Interesting, I always thought one of the plans for the Ex BMI A319's was so they could operate the mentioned routes more effectively than the 734's!

I flew to ACE with BA in late April. The flight was showing as being operated by a A319 until a couple of days before. Then it was changed to a 734.

The crew said that it there had been a number of flights to PFO, TFS and ACE operated by the ex BD A319's that had encountered weight restriction problems.

From ACE a number of flights were required to make a tech stop on route to take on fuel and on the PFO this has meant on occasion a number of bags have been left behind.

The A319's must take quite a hit from their configurations then, supposedly they have a range of ~3600mi, ~1900-2200mi sectors causing problems seems very odd.

The reason for the difficulties with the A319 on the Canaries and Cyprus routes is most probably the certificated MTOW. Like the original BA aircraft these ex BMI A319s are only certificated to 64 tonnes except just two aircraft which are 68T. (Data is from G-INFO) It is only these latter aircraft that would stand any chance of operating full load on these routes and even then adverse winds could be enough to cause a fuel stop.

A319s can be certificated to much higher MTOWs such as 75T on the Germania aircraft which would have no problem operating longer routes. The reason for restricting MTOW is usually to reduce landing and en route charges. Manufacturers brochure figures are best ignored in assessing the capability of an individual operator’s aircraft since customer specifications can vary widely. I am surprised BA had not identified the problem before assigning these aircraft to those routes.

787's
 

The first BA 787 is registered with the CAA but I understand this is where the good news ends and the first delivery flight has not taken place with rumours the second is delayed as well.

Whether or not the financials have taken place I am not sure.

Pete

Are there structural differences between the various A319 MTOWs, eg beefed-up landing gear, or is it just a documentation issue, principally to get lower landing fees based on MTOW ? Obviously the Air Canada A319s that operate Heathrow to St Johns, Newfoundland, well over the distances being quotes here, westbound against the prevailing wind, and with no opportunity for a fuel stop, are perfectly OK.

Another issue can be the commercial team selling significant air freight loads, something that the charter carriers tend not to do as much, for example substantial loads of agricultural products inbound from places like Cyprus to the UK. Leaving pax bags off, as described above, with all the timewasting and gross disruption to life for the pax when this happens, just because the carrier has not got a grip on the capabilities of their aircraft, is unacceptable, and the regulators should identify this and deal with it.

I see the first 787 G-ZBJB is on its way to LHR as BAW787. According to Flightaware it's due to land at 11.54BST.

787 to mexico
 

hi all, does anybody know when the 787 is going to be used for Mexico:)

As far as I know BA have no plans to use the 787 on flights from LHR-MEX in the near future.

TOM - On the other hand will operate it's first 787 to CUN from GLA on 8th July

British Airways announce their 787 routes

Toronto from 1st September and Newark from from 1st October

British Airways reveals first Dreamliner routes | Buying Business Travel

Just popping in and thought I'd share a take-off and landing from inside a BA 767.

Take-off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paKvDk0lpSU
Landing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8mm5wqkdKk

Here is my shot of the first BA Dreamliner landing at Heathrow today at 12:10.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2813/9...44cf717d97.jpg
British Airways 787 first delivery by Adrian Court, on Flickr

Any update on whether BA is going ahead with the extension of one of the LHR-SIN services to Jakarta from this winter? Seems to be in the plans....must be years and years since they last served Jakarta, and you have to wonder if it's a coincidence that Garuda is (re-)starting Gatwick at the same time?

Nice pic, congratulations on a good catch!

Flightrider,

It is on the cards but has been denied due to slots. Whether it is something the company pursues from late 2014 onwards, I have no idea.

Anyone got an advance on timings? BA website just says mid-morning.

Would anyone who has access to British Airways flight loads be able to give me an idea what the loads are like and non-revs listed on BA 2203 LGW-CUN on July 14th? Thinking about getting a ZED ticket for the flight if the loads look reasonable (or finding another option if not). Thanks in advance!

BA835 ex DUB cancelled 14 July
 

Anyone know why the BA835 isn't going from Dublin today?

Ba Dub
 

No crew ex LHR , systems issue again same as last Sunday , no issue with seats on later flights but customers are upset ! Couple even ended up in BHD last nite due another disrupted BA flight

British Airways - 2
 

Thanks hangar6, figured it was nothing to do with the Ethiopian 787 dramas from Friday still affecting things.

BA to become sole LHR to MAD airline?
 

Any truth in gossip that IAG may ask Iberia to stop LHR-MAD flights later this year?

