British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)
Boeing has today, Thursday 19 July 2018, announced that British Airways has committed to ordering an additional 3 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
The announcement was made to coincide with the Farnborough Air Show. These aircraft will be leased from an undisclosed third party lessor. They will join BA’s 12 strong fleet of Boeing 777-300ER aircraft at London Heathrow. These were delivered to the airline from 2010 to 2014. 3 of these aircraft are leased and 9 are owned by BA.
Based on plans published by BA’s parent company International Airlines Group at its Capital Markets Day late last year, it is expected that these three aircraft will replace three of BA’s oldest Boeing 777-200 aircraft. These were delivered to the airline in 1995 and operate principally to the US East Coast and the Middle East.
BA has not made any comment on the announcement. The planned configuration of the aircraft is not known. The current fleet of Boeing 777-300 aircraft all operate in a four class configuration. BA is in the process of “densifying” its existing Boeing 777 fleet so these aircraft could well arrive with 3-4-3 seating in World Traveller economy. The delivery dates are also not known.
The BA Boeing 777-300ER currently operates from London Heathrow to Beijing, San Diego, Sao Paulo, Singapore-Sydney and Tokyo Haneda. It also operates selected frequencies to Boston and Hong Kong. It has also previously operated to Rio de Janeiro. Please see here for our full guide to BA’s fleet.
Gordon Ramsay Plane Food Picnic (Image Credit: London Air Travel)
When Gordon Ramsay’s “Plane Food” restaurant opened at London Heathrow Terminal 5 a little over ten years ago, the arrival of an airport restaurant bearing the name of a well known chef wasn’t the only innovation.
Plane Food also introduced the concept of the dedicated onboard “picnic”.
That wasn’t the first time the concept of bring your own catering entered into the consciousness of the travelling public. Readers may recall industrial action at BA’s Heathrow catering provider Gate Gourmet in the summer of 2005 which resulted in months of very limited catering on short-haul flights. Retailers at Heathrow did a roaring trade as passengers spent their free meal vouchers in the terminals. As free catering offerings in the air have diminished over the past ten years, it also proved to be a prescient move.
Having never been a great fan of the second meal service in any cabin on BA long-haul flights, which is usually some variant of Afternoon Tea, it was high time to try out a Plane Food picnic. So here we’ve road tested a picnic on a transatlantic flight from London Heathrow in World Traveller Plus.
Ordering A Picnic
You can’t miss Gordon Ramsay Plane Food as you exit the South security lanes at Terminal 5.
You can order a picnic at the counter which is immediately at the entrance. Here is the current menu. You can choose from one of three starters, mains, and desserts that are displayed in cabinets behind the counter. You also have a choice of a bottle of still or sparkling water. There is one set price of £18.50. Don’t forget to pick-up cutlery!
Only if you are Victoria Beckham can you acquire one before even entering the terminal.
The Picnic
Your picnic is encased in an insulated zip-up case about 30cms by 23cms in size.
Each item is plated separately with a plastic casing. As on this flight, I was seated in an exit row it had to go in the overhead bin for take off, where you need to make sure it packed appropriately to survive being thrown about whilst the aircraft hurtles towards 38,000 feet.
Here is the picnic in the air:
– A starter of potted salt beef brisket with grain mustard, prosciutto ham, piccalilli and rocket – A main of poached chicken breast, basil pesto, grilled portabello mushroom – A dessert of fruit salad
Gordon Ramsay Plane Food Picnic (Image Credit: London Air Travel)
The Atlantic Update is published every Wednesday morning at 06:00 BST, providing a weekly bulletin on developments on transatlantic travel between Europe and North America.
Hello and welcome to the The Atlantic Update for Wednesday 18 July 2018, 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 BST.
New US Airline Commits To 60 Airbus A220-300 Aircraft
When Virgin America was folded into Alaska Airlines earlier this year, many passengers mourned the passing of a young upstart and continued consolidation in the US airline industry.
There now appears to be firm plans for a new US airline start-up. Airbus has confirmed that an as yet unnamed airline has committed to 60 Airbus A220-300 aircraft (formerly known as the Bombardier CSeries) for delivery from 2021. Last week JetBlue also announced that it had ordered 60 of the Airbus A220-300 aircraft.
