Originally Posted by
Dannyboy39
I'm actually surprised that they haven't been a bit more proactive on this up until now. Almost the whole 777-200ER fleet is over 20 years old, so I thought they'd have got in long term orders by this point. I would suspect these would be replaced by variants of the 787 longer term.
I am as well. Granted, it wasn't long ago (2018) when BA densified the LGW 772 fleet, but even so, they are ageing and will need replacing in the medium term. From a competitive stand position, BA need to invest in new a/c for LGW, especially when other carriers at Gatwick are operating far newer aircraft on long haul routes, including the 787-8 (AI, QR), 787-9 (TUI, Z0, QH, SV), A339 (MK) and A359 (MK).
My thinking is that IAG will eventually place a new aircraft order dedicated to LGW fleet renewal, as the current order of 787s, A350s and 77X is primarily dedicated to an LHR-wide fleet renewal. I reckon that the A350-900 could be a perfect, like-for-like fleet replacement for LGW long haul, plus BA would always be free to densify following recent airbus modifications should they wish. I'm unsure about a 787 order for Gatwick, as it would be more difficult to accommodate a 3-4-3 Y layout if BA wished to do so. Alternatively, they could order a batch of 77W, which again could be densified easily (and has already been done so by the vast majority of airlines operating the 777-300ER). The A350-900 is a fantastic aircraft to fly on, so it would be good seeing it in BA colours at LGW eventually.