Programs: BA Gold, M&M FT, VS Gold, Coutts Silk, Centurion & all that comes with....
Posts: 823
Tracking NF [New First]
AS OF MAY 10, 2013:
RETROFITTING IS UNDERSTOOD TO BE COMPLETED.
IF FLIGHT IS *NOT* MID-J (52 CW SEATS) 747, THEN IT IS GUARANTEED NEW FIRST. MID-J IS ESSENTIALLY 50/50 UNTIL NOVEMBER WHEN IT WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY LIKELY AS UNCONVERTED 744s RETIRE.
IF YOU ARE AFTER THE HD THALES IFE SYSTEM STICK TO 388, 773, 17F 772 OR (75%) 14F 772 - THE REST ARE OLD LOWDEF IFE.
---------------------------------------------------------- WHICH PLANES HAVE NF?This only includes jets which actually have an F cabin.
* Denotes the new Thales IFE system (ie HD).
NOTE: 14 Mid-J 747 jets will not be converted as they are older and are to be replaced by A380s and consquently all 744 conversion is currently completed. The OF Mid-J 744s will be retired one/month starting in November. The following routes are Mid-J and therefore have a mixed chance of NF. Those marked with an asterisk are routes with a High-J option as well: BKK, BLR, BOM, BOS *, CPT, JNB*, DEL, DFW *, IAD*, IAH *, KWI, LAS, LAX *, MEX, MIA, ORD, PHX, SEA *, SIN *, SFO *, YVR, YYZ.
Airbus A380-800 (1/1, 100%)
Seat plan announced. Lower (mid) deck 14F PRIME+ ie enhanced NF [read: more space]. Otherwise NWT+/NWT and NGCW. In service late 2013 with 3 due this year. HKG and LAX as first routes starting October (no pun intended). Testing potentially on MAD route.
G-XLEB*.
ON WHICH ROUTES HAS BA PSEUDO-GUARANTEED NF?
Lagos, New York JFK, Shanghai, Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita, Hong Kong and Sao Paulo.
HOW CAN I FIND OUT IF MY FLIGHT HAS NF?
YouFirst can tell you 24h before your flight if your bird is with NF or not (not 100% reliable). or
If you have a cot by 5K (small grey box says "COT") and the wardrobe by 1A/K disappears from the seat map (usually after T-72) then it is likely NF. or
Check Flight Radar 24 for the incoming flight (for outstations) as it gives the plane reg number and the check that against the list.
There are various picture of the new cabin floating around (747 and 777) courtesy of various FT members some of which I have linked below, and if you dig around then some trip reports can be found too.
Last edited by YClass; May 11, 13 at 9:59 am..
Reason: Relatively regularly updating.... let me know if I've done something wrong as I use both FTDash, BASource and whats posted...
Programs: BA Silver, HHonors Diamond, ICHG Platinum
Posts: 397
I might be the voice of dissent here and come across all miserable but I can't really see the value of tracking NF just yet, certainly not until 3-4 aircraft have been refitted, and here's why:
- I might be wrong, but I suspect that it's going to be 4-6 weeks at least before we see another aircraft refitted, seeing as no-one has said that an aircraft is going in to be refitted now, and I guess BA will want to iron out any kinks with the one aircraft before rolling out across the fleet. That aircraft could be going to any destination on the BA network, and not even BA know where that aircraft is going to be in a months time.
- It's near impossible to accurately predict which aircraft will fly a particular route on a particular day.
- The thread will just get filled up early on with lots of speculation and repeated "Will NF be on my flight in 1/2/3/4/5/6 weeks/months/years time" - "I'll be annoyed if it's not on my flight" etc etc.
The first aircraft with NGCW did runs to HKG, LAX, NRT, JNB, JFK within 2 weeks of being introduced, but there was no way to predict accurately which of the many flights to those destinations it was actually on.
I'd advise reading the first few pages of the Club World Guide thread to see what I mean - it's now 103 pages and that started straight after the first aircraft was refitted. Take a look at that thread and count how many "Will NGCW be on my flight?" questions there are.
When the rollout is slightly further along I can see value, but early on you might as well have a crystal ball. If anyone is able to accurately predict this aircrafts movements can you let me know the lottery numbers for Saturday please?
I might be the voice of dissent here and come across all miserable but I can't really see the value of tracking NF just yet, certainly not until 3-4 aircraft have been refitted, and here's why:
I entirely agree. This is not going to be a precipitously fast process and whether one will or will not, have NF in the next few months should be viewed as "Que Sera, Sera".
I might be wrong, but I suspect that it's going to be 4-6 weeks at least before we see another aircraft refitted
It's worse, the cabin is undergoing a 90 day evaluation by the CAA - so it won't be until May before the next 777 is rolled-out. Even then, cabins are only being fitted when the aircraft are in for their scheduled maintenance. So, they're sparing very little expense. Of course, it may be that BA is allowed to fit cabins if they have confidence of a CAA sign-off and then may have a few ready to go when given the thumbs up.
I'd certainly love to be that CAA inspector - three months of flying NF!
I've just noticed on the LHR movements website that our friend G-VIIU went to some mystery location at 10.56 today:
Predicting movements will - as with NGCW - be a futile endeavour. But I will use the usual spreadsheets to track past flights and provide statistics on the routes. Agreed that will not really be of much use until several aircraft have been refitted. We will of course need refit data from our useful insider(s) at BA!
It's worse, the cabin is undergoing a 90 day evaluation by the CAA - so it won't be until May before the next 777 is rolled-out. Even then, cabins are only being fitted when the aircraft are in for their scheduled maintenance. So, they're sparing very little expense. Of course, it may be that BA is allowed to fit cabins if they have confidence of a CAA sign-off and then may have a few ready to go when given the thumbs up.
I'd certainly love to be that CAA inspector - three months of flying NF!
I've just noticed on the LHR movements website that our friend G-VIIU went to some mystery location at 10.56 today:
No more 777s for a while. There is 1 747 due in service in March/April. They will both be flying for a while before any others from either fleet are converted.
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