Wishful Thinking Post. Your Ideal BA Fleet
 

Time for another wishful thinking post. Up early and bored :p.

With the demise in numbers of the 744's, the 734's nearly out the door, the rockets gone into oblivion (757's) and the 767's working their low numbered a@@@s off, what, if you had any say and BA/IAG listened to you, and it was financially viable, would you have as the BA Fleet and the aircraft could still be produced?

I have not flown on some of the aircraft I mention below but hopefully will have the chance someday ;).

Boeing 747-8 (the concept of the 747 just fills me with awe and I always enjoy stepping onto a BA 744). Obviously for L/H travel
Boeing 757. Domestic/SH travel. Nothing beats that take-off
Boeing 767. Domestic/SH/MH. Twin aisle aircraft on these flights always made me feel as if going somewhere far flung with more room to meander about. Note: Not for L/H (Furthest I did was many years ago MAN-BAH-SIN-SYD on Airtours International - Not good. Longest BA flight LHR-BOG - Not any better).
Boeing 77W. Like them :p
Boeing 738/9/Max. Domestic/SH. My least favourite Boeing Tin but for capacity/range/Airport restrictions
EMB 170/190. Never flown one but for ops wise see the need.
A380. Couple of flights on these birds and found them comfortable and quiet.
A321. At a push

All other Airbuses. No thanks. I find the L/H tin cramped (probably just me) and the A320 series just don't float my boat. Same with the 787, can't get excited about it although not flown on a BA one, only on QR.

A bit of lightheartedness please and don't be taking this one too seriously :D:p:cool:.

Safe & Happy Travels

S

If we are talking fantasy fleets then the return of Concorde (or even a modern supersonic replacement) would be top of my list. If you can crack the noise problem and offer a good route network, why should an all-F high-speed plane not be viable.

On your list, the A380 may well be history, which puts BA's future LH planes in a quandary. Do they go with the other new Airbus wide-bodies, or do they return to the Boeing fold for LH and buy 747-800s. I would hope for the latter.

On the short haul, I personally loved the 734s and found the comments on here about how tired they were over the top. Of course, as soon as the new SH cabin was rolled out, many posters were hoping for a 734! It always amuses me how fickle this board can be!

My final wish, which is aircraft-independent but a wide-body would be ideal, is a proper mid-range product deployed on longer SH routes (3 hours plus) and current MH routes. I would see this as offering real rather than convertible seats/beds in Club. That would leave current SH cabins on shorter routes where they are best suited.

In a few years from now I will be too old to do the long slog to LHR, which will be bursting at the seams anyway, LCY will be full to capacity, the nation will still be debating a third runway vs Boris Island, whilst every other country will have built whole new airports and doubled their capacity, so for me an ideal BA aircraft will be a seaplane to land on the Thames and drop me off right where I live.

The return of Concorde for those of us who just weren't in a position to fly it when it was operating, and some well-appointed Gulfstreams on the BRU route ;) And yes, the 747s simply have to go.

Boeing, Airbus, meh. It's all just much of a muchness with nothing in the way of wow factor.

The missing bit of the jigsaw in my own personal travel sphere is actually coming along - namely Crossrail for a smoother trip into St. Pancras for the Eurostar.

Another vote for Concorde. And then a fleet of 747's - but you only need to put seats upstairs. I love flying in the UD!

737-800 for shorthaul just because that is what I most familiar with flying in the sim. 747-8i for longhaul because I love the 747. And also 77W because I love the GE engine sounds when taking off - although I don't like the dorm CW cabin.

Can i vote for a magic door to instantly transport you around the world? Otherwise for flying i generally seem to prefer boeing over airbus and yes, concorde sort of thing and more upper deck for all. I always like getting on aa's 737 over a ba a320 variant, i prefer a 767/787/747 to any big airbus, although curiously i do not like the 777. We'll see what the a350 brings, but for now i'd have 737s for s/h, 787 and 748s for medium/long haul as you just feel like they are being flown unlike an airbus - there is just something about boeing even though they can feel rough round the edges. Air france can have the airbus types. Oh, i'll take a scramjet as well....

More likely 747 will be history. Airbus have stated the A380 ain't going anywhere and with a possible Neo and/or stretch on the way...

Wishful Thinking Post. Your Ideal BA Fleet
 

Trislanders serving the Scottish islands. As a bare minimum. :D

Get rid of all 777's - the ultimate accountant's aeroplane, sacrificing passenger comfort (e.g. cabin pressure, the Club World dorm) for additional profit.

More A380s - currently the best ride ride for passengers - smooth, quiet, good air quality. BA will need to improve Club World though.

Short haul - my vote is Airbus over Boeing because the wider cabin makes for a better passenger experience. And I do like the barking dog!

Medium Haul - actually some brand new 767s (they are still being buiilt) would be good from a passenger perspective (if not for the bottom line). If not then a fleet of A330-200s would be good. The refitted QANTAS A330s are excellent for example.

And how about an additional fleet of E-Jets to operate some regional European services? OK, I know I'm just being ridiculous now...

I read somewhere that Lufthansa are not happy with their 747-8, they are apparently not as efficient as they were went to be!

Keep it simple:

A32X for short-haul.
A350 for long-haul.
A380 for high-load routes.

For long haul I suppose much depends on the cabin class you're flying in. The A340 suits me in both Y and J and is a lovely aircraft to look at. Overall I prefer it to the 747.
Short haul I have no favourite.

I flew on the Embraer RJ145 50-seater a couple of times last week at DFW....those babies rock! I'd love to see BA get their hands on a few of those for around Europe.

They used to have a few under BA Connect. All Embraers are super aircraft but the 135/145 are my favourite. Single seats on the port side, big windows, and they go like sports cars. ^