N1Rotate

Just a heads up for people booking flights to and from MUC/FRA.

This is just an educated guess based on publicly available data:

- Currently they have 7 A350s and are 1-2 short of having a stable A350 schedule that avoids equipment swaps.

- By May 2016 they will need 13-14 A350s to fly the A350 schedule posted in the GDS which includes new A350 flights to BOS, ADL and the second daily JFK.

- Based on publicly available date they will likely have only about 10 A350s at the start of May 2016 if the current delivery trends continue which will mean they will be 3-4 aircraft short.

- The result is that between March and June the frequency of equipment swaps on FRA and MUC will likely increase.

So my advice to FTers is to manage expectations from now and book based on schedule and not on aircraft type.

I repeat the disclaimer above that this is just a guess and the equipment on the flights might not change after all. I just posted this to pre-empt the inevitable posts in a few months time from disappointed FTers asking why the A350 they looked forward to was swapped with something else.

jms_uk

As mentioned in the other thread - it has already happened .

What are the chances of it coming back?

N1Rotate

The prognosis isn't good, the other A350 operators are also experiencing delays. Airbus has been public about some suppliers not delivering components on time (e.g. Zodiac and the A350 lavatories).

jms_uk

I was looking to change the flight[s] to fly on AY A350, but timings weren't great and I would lose half a day at the destination [and it's already a short trip] - so will stay on B77W.

Let's hope my VN A350 booking in March will stick

jms_uk

It's been all over the place last week or so... same for QR70 [with B787 added to the mix]