Originally Posted by 13901

I don't dispute that KL flies to LATAM with their -10s, ditto UA on New York-Tel Aviv or SFO-SYD. But people in UA tell me that they fly with very empty bellies, and IAG Cargo would be quite angry about it. But all in all I agree with you.



The key bit is this: replacing in the fleet doesn't necessarily mean replacing on the route. BA chops and changes aircraft and routes constantly, it's a process that has been described to me and it is a right pain in the neck. Still, it enables flexibility. Pending the usual caveats (range, space, etc) a route currently served by G-VIIP could be downgauged to a 788/789, or upgauged to an A350 or 777-9 if demand requires it, or replaced with a similarly-shaped 787-10.

As for Gatters, I'm pretty sure that shipping (or even paying a handler to buy) a few Ground Power Units to support a 787-10 with no APU is going to be preferable than introducing a brand new aircraft time in the form of the A350-900. Because there are differences between the -900 and the -1000.