Is there a way to tell if my flight is the old 747 or new IFE?
May 29, 2019, 11:12 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 5
Is there a way to tell if my flight is the old 747 or new IFE?
Flying on friday 31st may @ 1:10PM from LHR to JFK.
British airways BA 0177.
I have booked 29K and hope I can fit through the gap in front. Is it as narrow as people say?
From what I can see from reviews the IFE on the older 747's are disgusting!
Thanks
British airways BA 0177.
I have booked 29K and hope I can fit through the gap in front. Is it as narrow as people say?
From what I can see from reviews the IFE on the older 747's are disgusting!
Thanks
May 30, 2019, 1:51 am
#3
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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Welcome to Flyertalk and welcome to the BA forum Adam Georgeson, it's good to see you here and I hope that we will see more of you in the future. And I hope that you have a good flight even if the IFE is a museum piece.
The mid-J 747s are not all being updated with new IFE since they are destined to be taken out of service fairly soon. But the way to find out is to look on flightradar24 under your flight name the day before travel, this should give the aircraft registration. Then you can either use thebasource.com to see the IFE status, or alternatively have a look in this thread.
Mid-J 747 Cabin Refresh
The mid-J 747s are not all being updated with new IFE since they are destined to be taken out of service fairly soon. But the way to find out is to look on flightradar24 under your flight name the day before travel, this should give the aircraft registration. Then you can either use thebasource.com to see the IFE status, or alternatively have a look in this thread.
Mid-J 747 Cabin Refresh
May 30, 2019, 2:44 am
#4
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And even if you can see it, the aircraft allocation can change, almost up to departure time.
The only reasonably sure way of knowing is to have a look at the aircraft when you're boarding and read its registration, and then hope that there isn't (or is, depending on circumstances) a late aircraft change after that.
May 30, 2019, 3:52 am
#6
Join Date: Jun 2015
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Isn’t the JFK route a more optimistic route for getting the refurbed 747s...however I wouldn’t want to get your hopes up. An iPad or other device is always wise to have with you or just a good old fashioned book 
I hope you end up on a refurb and with WiFi, that all makes for a very nice experience in Y or any cabin now on BA.
I hope you end up on a refurb and with WiFi, that all makes for a very nice experience in Y or any cabin now on BA.
May 30, 2019, 4:15 am
#8
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BA operates two configurations of 747.
All of those in the configuration with more Club World seats (86 of them, or 86J) have been refreshed and have the new IFE.
Some of those in configuration with fewer Club World seats (52J) have been refreshed with the new IFE, some have been refreshed but without changing the IFE, some have not yet been refreshed, and one will not get the refresh at all.
So looking at the seating configuration alone doesn't tell you enough, if you have a 52J aircraft.
May 30, 2019, 4:17 am
#9
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If your still in 29K it's the mid-J 747 (52J seats) but EF is now showing this flight as a Super-J aircraft (86J seats) but no seats for sale on ba.com however it's showing as:
F5 A3 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W1 E0 T0 Y0 B0 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0
If it is the Super-J then @Adam Georgeson you will have a refurbished aircraft with Panasonic IFE. However go with Manage my Booking seatmap and of course see Gloabiser's comments which are accurate.
What does your Manage my Booking seat map currently show economy as starting from?
F5 A3 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W1 E0 T0 Y0 B0 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0
If it is the Super-J then @Adam Georgeson you will have a refurbished aircraft with Panasonic IFE. However go with Manage my Booking seatmap and of course see Gloabiser's comments which are accurate.
What does your Manage my Booking seat map currently show economy as starting from?
May 30, 2019, 4:54 am
#12
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The economy cabin starts at row 39 (HJK only) and row 40 (all seats). So the OP may want to check what seat he is now in, especially as the overall capacity of the 86J aircraft is smaller than that of the original 52J aircraft. This may be more a important issue than the quality of the onboard IFE, as you can always bring your own IFE.
May 30, 2019, 5:13 am
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2019
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Yep. Sorry. Just got an email and spent an hour on the phone with them. They said they couldn't get me on that plane and offered me the flight the next day. I refused. They finally got me on the plane but it the last row which is a two seater. Money being refunded. Guess you can't always predict these things.
May 30, 2019, 5:17 am
#14
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I don't think that's a bad result overall, actually. The twin seats at the aft end of the cabin are sought after by some - couples who don't want to share their row with a third person, and those who want to avoid sitting in a middle seat and avoid having an uncomfortable fidgety middle seat neighbour next to them. I think that (either now or in the past) the twin seats have cost more to pre-allocate than standard seats (if you have to pay), so if you are getting one for free and getting to JFK on your originally-planned flight, then things could have turned out rather worse than they have.
May 30, 2019, 5:22 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 5
Yeah exactly. I paid £73 for seat 29k. They said they will refund me that.the flight originally all looked like it was booked up she said which is why It took so long. I think people opted to take other flights.
I know there was an option for 15 or so seats for a earlier flight on the 31st May but she said that wasn't available anymore. Probably because people took it I assume.
I'm just glad I'm still going on time. And if the seats are good and it's upgraded ife that's a bonus.
I will thank you all for your help. This is the most helpful forum I've ever discovered.
I know there was an option for 15 or so seats for a earlier flight on the 31st May but she said that wasn't available anymore. Probably because people took it I assume.
I'm just glad I'm still going on time. And if the seats are good and it's upgraded ife that's a bonus.
I will thank you all for your help. This is the most helpful forum I've ever discovered.