Interesting, I wonder if they'll do something similar with the A380 and its 97 club world configuration.

South African had Y upstairs in their 747-300s and -400s, 3+3, 10 rows I think. It was great to ride up there when travelling steerage between LHR and JNB or CPT.

Pistonheads

That was pointed out on the forum where I found it - which prompted the second part of the quote.

Looking at the seat map, there doesn't seem to be anywhere that makes sense unless it was part of the CW cabin just in front of WTP. They wouldn't refit the upper deck would they??? How would the meal service work?

If it's any barometer of comparison, VS has 55 seats on the 747 upper deck: 20 PE and 33 Economy.

​​​​​​Probably enough to get the infamous IAG accountants excited. Could they realistically reconfigure another area of the aircraft and achieve a growth in capacity like that?

I hope they don't as coronavirus has inevitably robbed me of my first upper deck experience on BA, but it seems the obvious candidate sadly.

There may be some original Mid J configurations still around though, in which case they will retain CW upstairs.

I would be so happy if this is true though, I wanted to fly the 747 before it went and now I may get the chance to fly on the upper deck.

Interesting. The G-INFO lookup on the CAA site does show that 2 of the 12 A380s (EI and EJ) are 'owned' and the rest are 'chartered'. However, the registered owners of all 12 show as British Airways Plc.

they are all owned by British airways. It’s just that 2 of them I assume have been completely paid off. The remaining 10 sit on the balance sheet till they’ve been completely paid off. Those 2 A380s would’ve probably been a cash payment and then the rest asset financed

Taking out 20 J seats makes sense. It’s now more back in line with the previous 747 J configuration with 70 seats and moreso inline with the 779 with 65J seats. So does BA believe they can fill up 65J seats post lock down? Well maybe not fill up but at least sell most of the seats. Also the 76J 77Ws I assume those will also come down to the 60s?

yes, WW at the Q1 Call eluded to all of the above so I’m sure it’s probably true. The 777s have already been reconfigured, I believe the first one came out this weekend, so the 747 is also probably true

If BA concerted the upper deck to Y, this would be the approximate new layout:

14F 66J 30W 208Y

BA use JOLCO's where they lease aircraft for x amount of years and then buy them at a pre-determined price when the lease is up, assuming they want to keep them.
I haven't got a clue about financing or accounting so I don't know who the legal owner is under these structures. Here's the blurb on one such deal from 2013 which is as clear as mud to me!

"On September 19, International Airlines Group (IAG) closed a Japanese Operating Lease (JOLCO) financing combined with a Euler Hermes supported export credit for one newly-delivered British Airways Airbus A380-800 aircraft.

The JOLCO was structured and arranged by Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank which also acted as security trustee.

The Euler Hermes supported export credit was structured and arranged by Banco Santander and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which also respectively acted as facility agent and lender."

BA a380 cargo conversion
 

XLEG presumably finished its maintenance in Manila at the start of May ... but is still there.

Maybe Lufthansa Technik are taking the economy seats out so it can become another cargo plane ?

https://www.businesstraveller.com/bu...ger-cargo-use/

G-XLEG is just airborne out of Manila on its way back to LHR, presume this is the same crew returning that took G-XLEH out there...

Which aircraft are due D checks in the next few years and which gave recently had one? This should indicate what frames will stay/go.