For all those asking about replacements for the rest of the 744 fleet,
this is from
the announcement:
"British Airways will continue to consider the most suitable aircraft to replace
its remaining B747-400 aircraft and is examining the B787-10, B777-300 ER and A350XWB"
No mention of timing.
A previous BA CEO stated that, at least between 744s and 777s, he'd gladly have swapped some 744s for 777s as the latter gave greater flexibility across the network; however there was no stated desire to be rid of all of the higher-capacity type. So here we have a type which can replace (say) two 772s a day with one set of landing fees and crew, etc. or simply dump more capacity onto a route (eg. NY).
So I, for one, would not be surprised to see a follow-on order for 380s, but I would be surprised to see 1-for-1 replacement of 744s with 380s. They'll buy enough that can be employed 14+ hrs a day - so one arriving from HK at 06.00 can be on its way to JFK by 08.00, then back off to hk again at 23.00 - not coming in from the far east in the a.m and sitting there until the night.
What I find interesting about the quote above, is effectively putting the 787-10 into competition with the 773ER. This must surely put pressure on Boeing to launch the -10, which will kill off at least part of the 777 programme, given the pent-up demand for the -10 (based on past statements by the likes of QF, EK, SQ, etc.).
As for big-Airbus experience for the drivers - what would be the odds of some Nigels popping up on the odd Rat 380 or RAF 330 MRTTs... ??