whether Finnair and Qatar Airways flights are also operating. Finnair flies from Miami three times weekly in the winter. Qatar Airways operates daily in winter and five times weekly in summer.

The Central Terminal is connected to the North Terminal used by American Airlines. If you don’t mind the walk you’re better off using the American Airlines Flagship lounge near Gate 30 on Concourse D. It has significantly more modern decor and, more importantly, better catering with hot food.

BA departures tend to use Gates E23-E25 and, regardless of which lounge you use, you do need to take a shuttle train to access these gates, as per the terminal map.

Boarding

To boarding, and it was the familiar scene at Gate E24 with a large crowd gathering at the start of the boarding lines.

Boarding procedures are a perennial battle between airlines setting procedures, and passengers being willing and able to follow them.

All it took was for just one passenger to move towards the front of the boarding line, and then everyone else followed. Chaos ensued as BA ground staff battled to get Group 1 passengers through the lane.

Miami was, until the last season, served by a daily Airbus A380 in the winter. BA used two adjacent gates for A380 departures and boarding was far more orderly as passengers queued correctly in the designated lanes well before boarding started.

The Cabin & Take Off

On to the aircraft and it’s upstairs to one of the most coveted seats in Club World, 64K on the Upper Deck of the Boeing 747.

This seats benefits from direct access to the aisle, complete privacy with no passengers in your line of sight, and plenty of storage space in the side bins.

Seat 64K, BA Club World, Boeing 747 Upper Deck — Seat 64K, British Airways Club World, Boeing 747 Upper Deck (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

Seat 64K, British Airways Club World, Boeing 747 Upper Deck (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

On take off you do get good views of Miami Beach. Though, they are better if you sit on the port side of the aircraft.

Views of Downtown Miami and Miami Beach (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

British Airways Adds New World Traveller Plus Amenities

BA is adding new amenity kits, cushions and quilts to World Traveller Plus from 1 July 2019.

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British Airways World Traveller Amenity Kit (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways is rolling out new amenity kits, quilts and cushions to its premium economy cabin, World Traveller Plus, from Monday 1 July 2019.

There’s a new amenity kit, with a bag made from recycled plastic bottles. It includes a new lip balm, eye shades, pen, socks, toothbrush and toothpaste.

One negative change is that it doesn’t include ear plugs – probably the most important item on night flights – which are now available on request only.

There’s also a new and much improved cushion and quilt, as per the pictures below:

British Airways World Traveller Plus Cushion (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways World Traveller Quilt (Image Credit: British Airways)

The new amenities will be available on all flights from London Heathrow from 1 July. Only the new amenity kit will be available at London Gatwick from 1 July, with the rest to follow from Thursday 1 August 2019.

More details on World Traveller Plus are available at ba.com

British Airways London Heathrow Terminal Moves

BA routes from Heathrow to Billund, Hanover, Luxembourg, Lyon and Zagreb will change terminals from 27 October 2019.

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BA Airbus A319 aircraft at London Heathrow (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has announced that the following short-haul routes will swap terminals at London Heathrow from Sunday 27 October 2019:

Billund, Hanover and Zagreb will move from Terminal 5 to 3.

Luxembourg and Lyon will move from Terminal 3 to 5.

BA also previously announced that Phoenix will move from Terminal 3 to 5 and San Diego will move from Terminal 5 to 3 on the same date.

For passengers who are connecting at London Heathrow, there are different minimum connection times of 90 minutes for Terminal 3-Terminal 5 connections, and 60 minutes for Terminal 5-Terminal 5 & Terminal 3-Terminal 3 connections.

Passengers with existing bookings should check carefully that their itineraries comply with minimum connection times and contact BA or their travel agent accordingly.

Passengers can check the status of their bookings using the Manage My Booking tool on ba.com

Update: At the time of publication, these changes have not been reflected in timetables on ba.com

London Air Travel’s Atlantic Update – 26 June 2019

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Manhattan at Sunrise (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

Delta Boeing 767-400 Flights From London Heathrow

Delta currently operates a mixture of Airbus A330 and Boeing 767 aircraft on its transatlantic routes from London Heathrow.

Delta is currently upgrading its fleet of Boeing 767-400 aircraft. This is far from the most modern aircraft to traverse the Atlantic.

However, Delta’s refurbished aircraft do benefit from its new “Delta One” business class cabin. This is expected to be a modified version of the Delta One seat which Delta operates on Airbus A350-900 and retrofitted Boeing 777 aircraft, neither of which serve Heathrow. It promises more personal storage and significantly improved personal privacy with 34 seats in a 1-2-1 configuration.

