corporate-wage-slave

They have in the past used longhaul jets for MIPIM and the BCN and LIN equivalents. There are plenty of A321s knocking around in the mean time.

1Aturnleft

The way I read into this is that when deployed on long european routes, the neos won't have sufficient galley space at the front to handle more than 7 rows of CE with the current catering setup. On shorter routes there won't be the same issues arising therefor a CE cabin is able to be extended back further.

If this is the case where on such routes as LCA, IST and ATH where demand for CE could easily exceed the proposed CE capped capacity of the neos, why aren't BA starting to think about deploying a 787-8 to those destinations instead? The 787-8 has a similar number of seats to the neos already - not to mention having an enhanced and dedicated Club cabin. Especially on IST they could actually start to make competition against TK again with a flat bed product instead of the veal crate alternative. Not to mention the additional cargo uplift capacities for places like LCA.

T8191

... and MLA, please. That's 3h15m

msm2000uk

I wonder if we will see the return of 3 seats per row in CE to counter the row number reductions...

M

Gig103

The link mentions the super-slim 29" pitch seats. Is the cap at 7 rows of CE going to mean they plan to treat it as a 'cabin' with larger pitch, the way KLM did?

layz

Not likely as the cap is due to not having enough space for the catering.

orbitmic

CE to NCE often goes well beyond row 12 which is considered a limit on many routes. I suspect/hope that the change simply means that the NEO planes would be unlikely to be rostered on NCE and other high C destinations (GVA, RAK, LIN, etc). It might be the equivalent of high-J low-J configuration on the flights using 744 equipment even though it would restrict the flexibility of using frames most efficiently.

Dave_C

But the plan is to have all the A32x fleet across all the IAG OpCos configured in this way.

bwaflyer

The A320 neos will have the current Pinnacle seats from row 1-12 (A321 neos will be 1-14) minus the centre console table. EasyJet style deckchairs will be fitted behind them. A320 /1 ceos will also have the centre console tables progressively removed to save weight. Club for short and medium routes will be able to go up to row 12/14. Long routes will have a cap of 7 rows as the new mini galleys won't be able to accommodate the current Club product (you might have thought that they'd thought about this earlier!). Currently the recently introduced Club product is being 'reviewed', apparently to be relaunched in April (according to galley FM, and we all know how reliable that is!). The first A320 neo is supposed to arrive in a couple of months, but this is also under review. The first A321 neo will come in August and feature Airbus' new ACF layout with main doors forward and aft, overwing exits (1 each side) and smaller doors (as now) behind the wings. The first A321 ceo is currently being 'densified' and space flexed in Prestwick as we speak and will be on line soon.

Porky Speedpig

I understand no provision has been made to upgrade the forward galleys on the "to be densified" ex Bmed/Bmi 321s to standard BA shorthaul spec - this is one of the reasons for a capping on the Club Europe cabin (may be the same as mentioned above or could be an entirely separate restriction). Either way - seems short sighted, or could be a mistake I guess?

florens

My bolding. This is a true shame as I really like that table.

That's what? 2 x 12 rows à 200gr table? ~ 5kgs? Really?!

Working in CE will become impossible if you want to have a drink at the same time. A shame!

msm2000uk

Ah good point.

How about if/when they switch to a full M&S catered option

M

makin'miles

It would seem that if BA notice a significant drop in revenue on the longer sectors owing to a seven row limit, but can't find space for any more catering, one option might be to onboard catering downroute.

I understand this isn't done currently (beyond maybe just ice or a couple of routes), but even switching out a bar trolley or two on a few routes might be enough to extend CE by a couple of rows.

EsherFlyer

Me too. I may have missed, but what's I'm place of the tray / seat? An empty space ? I can see how that saves weight.

Edit: I think I'm mixing up CEO and NEO, which makes it even odder if the B and E seats are actually staying.

TheFlyingCyclist

Loss of the centre table would be tragic. That’s a big bonus so you don’t have to have the fold down table in your lap the whole time.