The new airline will be founded by a group of investors led by David Neeleman, founder of JetBlue. It should be noted that at this stage there is only a Memorandum Of Understanding, and not a firm order.
Breaking into the US domestic market is not easy. Readers may recall the launch of Virgin America was subject to intensive lobbying efforts which delayed its launch. There were also competitive responses to new route launches with incumbent airlines aggressively adding capacity on matching routes to dilute fares.
United Fleet Order
On a more cautious note, United has announced it has ordered 25 Embraer E-175 aircraft and 4 new Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
The new Embraer aircraft will be delivered in 2019 and will replace an equivalent number of CRJ-700 aircraft operated by United Express. The Boeing 787-9 aircraft will be delivered in 2020 and will also act as replacement aircraft, but no further detail has been provided.
Primera Air confirms Winter transatlantic schedule
Primera Air’s launch of transatlantic routes from the UK did not get off to the best start.
It cancelled the planned launch of transatlantic routes from Birmingham to Newark and Toronto. The launch of Stansted to Toronto was delayed. It had to wet lease aircraft to cover Stansted – Newark and this route has been beset by delays and cancellations.
However, Primera Air is soldiering on into the winter. Routes from Stansted to Newark, Toronto and Washington will continue throughout the winter. Stansted to Boston will end in early December. Primera Air has yet to confirm schedules for Summer 2019.
US “Big Three” Airlines Release Q2 Results
All of the “Big Three” US airlines have now released their Q2 financial results.
Some performed better than expectations, notably United. There is less positive news at Delta which is seen as the industry leader. It reported a fall in net profit. A key theme is increasing fuel prices which airlines will seek to pass on to passengers through higher ticket prices. No doubt this will be a similar theme in Europe as well.
Also Of Note This Week
Air Canada is to open a refurbished Maple Leaf Lounge in St John’s International Airport this autumn. (Air Canada)
Alaska Airlines launches its new summer menu which will be available until 15 November 2018. (Alaska Airlines)
Late Post Publication Updates:
[Reseved for updates during the day.]
The Atlantic Update is published every Wednesday at 06:00 BST. If you have any comments, suggestions or tips then please drop us a line at mail [@] londonairtravel.com
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.
Welcome to our weekly Monday Briefing on the main developments in air travel in London and around the world, as published every Monday morning at 06:00 BST.
Hello and welcome to our Monday Briefing for the week beginning 16 July 2018, summarising the main developments in air travel over the past week, and a look to the week ahead.
Farnborough Air Show
The Biennial Farnborough Air Show gets under way this week.
Historically, this been the stage for muscular displays of headline grabbing aircraft orders, notably from Middle Eastern airlines. With Emirates parking aircraft and Etihad downsizing its route network, some of the blockbuster orders of the past are unlikely to be repeated.
Judging by news coverage over the past few days, the UK press has clearly been briefed in advance about possible Government announcements to reinforce its commitment to aviation and space technology after the UK leaves the European Union. It has already announced on Sunday funding for horizontal and vertical spaceports around the UK. However, this will not make the very real issues surrounding the UK’s departure from the EU, such as pan-European supply chains, regulation and traffic rights, go away.
As far as aircraft orders are concerned, commentators will tally up the relative numbers of orders for Airbus and Boeing. Last week Airbus officially launched the Airbus A220, which is effectively the Bombardier C-Series rebranded, and it will no doubt be keen to announce more orders in addition to JetBlue’s order last week.
BA has never been one to announce orders at aircraft shows. That said, it is known that its parent company IAG is in discussions with Airbus and Boeing on an aircraft order, so you never know.
Iberia’s A350-900 comes to London Heathrow this Friday
Iberia’s first A350-900 aircraft will be operating selected flights on the London Heathrow – Madrid route from this Friday 20 July 2018 until Friday 3 August 2018:
Flight BA7058 / IB3166 Depart Madrid 15:55 – Arrive London Heathrow 17:20
Flight BA522 / IB3167 Depart London Heathrow 18:50 – Arrive Madrid 22:15
It will then resume from Monday 23 August to Tuesday 31 August 2018. This is to allow pilots and cabin crew to become familiar with the aircraft before it begins long-haul operations. Note this may be subject to change at short notice.
