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TLV going twice daily 777s and F is back!

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Old Sep 16, 2015, 2:22 am
  #1  
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TLV going twice daily 777s and F is back!

Staring S16 schedule (27/03) looks like BA165/164 (morning out of LHR returning from TLV in the afternoon) is going from an A321 to a four class 777.
BA163/162 (night out of LHR returning in the morning from TLV) remains a three class 777.
Looks like BA166/167 (A321) is being dropped which is a shame.

Interesting to see that the 788 is only going to operate during the winter schedule (at least for now).
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 2:41 am
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I do find it a bit odd offering F on only one of the flights. The reason being that for connections to North America, you really need 2 F birds - one for the a.m.from LHR and one for the a.m.from TLV. Otherwise it's hard to offer an all F itinerary there and back, which surely diminishes the value of offering F at all. I'd think better either go the whole hog or just stick to the 3-class, but then what do I know. Might just be a matter of fleet availability, especially as they've just lost a 3-class in LAS.

On another note, I wonder if the 4-class will sometimes see a Super-J config (either subbed or scheduled). That would ease your concerns over J availability, clubman
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 2:44 am
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 2:44 am
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good news

when does the 787 start on the TLV route? will that be on 165/164?
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 3:04 am
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Originally Posted by stewaran
When does the 787 start on the TLV route? will that be on 165/164?
27/10 operating BA163/162 on days 1 3 4 5 7 with the other two still operated by a 777.
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 6:17 am
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Originally Posted by clubman
Looks like BA166/167 (A321) is being dropped which is a shame.
More than a shame. It may even induce me to return to EL AL
The times for leaving TLV are not bad, but a choice between a crazy early start or a night flight from LHR is awful. I certainly won't be moving my elderly mother to BA with that choice of flights.
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 6:25 am
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IIRC AA recently announced that they are dropping their USA-TLV flight. I guess the added BA capacity reflects that USA-TLV oneworld passengers will now be routed through LHR.
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 6:26 am
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Originally Posted by mikebg
I certainly won't be moving my elderly mother to BA with that choice of flights.
My mother is up by 6 AM. She would not have a problem. She would actually prefer not being in a hurry and having more time to enjoy traveling and consider getting up a little earlier a good tradeoff.

Everyone is different. I like how BA takes care of my mother at airports. That they excel at that is not the general consensus here, I believe.
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 7:16 am
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
IIRC AA recently announced that they are dropping their USA-TLV flight. I guess the added BA capacity reflects that USA-TLV oneworld passengers will now be routed through LHR.
Not really. The cancellation of BA167 severely limits connection options from the US - only flights arriving at T5 by 0715 or at T3 by 0645 will be able to make the BA165 dep at 0815. Anything else will have now a very long layover until 2230.

BA167 offered way more possibilities, particularly from the W Coast.
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 7:52 am
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Originally Posted by Ldnn1
Not really. The cancellation of BA167 severely limits connection options from the US - only flights arriving at T5 by 0715 or at T3 by 0645 will be able to make the BA165 dep at 0815. Anything else will have now a very long layover until 2230.

BA167 offered way more possibilities, particularly from the W Coast.
Exactly. As my primary route is SFO-LHR-TLV I find this very disappointing. An 8 hour layover and a 5:30 arrival time is, to put it lightly, not very convenient.
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 8:16 am
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Although I won't be sad to see the back of the A321 (two toilets and a single aisle do not make for a comfortable flight); it's a huge mistake to cancel the afternoon flight. It makes for a great alternative to El Al and enables a morning in London before flying in the afternoon. And having a 10am departure for Ben Gurion is far more user-friendly than the awful 7:30am flight...

Really hope they rethink this, particularly as every time I've done this flight (4 times this year, 3 on BA), it's been full or overbooked (as was El Al).
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 8:19 am
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Originally Posted by thephirm
Exactly. As my primary route is SFO-LHR-TLV I find this very disappointing. An 8 hour layover and a 5:30 arrival time is, to put it lightly, not very convenient.
The LY afternoon flight could work well for you as an AA codeshare, if you can tolerate LY's crummy J product.

San Francisco (SFO) to London (LHR)
American Airlines Inc. 6189
Dep: 7:00 pm
Arr: 1:15 pm
10h 15m
Airbus A380
OPERATED BY BRITISH AIRWAYS

Layover in LHR
2h 10m

London (LHR) to Tel Aviv (TLV)
American Airlines Inc. 8372
Dep: 3:25 pm
Arr: 10:15 pm
4h 50m
Boeing 777
OPERATED BY EL AL
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 8:24 am
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May I urge anyone here who is seriously inconvenienced by this change to write to BA as soon as possible. If there is enough negative feedback there is a possibility they may rethink.
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 1:38 pm
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Originally Posted by mikebg
May I urge anyone here who is seriously inconvenienced by this change to write to BA as soon as possible. If there is enough negative feedback there is a possibility they may rethink.
I agree with the general sentiment but as you pointed out earlier this month (if I remember correctly) the availability of CW will increase significantly especially in comparison to the BA 162/163 operated on the 787.
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Old Sep 16, 2015, 1:49 pm
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Originally Posted by clubman
Looks like BA166/167 (A321) is being dropped which is a shame.
Come on! BA has an habit of changing the TLV schedule every season. This could lead me to leave BA which is a shame. Still need to decide what airline to choose for my MCO trip in May (BA are less than ideal from LGW and I don't really want to connect to B6 economy from an LY J ticket). And I will have and see if my MIA trip in Nov 2016 will have a good connection in LHR with BA.

I may just shift my flying to AC...

With AA cancelling service and no BA167 oneworld into TLV does not seem that attractive anymore (could change if CX starts HKG flights as rumored).
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