British Airways fleet

British Airways operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. It operates a single-aisle fleet of Airbus aircraft, including the Airbus A320-200 and the Airbus A320neo. It also operates a twin-aisle aircraft fleet of the Airbus A350-1000, Airbus A380, Boeing 777 and 787 wide-body aircraft, with most of it powered by Rolls-Royce Trent engines.

This article is about the mainline British Airways fleet, including the historical fleets of British Airways. For information about the fleet of British Airways CityFlyer operations, see BA CityFlyer.

Current fleet

Passenger fleet

As of September 2023, British Airways (excluding its subsidiaries BA CityFlyer and BA EuroFlyer) operates the following aircraft:[1]

British Airways fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers[2] Notes
F J W Y Total
Airbus A319-100 27 — — — — 143 143 Older aircraft to be retired by 2023 and to be replaced by Airbus A321neo.
144 144
Airbus A320-200 56 — — — — 180 180 10 to be transferred to BA EuroFlyer for Gatwick operations.[3]
4 aircraft to be wet-leased from Finnair March 2023 until March 2024.[4]
177 177
Airbus A320neo 20 11[5] — — — 180 180 G-TTNA painted in BA Better World special livery.[6]
Airbus A321-200 3 — — — — 218 218 9 to be transferred to BA EuroFlyer for Gatwick operations.[3]
Airbus A321neo 10 8[5] — — — 220 220 Replacing older A319.
Airbus A350-1000 16 2[5] — 56 56 219 331 Largest European operator.[5]
Airbus A380-800 12 — 14 97 55 303 469 Largest European operator.
Boeing 777-200ER 42 — 8 49 40 138 235 New interior configuration with Club Suites.[7]
G-YMML painted in GREAT Festival of Creativity livery; 3 aircraft (G-YMMR/T/U) painted in oneworld livery.[8]
— 48 40 184 272
14 48 40 134 236 Gatwick configuration with older Club World seats.
G-YMMF painted in oneworld livery.[8]
— 32 52 252 336
48 332
Boeing 777-300ER 16 — 8 76 40 130 254 New interior configuration with Club Suites and First Suites.
14 56 44 185 299 4 aircraft remaining in this configuration, all expected to be refurbished to 254 seat layout in 2023.
Boeing 777-9 — 18[9] 8 65 46 206 325 Deliveries delayed, now planned from 2026.[10]
Order with 24 options.[9]
Boeing 787-8 12 — — 35 25 154 214
— 31 37 136 204 Club Suite configuration, retrofits to begin Q3 2023.
Boeing 787-9 18 — 8 42 39 127 216
8 38 39 130 215 Club Suite & First Suite configuration, retrofits expected to begin after 787-8s.
Boeing 787-10 7 17[11] 8 48 35 165 256 Delivered with Club Suite & First Suite.
Total 242 56

Cargo fleet

IAG's cargo division, IAG Cargo, handles cargo operations using capacity on British Airways' passenger aircraft. IAG reached an agreement with Qatar Airways in 2014 to operate flights for IAG Cargo using Boeing 777F of Qatar Airways Cargo.[12]

British Airways World Cargo was the airline's freight division prior to its merger with Iberia Cargo to form IAG Cargo. Aircraft types used by the division between 1974 and 1983 were Vickers 953C,[13] Boeing 707-300C[14] and Boeing 747-200F[15] while the Boeing 747-400F was operated from the 1990s to 2001 through Atlas Air and 2002 to early 2012 by Global Supply Systems, of these only one of Atlas Air's aircraft wore BA livery,[16] the others flew in Atlas and Global Supply's own colours. From 2012 until the termination of Global Supply System's contract in 2014, three Boeing 747-8F aircraft were flown for British Airways World Cargo.[17]

Order history

Except the Boeing 707 and early Boeing 747 variants from BOAC, British Airways inherited a mainly UK-built fleet of aircraft when it was formed in 1974. The airline introduced the Boeing 737 and Boeing 757 into the fleet in the 1980s, followed by the Boeing 747-400, Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 in the 1990s. BA was the largest operator of Boeing 747-400s, with 57 in its fleet.[18][19] Prior to the introduction of the 787, when Boeing built an aircraft for British Airways, it was allocated the customer code 36, which appeared in their aircraft designation as a suffix, such as 777-236.[20]

In 1991, British Airways placed its first order for 777-200 aircraft, ordering another four for fleet expansion in 2007 at a cost of around US$800 million.[21] BA's first 777s were fitted with General Electric GE90 engines, but BA switched to Rolls-Royce Trent 800s for subsequent aircraft.[22][23]

Later in 2007, BA announced their order of thirty-six new long-haul aircraft, including twelve Airbus A380s and twenty-four Boeing 787 Dreamliners.[24] Rolls-Royce Trent engines were again selected for both orders with Trent 900s powering the A380s and Trent 1000s powering the 787s. The Boeing 787s will replace 14 of British Airways' Boeing 767 fleet, while the Airbus A380s will replace 20 of BA's Boeing 747-400s and will most likely be used to increase capacity on key routes from Heathrow Airport.

