neofung

Got an email regarding seat change for next summer. Originally was an A380 but now shifted to a B777. The other flight changed from B777 to B789.

GBOAC

Also just seen my HKG/SIN flights changed for may june. May to HKG to a 789 (which IS an upgrade from a 777).
However SIN-LHR in June moved from A380 to 777. I'M GUTTED - I am starting to think I may never fly very long haul F in an A380. I've now tried THREE TIMES - first last (cancelled), then rebooked to a 380 in Jan (which I then moved again to June) and now June (having carefully chosen routings and dates to get A380 availability. This is incredably frustrating and disappointing. It was one of the few things I was looking forward to to ease the stress of the pandemic..... I really don't consider the 777 a nice flying experience....
I figured that the Singapore route would have its A380 flying again by the summer timetable. Maybe I should start hoping for another excuse to reschedule my trip for a FOURTH time.

JPMND

Yep, going to correct myself. My outbound on the 380 has also changed to a 777.
Never received a notification from EF and assumed the same when I saw the 14F seat map.
Hopefully this changes again to the 8F variant in the interim

Freddorick

Makes sense, cargo capacity is better on the 777 and 789 afaik, also trip costs are lower and thus with light expected loads they are the preferred aircraft.

JPMND

Really?! Not doubting you but just surprised that a 789 has larger cargo capacity than a 380.

Globaliser

I don't think that this would be altogether surprising. The 388 is well-known for having only very limited cargo capacity (one aspect, AIUI, of its generally payload-restricted characteristics). That, it seems, is a factor in why BA operates a 388 alongside a 77W on both HKG and SIN - the 77W is a real cargo monster even when the pax load is high, and that's one of the reasons why the 77W turned out to be a roaring commercial success for Boeing.

As its shape suggests, the 388 could almost be thought of as a shrink from what the aircraft was envisaged to end up being. IIRC, if it had been stretched into a notional "389" or beyond, cargo capacity would have increased disproportionately. But we will now never find out.

Prospero

A few months back I posted a set of slides with comparable data on fleet capacity and operational range. As you can see cargo capacity of the A380 is less than the A351, 744, 773, and 787-10 in terms of volume but is marginally greater than the 787-9.

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32542812-post40.html

Confus

Those were and remain excellent diagrams, but on a point of pure pedantry, the A380 will use up far more of its hold space for passenger luggage than the 789, with baggage taking priority over cargo on all BA passenger operations. Therefore the ‘marginally greater’ you refer to won’t be so in practice.

brunos

With further pedantry, the choice of ac is on a given HKG flight. The number of pax will be the same if an A380 or 789 is assigned to that flight and so will the baggage load.

HarryHolden68

Had an equipment change from 388 to 773 for May 21. New seat map continues to show 14F configuration. Based on the above Club suite communication on the HK page, is it reasonable to assume that this will change to the refurbished (or new) 8F 773 at some point?

Given a choice between the 773 and the 789, the 789 wins every time, but being able to see the F suite with doors could make the 773 a new experience.

BrianDromey

That’s assuming that revenue management don’t get involved and sell more cheaper seats on the A380 Vs 787. At the moment the suppressed demand probably means revenue management can’t do much to sell more seats, but in normal circumstances they would manage the two aircraft differently.
Although the A380 is extremely premium heavy for BA they still have 300+ Y seats. That’s a lot of baggage to have to accommodate, at least theoretically.

Freddorick

I think I once read somewhere that A380s with lots of seats can take next to no belly cargo if the plane is full.

brunos

Fair point.

When BA was running 2 daily flights, one was an A380 and the other a 77W, departing HKG within 45min of each other. In all classes, the A380 was a favorite and more heavily booked than the 77W. Hence less cargo space on the A380.
Timing was quite different exLHR, so that argument does not apply.