Originally Posted by
JW95
Very much agree with you. I think the A359 could make a good fit for LGW in terms of a direct 1-1 replacement for the 772s, although I'm unsure whether the A350-900 is able to accommodate the numbers as currently seen in the densified 772s? Surely BA wouldn't try to replicate 3-4-3 Y in the A359 as in the 777 currently, as that would be really pushing it. Alternatively, they could go with more 788s/9s, with the advantage that current 777 pilots at LGW could seamlessly transfer onto the replacement fleet with little/no training? Although as mentioned, capacity per aircraft would drop pretty drastically. They could do what VS have done with the leisure fleet and go with the A350-1000 with a densified configuration.
Iberia are flying their A359s in a 31/24/293 layout compared to 32/52/252 on the 777s, thats 3-3-3 with a 31" pitch in Y. I would expect BA to sacrifice some Economy seats for Premium Economy, but they still might end up with one or two dozen more seats overall. The A350 is a bit larger than the 787 and airlines tend to configure it at a higher density than the 787. I guess thats why the 787/350 combination is fairly common in many airline fleets. With the A350 and 787 already in the fleet at LHR anything could happen. Its even more unpredictable when the wider IAG landscape is taken into account. Pound for pound the A359 would be the closest direct replacement, if that is what BA want for their 777-200 fleet.