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BA15/16 [LHR-SIN-SYD] to be operated by 787-9 from Oct 2021

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BA15/16 [LHR-SIN-SYD] to be operated by 787-9 from Oct 2021

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Old Dec 1, 2020, 1:09 pm
  #1  
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BA15/16 [LHR-SIN-SYD] to be operated by 787-9 from Oct 2021

It would appear BA are planning to fly the 787-9 on the LHR-SIN-SYD route, although I couldn’t tell you from which date, but I just did a dummy booking to Sydney in November 2021 and was surprised to see the change from the 777-300 which has been serving the route in recent years.

With all the discussion about whether BA would keep the route now there is a QR codeshare, I guess this is good news, although I have no desire to ever fly on any 787 variant.
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 1:12 pm
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Originally Posted by wb1969
It would appear BA are planning to fly the 787-9 on the LHR-SIN-SYD route, although I couldn’t tell you from which date, but I just did a dummy booking to Sydney in November 2021 and was surprised to see the change from the 777-300 which has been serving the route in recent years.

With all the discussion about whether BA would keep the route now there is a QR codeshare, I guess this is good news, although I have no desire to ever fly on any 787 variant.
The 787-9 is lovely in F
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 1:19 pm
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As long as you’re in the pointy end (or in fact anywhere other than WT) this is a decent improvement for Sydney. It should have a noticeable effect of jet lag and a much quieter ride for 22 hours.
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 1:33 pm
  #4  
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The change takes effect on 30 October, which of course is so far in the future that it very well could change multiple times between now and then.
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 1:36 pm
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Originally Posted by wb1969
... although I have no desire to ever fly on any 787 variant.
Why not?
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 1:41 pm
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Originally Posted by wb1969
It would appear BA are planning to fly the 787-9 on the LHR-SIN-SYD route, although I couldn’t tell you from which date, but I just did a dummy booking to Sydney in November 2021 and was surprised to see the change from the 777-300 which has been serving the route in recent years.

With all the discussion about whether BA would keep the route now there is a QR codeshare, I guess this is good news, although I have no desire to ever fly on any 787 variant.
Cool I have a SIN F in June, and if it's not the A380 or First Suites then the -9 is the best choice.
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 1:41 pm
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Starts 30 October


Last edited by DonPedro; Dec 1, 2020 at 1:45 pm Reason: Added snapshot due better formatting
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 1:48 pm
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Originally Posted by DonPedro
Starts 30 October

ahh I responded too quick
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 1:50 pm
  #9  
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Originally Posted by golfmad
Why not?
Personal choice but I just dislike it. Much rather fly on the A350 or a 777-300 with the new Club Suite.
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 1:53 pm
  #10  
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I commented elsewhere that the new very heavy J 777 configuration with the tiny Y cabin wouldn’t work for SYD. In my opinion, great news for F travel
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 2:11 pm
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Makes sense. The 789 is a good longhauler and is a decent cargo uplifter. It's also going to be easier to fill and, if they're going after yield, it'll give them better ones. Bit of a shame about lack of Wi-Fi on most of the planes and no short-term plans of having Club Suite on it... Pre C19 them and the 788s were the only ones with no CS plans even submitted to the board if I remember correctly.

The question I'm asking myself, though, is about Singapore. So right now pre C19 we had, on LHR-SIN, a 380 (14F 97J 55W 303M) and a 77W (14F 56J 44W 185M) giving a daily premium capacity of 181 seats which, as many staffers will tell you, was filled on most days (yields, no idea) and a non-premium capacity of 587. Total bum-on-seats capacity of 768 seats. They also allowed a (hypothetical) total cargo capacity of 38 tonnes. Now, let's check a couple of scenarios:
  • The 380 remains and the 77W is replaced by the 789 (config: 8F 42J 39W 127M).
    • Premium capacity is now 161, down 12%
    • Non-premium capacity is now 524, down 46%
    • Cargo capacity (theoretically) is now 24 tonnes, down 58%
  • The 380 is replaced by a CS 77W in the new config 8F 76J 40W 130M
    • Premium capacity is now 134, down 35%
    • Non-premium capacity is now 336, down 74%!
    • Cargo capacity (theoretically) is now 36 tonnes, down 5%
I'm not looped into BA's decisions but if it were me I'd probably go, at least for 2021-22, for Option 2. Stick two modern two-engined long-haulers, one of which with the brand new product, on a flagship route. Sacrifice capacity for higher potential yield, reduced operating costs and, more importantly, ensure a higher yield than the 380 can provide. All while safeguarding cargo which has proved to be the lifeboat of the airline world in the past few months.

