Last edit by: Globaliser
In April 2018 BA announced that they had started a programme to refurbish the cabins on the Mid-J 747-400 fleet. In January 2020, this programme was completed.
As part of the refurbishment all of the aircraft involved have undergone a basic refresh which consisted of:
* Full aircraft deep clean
* Seats in WT/WTP refurbished with new seat foams and cushions as on Super Hi-J aircraft
9 of the aircraft received an ENHANCED refurbishment to bring the cabin up to the same standard as the Super Hi-J 747-400 fleet. This consisted of what is listed above plus:
* New carpets fitted throughout
* All curtains replaced
* New Panasonic IFE fitted in all classes
Note: It was initially believed that the enhanced refurbishment included LED mood lighting throughout, but this is not the case. All retained standard lighting. There were no plans to install WiFi to any Mid-J configured 747-400 aircraft.
Note: Aircraft that have undergone an ENHANCED refurbishment are shown in red
Aircraft are listed below in the order that they were refurbished and show return to service date, along with retirement date where applicable.
G-CIVU - 11 October 2019
G-BNLY - 24 November 2019
Mid-J 747 Cabin Refresh
#32
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#35
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I guess it's fairly safe to say that CIVJ-P and CIVT/U - the newer build 52Js will be the 9 getting the upgraded IFE and staying to the end, while the others sticking around a bit longer (BNLY and CIVA-E) will just get a good scrub.
#36
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 5,643
It really has come to something when basic maintenance is being heralded as the second coming.
I've flown on four segments in these aircraft in the past few months and they are decrepit. Filthy doesn't even begin to describe the state that British Airways has let them get to.
On a recent flight to DFW, the gentleman sitting next to me carefully wiped around his entire seat with anti-bac wipes.
I've flown on four segments in these aircraft in the past few months and they are decrepit. Filthy doesn't even begin to describe the state that British Airways has let them get to.
On a recent flight to DFW, the gentleman sitting next to me carefully wiped around his entire seat with anti-bac wipes.
#38
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https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/g-civm
So yes, it's possible, but you best check back in this thread 36 hours before departure to see what aircraft you have been allocated - no-one, not even anyone in in BA, will know right now.
#40
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Yes, any route that currently has 52J service 747s - such as LAS - may get the refurbished aircraft, as above best check here a few days before travel to find out. And you are correct that generally speaking JFK gets the 86J aircraft, which is a great configuration of the 747 in my opinion. Welcome to Flyertalk and welcome to the BA forum timtamd, it's good to see you here.
#42
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 10
Yes, any route that currently has 52J service 747s - such as LAS - may get the refurbished aircraft, as above best check here a few days before travel to find out. And you are correct that generally speaking JFK gets the 86J aircraft, which is a great configuration of the 747 in my opinion. Welcome to Flyertalk and welcome to the BA forum timtamd, it's good to see you here.
Thanks
Yes i've been checking the master list of the retrofit's and it seems my flight BA175 normally uses the 86J, not always but mainly! So thats one plus for the outward journey.
#43
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 159
I'd not get your hopes up too much about this refresh... I've just come back from YVR on CIVM and (as corroborated by BASource), CW has not seen the same refurbishment that the rest of the aircraft has. Still the hopeless old Rockwell Collins IFE, no mood lighting, and tatty (but admittedly clean) CW seat surrounds. Even more annoyingly, upstairs in CW I had no working at-seat power, and one of the toilets was out of order for a while.
Any clue why they would refurbish/upgrade some of the plane but not the J seats? Seems bizarre...
Any clue why they would refurbish/upgrade some of the plane but not the J seats? Seems bizarre...
#44
Join Date: May 2010
Location: UK
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I'd not get your hopes up too much about this refresh... I've just come back from YVR on CIVM and (as corroborated by BASource), CW has not seen the same refurbishment that the rest of the aircraft has. Still the hopeless old Rockwell Collins IFE, no mood lighting, and tatty (but admittedly clean) CW seat surrounds. Even more annoyingly, upstairs in CW I had no working at-seat power, and one of the toilets was out of order for a while.
Any clue why they would refurbish/upgrade some of the plane but not the J seats? Seems bizarre...
Any clue why they would refurbish/upgrade some of the plane but not the J seats? Seems bizarre...
And why would they have two types of IFE on the same aircraft? Surely this aircraft couldn't have been refitted...?
#45
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I don't understand it either, in that I can't see how they could easily maintain two IFE systems on the same aircraft. As far as I know it's never happened before, so I presume CIVM hasn't had (yet?) the Panasonic system installed.