Iberia has yet to unveil images of the A350 cabin interior. When Iberia does so, it should provide some clues to what to expect when BA takes delivery of the Airbus A350-1000 next year. This is at least as far as economy, premium economy and in-flight entertainment are concerned. However, BA is expected to have a different business class cabin. Continue reading “London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 16 July 2018”
British Airways Lounge – London Gatwick South Terminal (Credit: British Airways)
For as long as we can remember one of the biggest complaints about the BA Executive Club is the rule that allows Silver and Gold Executive Club members to bring only one guest into the lounges.
The biggest irritation is when an Executive Club member is travelling on their family holiday and cannot bring their whole family into the lounge.
BA has sought to address this in the past 12 months by allowing Gold cardholders to bring up to five guests into the Galleries Club lounges at Gatwick and Heathrow over Christmas and Easter.
BA has, once again, relaxed access lounge access rules from today, Saturday 14 July, to Sunday 2 September 2018.
However, there is good news and bad news.
The good news is that the rules appear to have been relaxed for all BA lounges.
The bad news is that rules have been relaxed only for members of the “Gold Guest List”.
The Gold Guest List is an Executive Club tier above Gold introduced a little over ten years ago. It is not that widely publicised. You have to earn 5,000 tier points in one year to become a member and 3,000 tier points in consecutive years to retain membership. Its benefits include access to a dedicated customer service telephone line, additional Avios redemption benefits, additional lounge guests, and a Hilton Honors Diamond membership.
Given the change of policy for the summer it’s not certain how this will be applied over Christmas.
This is one of a number of measures BA has introduced for families including “status hold” for new parents. If you’ve travelled through Terminal 5 recently you may have noticed a new family check-in area at the North side of the terminal. Certainly from anecdotal experience, even for the most frequent flyers, it is the experience when travelling with their own family that has the greatest influence on their perception of the airline.
Union Hand-Roasted Coffee – BA Lounge Heathrow (Image Credit: London Air Travel)
This is a topic that may be considered by some to be a bit “niche”, but please allow us a moment of self-indulgence.
A little over a month ago, BA started serving Union Hand-Roasted Coffee in its UK lounges and in First and Club World.
Having tried it on flights and in the lounges at Heathrow, what’s the verdict?
There is marked difference in the taste of the coffee on the ground and it is a huge improvement.
In the air, there is a difference, but it much less marked. If you didn’t know the coffee had changed, I doubt you’d notice. This may be due to the limitations of making coffee in the air more than anything else.
In both the lounges and the aircraft, the actual coffee making equipment hasn’t changed. The lounges use the same self-service bean-to-cup machines. In Club World, BA still serves only one choice of filter coffee.
Arguably, this should change. BA could never get away with offering only one white or one red wine in the air. Given how much tastes have changed, as evidenced by the huge number of independent coffee chains in London, it is absurd that you have to fly First Class to get an espresso or cappuccino.
Also bear in mind that in the Qantas lounge at Heathrow you can have coffee made for you by a barista, and on Qantas long-haul business class you are offered coffee in a cafetière.
Given BA will be introducing with the Airbus A350-1000 next year with an entirely new Club World cabin and it is also due to refurbish its lounges at Heathrow in the coming years, this should an area for attention.
Union Hand-Roasted Coffee – BA Lounge Heathrow (Image Credit: London Air Travel)
The Atlantic Update is published every Wednesday morning at 06:00 BST, providing a weekly bulletin on developments on transatlantic travel between Europe and North America.
jetBlue Airbus A220-300 aircraft (Image Credit: Airbus)
Hello and welcome to the The Atlantic Update for Wednesday 11 July 2018, 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 BST.
These aircraft were formerly known as the Bombardier C-Series CS100 and CS300. SWISS operate the A220-300 on selected flights between London Heathrow and Geneva.
JetBlue has announced it has ordered 60 A220-300 aircraft which will be delivered from 2020. It also has options for a further 60 aircraft which, if exercised, would be delivered from 2025. The aircraft will be used to replace JetBlue’s existing fleet of 60 Embraer E190 aircraft from 2020 to 2025.
JetBlue has also converted an existing order 25 Airbus A320neo to Airbus A321neo aircraft.
It is interesting to note that the JetBlue press release makes no mention of any orders for the Airbus A321 Long Range which, if ordered, could be used to launch services to Europe.