These aircraft will also feature Delta’s 20 seat premium economy cabin, Delta Premium Select for the first time. This does bring much greater parity between Delta and its transatlantic joint-venture partner Virgin Atlantic.

Refurbished aircraft also benefit from ambient lighting and Delta’s bespoke seat back in-flight entertainment system which relies on wireless streaming to deliver content.

Delta has advised that Boeing 767-400 aircraft will operate from London Heathrow on the following routes:

London Heathrow – Atlanta (Flight DL31/DL30) from Wednesday 13 November 2019

London Heathrow – New York JFK (Flight DL2/DL1) from Sunday 17 November 2019

London Heathrow – Boston (Flight DL59/DL58) from Thursday 21 November 2019

Routes from Heathrow to Detroit, Minneapolis and Portland will operate with The Boeing 767-400 from as yet unspecified dates in the second quarter of 2020. The one exception is Salt Lake City.

If you are booking flights online at Delta you will see these flights flagged with “New Interior”.

Also of note this week:

American Airlines confirms its retirement schedule for passenger flights with MD-80 aircraft. (American Airlines)

London Air Travel’s Atlantic Update is published every Wednesday at 06:00 GMT. If you have any comments, suggestions or tips then please drop us a line at mail [@] londonairtravel.com

You can follow us on Twitter for breaking news throughout the day. Also, please join us on Monday for our weekly Monday Briefing.

London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 24 June 2019

Welcome to our weekly briefing on air travel in London and around the world, published every Monday at 06:00 BST.

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Airbus A321neo XLR aircraft in Aer Lingus, American Airlines, Iberia, JetBlue and Qantas liveries (Image Credit: Airbus)

Welcome to our Monday Briefing for the week beginning 24 June 2019.

Paris Air Show Orders

It’s been a busy week for aircraft orders at the Paris Air Show. Here are the main headline orders:

American Airlines has ordered 50 Airbus A321neo XLR aircraft. This was secured through the conversion of delivery slots for 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft and a new order for 20 aircraft.

International Airlines Group has signed a Letter of Intent for 200 Boeing 737 MAX 8/10 aircraft. IAG has also ordered 6 Airbus A321neo XLR aircraft for Aer Lingus and 8 for Iberia.

Indigo Partners has ordered 50 Airbus A321neo XLR aircraft which will be deployed at 3 of its airlines, Frontier, JetSMART and WizzAir.

JetBlue has ordered 13 Airbus A321neo XLR aircraft through the conversion of existing orders for Airbus A321neo aircraft.

Qantas Group has ordered 36 Airbus A321neo XLR aircraft. This was secured through the conversion of orders for 26 Airbus A321neo aircraft and a new order for 10 aircraft. These will be operated by either Jetstar or Qantas.

Virgin Atlantic has ordered 14 Airbus A330neo aircraft which will replace its existing fleet of Airbus A330-200/300 aircraft.

In terms of what wasn’t announced, IAG has yet to announce an order to fulfil its growth ambitions for LEVEL. IAG has also not announced an order for the Airbus A321neo LR/XLR aircraft for BA.

It’s possible that IAG does not see it as big enough for long-haul routes at Heathrow. However, there are gaps in BA’s worldwide network, notably Africa, where the Boeing 787 does not appear to be an economic option. IAG can hardly be criticised for playing to geographic strengths of its Dublin, London and Madrid hubs, but it is becoming heavily geared towards transatlantic traffic.

It will be some months before IAG gives a full update on its fleet plan but its fleet announcements this year have been distilled here.

Airline fleet plans are of course at the mercy of economic and geopolitical events.

In the past week, we have seen rising tensions between the US and Iran. HSBC also gave warning that more airlines would follow Lutfhansa and issue profit warnings due to “rapidly weakening demand”. Cathay Pacific also highlighted indications of declining demand and intense pressure on yields in a traffic update last week.

“The Conversation: Female Flight Attendants” on BBC World Service

Kim Chakanetsa interviews two female cabin crew in “The Conversation” on the BBC World Service today.

Kim’s guests are Heather Poole, author “Cruising Attitude: Tales Of Crashpads, Crew Drama And Crazy Passengers At 30,000 Feet” and Gretchen Ryan, formerly cabin crew for South African Airways in the 1980s and has just published “Secrets Of A Stewardess”. The programme airs shortly after 11:30 BST. (BBC World Service)

An Update On International Airlines Group’s Fleet Plans

A survey of the fleet renewal and expansion plans for the airlines of IAG following orders placed at the Paris Air Show.