Makes sense if over capacity and a bonus for BA if it secures new slots for new longhaul routes.

Didnt this same topic of discussion cause a heated debate on another forum, and turn out to be a whole load of cobblers, with the animosity between a certain Spaniard := and the Brits being the reason the thread was shut down? :mad: :*

It seems pointless to restart the debate here in PPRUNE.

Joburg next destination for A380
 

Ba have indicated Johannesburg will be 3rd destination for A380.

SFO will be the 4th

Californian cities (LAX/SFO) are good for schedule efficiency as the round trip is slightly over 24 hours, the aircraft typically returning to London just after the next day's flight has left. If the aircraft that does a mid-morning departure and return can then be assigned to an after-lunch departure to the other city, this fits in nicely with the early morning arrival and evening departure of the Johannesburg flights, with comfortable turnrounds at London.

On a historical note, this is exactly how the first BA 747-200Bs, with enhanced range, were deployed when they arrived in the fleet in 1977.

Will JNB flights be retimed for A380? The aircraft normally arrives early morning from LHR and sits on ground all day until evening departure.

Not a good utilisation of a new aircraft as costly as an A380.

That's how Air France & Lufthansa operate their 380s to JNB. They just sit there all day. I assume that they either can't fill or get the yield from a daytime flight. In fact I think there are virtually no daylight Europe-SA flights.

If the yield justifies the type, then I guess it works.

Lengthy north-south intercontinental routes in pretty much the same time zone, like Europe to Johannesburg, just do not work commercially for daylight flights. USA to Argentina/Chile is another. The flights takes literally all day and thus cannot give sensible onward connections at one or maybe both ends. By the time you have transferred and are ready to check in again, onward services have typically stopped for the day.

It's not only aviation connections, late arrivals can find that onward public transport is finished for the day as well.

There have been a couple of attempts over time, generally where the operations side have managed to muscle over the commercial team, and they have always ended as disasters for revenue. If you manage high theoretical utilisation but the passengers don't want it, what's the point ? The only thing a European carrier can do is leave Europe as late as practical, and try to be back home as early in the morning as possible, after two nights away, to merge the scheduling with other routes. Bear in mind that the bulk of aviation costs are actually related to flying hours, costs which are just straight time-dependent are a minority - this even applies to an extent to aircraft leasing costs.

cheesycol - maybe an exception to the rule, but I think KLM do a daylight southbound from Amsterdam to both Johannesburg and Cape Town

Turin is correct. The first, G-DOCU, takes off for her final destination today. Due to arrive in VCV on the 4th. :(

Heathrow arrival - stand not ready
 

A while ago I started to keep records of my BA arrivals at Heathrow where we had to hold just off stand waiting for the stand guidance to be switched on, and other preparations for our actual arrival. My most recent arrival made it the fourth time IN A ROW when this happened. Of course, I only started these records because it had happened umpteen times previously. This is a phenomena unique to Heathrow and has never occurred to me at any BA outstation.

Equally extraordinary are PA announcements from the flight deck at these times as if such an event has never been known before.

The most common excuses given are either "well, we are a bit early", or "well we are a bit late", as if it is only possible for the Heathrow (uniquely) gate staff to be on duty in time for a precisely punctual arrival. But the last time I had one of these, we had to hold then as well.

Possibly if the BA airside manager were to invest in a little PC and get onto the Flightstats website, which is I believe run by enthusiasts off various open-access ATC feeds, they might be able to see a good indication of expected arrivals.

Through the window one is well able to distinguish between waiting for another aircraft to leave the stand, or manoeuvre ahead, and the stand personnel just not being there on your nicely vacant stand when you arrive.

I wonder if anyone at BA T5 has ever though to go over to London City, where incoming aircraft require two marshallers to be in place to guide them in and turn them tightly, who have never, in all the years I have used LCY, not been in position as we arrive.

Am I right in thinking that it didn't in fact depart yesterday ?

Why would the agents need flight stats when they are likely to have a very good flight information system. Of course the issue lies when aircraft are in holds etc and were all expected in at the same time.

I have no doubt they are also linked in to the ground radar so they would be able to see the likelyhood of which aircraft it likely to be on stand first.

I'm guessing if an aircraft is early then the team expected to turn it round maybe stuck on another aircraft. Also if a plane is late then you have to deal with that delayed aircraft as soon as possible.

In an ideal world with endless pot of money to dip in for turnaround teams to be sat around waiting for an aircraft to arrive so it's on stand immediately however things have changed and there is likely to be very little slack in the system when things go off schedule.