Virgin Atlantic adds flights for Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show
Last year Virgin Atlantic added special flights from London Heathrow to Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronic Show.
These will return in 2019. Virgin Atlantic will add additional flights from London Heathrow to Las Vegas on Saturday 5, Sunday 6, Monday 7 and Thursday 10 January 2019. Return flights from Las Vegas operate on Saturday 5, Sunday 6, Thursday 10 and Friday 11 January 2019.
This is in advance of Virgin permanently moving the route from Gatwick to Heathrow from Sunday 31 March 2019.
Welcome to our weekly Monday Briefing on the main developments in air travel in London and around the world, as published every Monday morning at 06:00 BST.
British Airways World Cup Boarding Pass (Image Credit: Ogilvy & Wavemaker UK for British Airways)
Hello and welcome to our Monday Briefing for the week beginning 9 July 2018, summarising the main developments in air travel over the past week, and a look to the week ahead.
BA’s “Football’s Coming Home” Boarding Pass
If you were on Twitter and Facebook on Saturday you couldn’t have failed to have noticed BA’s “Football’s Coming Home” boarding pass.
Designed by BA’s ad agency Ogilvy and WaveMaker and carefully navigating FIFA World Cup branding restrictions, it features many references including Gareth Southgate, 1966, 52 Years of Hurt and Wembley. A clever and timely execution of a simple idea.
Pedants will of course note it has been some time since BA last used colour printed boarding passes and a long time ago there were different colour prints depending on class of travel.
On a related note, Ogilvy have only been BA’s main advertising agency until relatively recently and we have yet to see any “Masterbrand” creative work from them, which is awaited with interest.
Heathrow Releases Its Summer Film “Out Of Office”
Heathrow has released a new summer advertising campaign.
Directed by Tom Green of Stink Films, the 40 second advertisement features a mother setting her Out Of Office message whilst her two children play in the departures area before they travel to an unspecified destination.
The airport has previously run “Masterbrand” advertisements at Christmas but this is, we think, its first film of this type for the summer. Like the Christmas ads, it is produced by Havas London.
The TV ad will be supported by an outdoor advertising campaign by renowned portrait photographer Christopher Anderson.
BA London Heathrow Terminal 5 Arrivals Lounge Breakfast Buffet Area (Image Credit: London Air Travel)
When London Heathrow Terminal 5 opened a little over ten years ago, one of the promised benefits for premium passengers was an improved arrivals lounge experience.
Readers may recall long queues for showers at the old Terminal 4 arrivals lounge and a long route to the departures area for the equivalent lounge in Terminal 1.
And on the opening day of Terminal 5, one of the few things to go right was the opening of a vastly improved arrivals lounge.
Designed by David Davies & Stuart Barron the bright, spacious lounge featured scores of shower rooms, an Elemis travel spa, and a wide selection of seating.
Let’s take a look. But first, a quick primer on the lounge:
Lounge Location and Access Eligibility
The lounge is located on the first floor of the arrivals area of Terminal 5.
When you have collected your luggage and cleared customs, look for the signs to the lounge and take a lift to the first floor and then follow the signs.
The lounge is open from 05:00 to 14:00 daily.
Passengers arriving from a BA long-haul flight in Club World or First Class are eligible to access the lounge, as well as Gold Executive Club cardholders if arriving from a long-haul flight. (I understand American Airlines Advantage Executive Platinum cardholders should also be able to access the lounge if travelling on a flight covered by the American Airlines & BA transatlantic joint-venture.)
The lounge does not fall within Oneworld alliance lounge access rules and no guests can be brought into the lounge.
Note if you are arriving on a BA long-haul flight at Terminal 3 you can use the American Airlines arrivals lounge.
If you’re not eligible to access either lounges, Plaza Premium also offer paid-for arrivals lounges at Terminals 2, 3, and 4 (though I’d skip the lounge at Terminal 3).
Lounge Facilities
Lounge facilities include:
– Staffed luggage storage area
– Breakfast buffet offering a Full English and continental breakfast
– A wide range of seating at tables and benches, and armchairs.
– Private shower rooms with Elemis toiletries
– Elemis Travel Spa
– Business centre with PCs, printer and photocopier
– Concorde Breakfast Room with table service for First Class passengers