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Aer Lingus & Iberia Airbus A321neo XLR aircraft, BA Airbus A321neo aircraft, BA Boeing 777-9 aircraft. (Image Credit: Airbus, British Airways, Boeing)

IAG airlines are not normally ones to make headline grabbing aircraft orders at air shows.

Such muscular displays of buying power are normally left to others. This year, however, IAG stole the show with a Letter Of Intent to buy 200 Boeing 737 MAX 8/10 aircraft from Boeing. These have been earmarked for BA at London Gatwick, LEVEL and Vueling.

If it becomes an order, it will be IAG’s single biggest aircraft order in its 8 year history and it will more than exceed IAG’s current short-haul growth ambitions. According to press reports, Airbus did not get the chance to tender against Boeing, and would like to make a counter-offer to IAG.

This week’s news, and other recent announcements this year, does give a little more colour on IAG’s plans to renew and grow its fleet.

To recap, at IAG’s Capital Markets Day last November, IAG set out its plan to grow its short-haul fleet from 386 to 467 aircraft by 2023. Long-haul aircraft are expected to increase from 201 to 249 by 2023.

However, in terms of how this is done, much of this growth – some 128 short-haul and 44 long-haul aircraft – was left as “to be decided”.

International Airlines Group Capital Markets Day (Image Credit: International Airlines Group)

Taking account of recent announcements, we now know of the following plans by airline:

Possible British Airways Strike Ballot

An ongoing pay dispute between British Airways and its trade unions may be about to lead to a ballot for industrial action.

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British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)

For some months British Airways has been in negotiations with its trade unions, BALPA, GMB and Unite on a pay deal for staff.

The background to this is that BA has always negotiated separate pay deals with trade unions representing different work groups in the airline such as engineers, ground staff, cabin crew and pilots.

This year, BALPA, GMB and Unite submitted a joint pay claim to the airline arguing for a significantly improved pay offer and profit sharing arrangement.

This is due in part to the dramatic improvement in the airline’s financial health over the past ten years. Last year, BA reported an operating profit of £1,952m.

BA initially only offered a one year pay deal, citing uncertainty over Brexit. These have been resoundingly rejected by employees in consultative ballots.

Following further talks between the airline and trade unions which have not proved acceptable to the unions, it appears that the pilots union BALPA may be about to start a formal ballot for industrial action.

It is important to emphasise that at the time of publication, Wednesday 19 June 2019, BALPA has not made any official announcement.

However, BA is now clearly preparing for a possible strike ballot announcement as it has today issued guidance to travel agents to respond to customer queries.

Timing Of Possible Industrial Action

In terms of timings, it will take four weeks to conduct the ballot. Trade unions are then required to give two weeks’ notice of industrial action.

Therefore, there will be no industrial action in the next six weeks.

It is inevitable that there will be a strong mandate for industrial action based on a high turnout as this increases the union’s negotiating leverage over the airline. Whether this ultimately leads to industrial action is another matter. Very often disputes over pay deals can be agreed right up to the wire.

However, any pay offer by the airline has to first be approved by BA’s parent company International Airlines Group, which is likely to adopt a tough negotiating stance.

BA is unlikely to say much publicly, other than standard comments about wanting to work constructively with unions and that it remains open to negotiations and recommends talks at the conciliation service ACAS. It will only announce contingency plans and cancellations in the event of industrial action.

London Air Travel

British Airways Heathrow – Cairo Aircraft Change

More to read on British Airways Disruption

London Air Travel’s Atlantic Update – 3 July 2019

Delta revamps long-haul economy service

London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 1 July 2019

KLM Celebrates 100 Years

Fleet News

If Apple designed aircraft cabins?

BA Club World Miami – London Heathrow

Pre-Departure

Boarding

The Cabin & Take Off

British Airways Adds New World Traveller Plus Amenities

British Airways London Heathrow Terminal Moves

London Air Travel’s Atlantic Update – 26 June 2019

Delta Boeing 767-400 Flights From London Heathrow

Also of note this week:

London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 24 June 2019

Paris Air Show Orders

“The Conversation: Female Flight Attendants” on BBC World Service

An Update On International Airlines Group’s Fleet Plans

Possible British Airways Strike Ballot

Timing Of Possible Industrial Action

More to read on British Airways Disruption