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A muted round of applause this morning to recognise that for the first time 100% of BA’s 777’s operating out of Heathrow are fitted with CS. The carefully chosen words reflecting that the final CW aircraft flew to Cardiff yesterday for its CS refit. Theoretically it could return unconverted, but the working assumption is that it is there for an extended stay and new cabin.
On the 787 front while three 788’s have been completed, the first has been out of service for some time so the routes the remaining two operate are somewhat limited. Conversion number four is in progress. There have been some suggestions that the 789 refits may start after the final 777 is completed and run alongside the 788 program instead of following it. While unconfirmed there is some logic in that as it would probably be easier to take one of each out of service rather than two of the same type.
I’ve not seen any further timelines on the A380 refurbishment (First & Club), and there remain no plans for the twelve Gatwick based 777’s.
Thanks for the update. Presumably the 787-8 out of service is due to the ongoing engine issues?
I’m no expert but would it fair to say it will take at least the whole year to finish off 787 refits so we can expect the A380s to start sometime in 26?Can expect Gatwick fleet to start conversion by 2036.😞
In principle it’s around six weeks per aircraft, so if they follow through with no further delays the (serviceable) 788’s could be completed this year but not the 789’s.
The 380’s will not be refurbished in Cardiff so there is no dependency in that respect.
Can expect Gatwick fleet to start conversion by 2036.😞
And we will end up flying on aircraft older than us
Can expect Gatwick fleet to start conversion by 2036.😞
There are no plans to introduce Club Suite at Gatwick. The entire fleet was only recently refreshed with new interiors.
You’ll need to wait until a decision is taken on replacement for the Gatwick fleet, whether that’s Heathrow hand me downs or brand new aircraft.
On the 787 front while three 788’s have been completed, the first has been out of service for some time so the routes the remaining two operate are somewhat limited.
Looking at flight radar, it appears they’re swapping the first and second CS equipped 787-8s today. G-ZBJB is due to fly to Cardiff about 3pm today with G-ZBJA then scheduled to fly back to Heathrow just after 5pm. I guess that means Alpha’s coming back into service and Bravo’s going to have the same rectification work that Alpha’s been having? (Assuming that’s what’s been happening)
Doesn’t change the odds of getting suites on an 787-8 right now though…
Can expect Gatwick fleet to start conversion by 2036.😞
Can expect Gatwick fleet to start conversion by 2036.😞
There are no plans to introduce Club Suite at Gatwick. The entire fleet was only recently refreshed with new interiors.
You’ll need to wait until a decision is taken on replacement for the Gatwick fleet, whether that’s Heathrow hand me downs or brand new aircraft.
2036 was me being cynical. Personally I wouldn’t spend money or even avios on a Gatwick flight in CW unless there was no alternative
And we will end up flying on aircraft older than us
Being doing that for years! Always remember the quote attributed to John Glenn:
“I guess the question I’m asked the most often is: “When you were sitting in that capsule listening to the count-down, how did you feel?” Well, the answer to that one is easy. I felt exactly how you would feel if you were getting ready to launch and knew you were sitting on top of two million parts — all built by the lowest bidder on a government contract.”Can expect Gatwick fleet to start conversion by 2036.😞
There are no plans to introduce Club Suite at Gatwick. The entire fleet was only recently refreshed with new interiors.
You’ll need to wait until a decision is taken on replacement for the Gatwick fleet, whether that’s Heathrow hand me downs or brand new aircraft.
Out of curiosity, what is refreshed about Club World from LGW? The seat layout is unchanged. I am due to fly a 777 from there and was resigned to the pop up 1990s 12 inch screen ICE. Any hope of anything better?
The LGW cabins were renewed more or less ‘as is’. Slightly newer iteration of the same seat, new Panasonic (I think) IFE with 15.4″ touch screen.
They do get occasional maintenance swaps with LHR CS aircraft, but don’t pin your hopes on that.
Thank you. We are travelling as a 4 so the four abreast in centre aisle is no issue for us and nice if the upgraded screen is a small win.
I was surprisingly able to find 2 seats in J to and from Singapore in September. Only after buying them did I find out they had 8 a Brest seating and required mountaineering skills to get out of the seat in flight.
My disappointment was tempered with an actual experience of club suite to DOH which was just awful.
BA old or new have a long way to go to make any kind of club experience feel premium.
With the usual proviso that everything is subject to change, an interesting set of dates have been posted on Flyertalk from a BA source indicating that the 788 CS program is currently scheduled to be completed in November this year, with the 789 refits getting underway before then (although the first will involve a lengthy recertification process).
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