Originally Posted by
GAXLN
Thanks for the fuller picture. My guess is that a lot of the damage had already been done in France and that subsequent storage was possibly recognition that, an airfield in the middle of France, had its disadvantages in respect of keeping an airframe in the best condition. At the time getting engineers out and back would have been easier to France and this, with the storage for the entire fleet in one location being possible, perhaps swung it. I recall A319 flights taking place as “day returns” ferrying engineers out and back. Perhaps one day the full and true story will become more widely known. I guess also it was against a background of BA having taken a decision to ditch its entire 747 fleet and the A380 fleet must have been under close scrutiny too.
They would have probably been in a lot better place now, if they had taken the decision to keep the existing Boeing 747-436 fleet and ditch the A380s during COVID. Sure the Boeing 747s would have been more costly to operate in fuel terms but they were a reliable, proven platform, with an engine that had been around for years and a good number of the Boeing 747-436 fleet had just gone through a complete cabin refurbishment that included new seats and the new Panasonic IFE system installed. Add to that no leasing costs [all the aircraft were owned outright] BA also had a few Boeing 747-436 that had a large [102 from memory] business class section for use on routes that sold high numbers pf business seats [mainly JFK]
It was a panic measure to cut costs during COVID that saw BA off-load not only the Boeing 747s but also thousands of staff, including one-third of the Engineering staff, the B747 being withdrawn also allowed them to completely close their maintenance workshops in Hayes [just to the North of Heathrow] as the vast majority of the engineering work carried out there was Boeing 747 component overhaul.
While some may think it would not have been viable to keep the Boeing 747 fleet, they had already [in the main] been parked up for many months and were under a joint Boeing/BA care and maintenance plan that could have continued. Also I would point to Lufthansa who also withdrew their Boeing 747 fleet [a mix of Boeing 747-430 and -8] and since have returned their -8 fleet as well as eight of their B747-430 back to service.