On a side note, I struggle to see on which routes they'd have a 380 flying in 2021... it just feels too much of a plane for most of the network right now.
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Last edited by 13901; Dec 1, 2020 at 11:34 pm
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 2:37 pm
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Originally Posted by 13901
Makes sense. The 789 is a good longhauler and is a decent cargo uplifter. It's also going to be easier to fill and, if they're going after yield, it'll give them better ones. Bit of a shame about lack of Wi-Fi on most of the planes and no short-term plans of having Club Suite on it... Pre C19 them and the 788s were the only ones with no CS plans even submitted to the board if I remember correctly.

The question I'm asking myself, though, is about Singapore. So right now pre C19 we had, on LHR-SIN, a 380 (14F 97J 55W 303M) and a 77W (14F 56J 44W 185M) giving a daily premium capacity of 181 seats which, as many staffers will tell you, was filled on most days (yields, no idea) and a non-premium capacity of 587. Total bum-on-seats capacity of 768 seats. They also allowed a (hypothetical) total cargo capacity of 38 tonnes. Now, let's check a couple of scenarios:
  • The 380 remains and the 77W is replaced by the 789 (config: 8F 42J 39W 127M).
    • Premium capacity is now 161, down 12%
    • Non-premium capacity is now 524, down 12%
    • Cargo capacity (theoretically) is now 24 tonnes, down 58%
  • The 380 is replaced by a CS 77W in the new config 8F 76J 40W 130M
    • Premium capacity is now 134, down 35%
    • Non-premium capacity is now 336, down 74%!
    • Cargo capacity (theoretically) is now 36 tonnes, down 5%
I'm not looped into BA's decisions but if it were me I'd probably go, at least for 2021-22, for Option 2. Stick two modern two-engined long-haulers, one of which with the brand new product, on a flagship route. Sacrifice capacity for higher potential yield, reduced operating costs and, more importantly, ensure a higher yield than the 380 can provide. All while safeguarding cargo which has proved to be the lifeboat of the airline world in the past few months.

On a side note, I struggle to see on which routes they'd have a 380 flying in 2021... it just feels too much of a plane for most of the network right now.
Not to quibble with the greater point, but your percentages could use some work there.
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 2:59 pm
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Originally Posted by 13901
On a side note, I struggle to see on which routes they'd have a 380 flying in 2021... it just feels too much of a plane for most of the network right now.
If the summer season is only going to be 50% slot utilisation, then I could see them running the A380s to NYC. Presumably that would be the only place on the network with sufficient passenger demand where it would be warranted. With significantly fewer business travellers, a less frequent schedule would be less of an issue than it would be in normal times.
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 3:06 pm
  #14  
 
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Originally Posted by Joshm300
As long as you’re in the pointy end (or in fact anywhere other than WT) this is a decent improvement for Sydney. It should have a noticeable effect of jet lag and a much quieter ride for 22 hours.
Agreed. I quite like it too, just not in Y
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Old Dec 1, 2020, 3:07 pm
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Originally Posted by Dave_C
If the summer season is only going to be 50% slot utilisation, then I could see them running the A380s to NYC. Presumably that would be the only place on the network with sufficient passenger demand where it would be warranted. With significantly fewer business travellers, a less frequent schedule would be less of an issue than it would be in normal times.
T7 can’t handle the A380, I believe, so it’s unlikely. The A380 is a conundrum, it has really poor cargo capacity and huge premium cabins. Its not the ideal aircraft for the current times. While the 777s and 787 are looking for work, I dont think we will see any significant deployment. They seemed to work well to the US west coast, South Africa, SIN and HKG. Generally in combination with a 747/777.
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