Originally Posted by
MAC 40612
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not only the Boeing 747s but also thousands of staff, including one-third of the Engineering staff, the B747 being withdrawn also allowed them to completely close their maintenance workshops in Hayes [just to the North of Heathrow] as the vast majority of the engineering work carried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.
Im not sure about that. The 747s days were numbered before Covid. If they were going to remove a fleet during Covid it was always going to be the 747s. It’s only a small fleet of A380s so removing them would have not saved much plus they are much younger. The only reason Lufthansa are still flying 747-4s is because they can’t get new aircraft. They were suppose to have lots of 787s and 777xs by now. 747-8s are younger and BA never had any.