Originally Posted by
opus99
4 of the 779s were meant to replace the 77Es. I think last I checked BA will be back to 2019 capacity in 2025. 779 was never meant for expansion in that sense of additional frames. It was always a replacement order which WW stressed when the order was announced. The 6 787-10s help BA get back to 2019 levels before the 779 comes on line.
So if you take it that way. The remaining 20+ 777s can now be what is up for debate.
Covid and Russia did change BAs plans substantially because those 12 787-10s have effectively just become replacement aircraft. And the arrival of the 779 now tallies with the exit of the 77E fleet. From 2027 the oldest frames will be around 30 years old. The main reason they only changed the club suite and not the rest of the cabin of the G-VIIx fleet was because those aircraft were not going to last to the end of the decade. If they were, they would’ve followed the YMMx fleet
I agree that, right now, the 779s are (at least partially) meant for replacement of the 77Es. I don't agree that they've always been this way, Cruz never said that and the 2019 Capital Markets Day slides show that. Obviously, those plans were made 5 years ago, with the 747s still in the fleet, and under the very unwise assumption that Boeing knew what they were doing, which clearly isn't the case.
I'm not so sure that BA will grow only through upgauging. All the long-term plans I saw while working at the dependencies of HAL last year foresaw not just an increase in longhaul passengers (which is fair enough, can be achieved through upgauging) but also a modest increase in flying. I'm not talking about huge numbers, probably they can fit on both of your hands. This would be achieved by switching over slots from shorthaul, and this is vs the 2019 baseline. The numbers came from BA.
Originally Posted by
opus99
The main reason they only changed the club suite and not the rest of the cabin of the G-VIIx fleet was because those aircraft were not going to last to the end of the decade. If they were, they would’ve followed the YMMx fleet
All 77Es have been retrofitted with new interiors in Traveller. This is G-VIIB.
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/11187468
Traveller Plus, by my reckoning, is still the older Recaro seat.