FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - [What to expect on BA's LGW] Barbados planes
Old Oct 15, 2019, 1:56 am
  #3  
BertieBadger
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: BA, Hilton
Posts: 2,085
Originally Posted by VincentHanna
Not sure if thia is the correct place to ask, but we are Going to Barbados in December on the afternoon flight from Gatwick airport.

What plane can we expect?

Recently had a very old plane going to LAS Vegas so hoping for something a bit newer or at least a refreshed cabin.
Well, assuming you are travelling BA, then certainly it is the right place to ask

If you are leaving from Gatwick, then it will be a Boeing 777 because that is the only long haul type that BA operate from that airport. But will it be a refreshed one or not? Unfortunately that is impossible to say with any degree of certainty - specific aircraft are only provisionally allocated a few days beforehand and even then can change right up to the point of departure.

What you can at least do is look at the odds. If you check this thread: LGW & LHR selected 777s go 10-abreast (3-4-3) in Y 2018 onwards

and especially the Wiki at the start, you will see a list of which aircraft have been updated and which are scheduled. Quite a few will have been completed by December, but some will not have been - there remains a risk you'll end up on one of those. You might want to have a look at e.g. thebasource.com to see what airframes have been operating that route historically. There is absolutely no guarantee that they will continue to do so, but it's about the best you can get in terms of knowing more than a few days out.

Personally, I'd bring a tablet loaded with entertainment just in case. As noted, even if you get allocated a refurbed one, Gatwick can often really struggle with replacement aircraft if any suffer any issues, so you could always get a last minute swap to something old and untouched (with the grim Rockwell Collins IFE from 2000)
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