On 1 August 2008, BA announced orders for six Boeing 777-300ERs and options for four more as an interim measure to cover for delays over the deliveries of their 787-8/9s. Of the six that have been ordered, four will be leased and two will be fully acquired by British Airways.[25]

On 22 April 2013, IAG confirmed that it had signed a memorandum of understanding to order 18 A350-1000 XWB aircraft for British Airways, with an option for a further 18. The aircraft would replace some of the airline's fleet of Boeing 747-400s.[26] Options for 18 Boeing 787 aircraft, part of the original contract signed in 2007, have been converted into firm orders for delivery between 2017 and 2021.[27]

On 26 June 2013, British Airways took delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The aircraft began operations to Toronto on 1 September 2013, and began service to Newark on 1 October 2013.[28] BA's first A380 was delivered on 4 July 2013.[29] It began regular services to Los Angeles on 24 September 2013, followed by Hong Kong on 22 October 2013.[30]

On February 28, 2019, British Airways parent International Airlines Group ordered up to 42 777-9, 18 firm and 24 options, valued at up to $18.6 billion (~$19.6 billion in 2021), to replace its 747-400s.[31]

At the 2019 Paris Air Show, British Airways owner, IAG, signed a letter of intent to purchase 200 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, despite the type still being grounded worldwide.[32][33]

In July 2019, the British carrier took delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000 XWB aircraft, fitted without First, but with more of the new Club World suites.[34]

On 16 July 2020, British Airways announced it was immediately retiring the remaining Boeing 747-400 aircraft, the last having flown the previous month. British Airways had originally intended to phase out the last 747s by 2024, but brought the plans forward in part due to the downturn in air-travel following COVID-19 pandemic and to focus on replacing the 747 with the more fuel-efficient Airbus A350, Airbus A380, and Boeing 787.[35][36]

Former fleet
Aircraft Total[37] Introduced Retired Notes Refs
Airbus A318-100 2 2009 2020 Operated BA1/BA2 and formerly also BA3/BA4 between London–City and New York–JFK [38]
Airbus A320-100 5 1988 2007 [39]
BAC One-Eleven 400 7 1974 1988 [lower-alpha 1]
BAC One-Eleven 500 33 1974 1993 [lower-alpha 2]
1 G-AVMO is preserved at Scottish National Museum of Flight
1 G-AVMU is preserved at Imperial War Museum Duxford
BAe 146-200 3 1989 1990
BAe 146-300 1 1992 1994
BAe ATP 15 1989 1994
Boeing 707-300 12 1974 1984 [lower-alpha 3][lower-alpha 4]
Boeing 707-400 9 1974 1981 [lower-alpha 4]
1 Nose and forward fuselage of G-APFJ on display at Scottish National Museum of Flight
Boeing 737-200 50 1977 2001
Boeing 737-300 22 1988 2009
Boeing 737-400 39 1991 2015
Boeing 737-500 12 1996 2009
Boeing 747-100 17 1974 1999 [lower-alpha 4][40]
1 Nose of G-AWNG display at Hiller Aviation Museum, California (not in BA colours)
1 1990 Written off as flight BA149
Boeing 747-200 27 1977 2002 First 747-200 to be powered with Rolls-Royce RB211-524B engines [40]
1 G-BDXJ preserved at Dunsfold Aerodrome (not in BA colours)
Boeing 747-400 57 1989 2020 First 747-400 to be powered with Rolls-Royce RB211-524G engines. Replaced by Boeing 777-300ER, Airbus A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Airbus A350-1000 [40]
1 G-CIVW, wearing the standard Chatham Dockyard livery is preserved at Dunsfold Aerodrome
1 G-BNLY, wearing the Landor livery is preserved at Dunsfold Aerodrome
1 G-CIVB wearing the Negus livery is preserved at Cotswold Airport
1 G-BYGC, wearing the BOAC livery is preserved at MOD St Athan
Boeing 757-200 61 1983 2010 Launch customer together with Eastern Air Lines. Replaced by Airbus A321 [41][42]
Boeing 767-200ER 3 1993 1996 Leased from USAir
Boeing 767-300ER 29 1990 2018 Launch customers with Rolls-Royce RB211 engine.
Replaced by Airbus A321neo, Boeing 777-200ER and Boeing 787.
7 aircraft sold to Qantas Australia
4 aircraft currently operate by Eastern Airlines, LLC		 [43]
Boeing 777-200 5 1995 2020 Replaced by Boeing 777-300ER [44]
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde 8 1976 2003 All aircraft preserved, see Concorde aircraft histories [45]
Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C/E 24 1974 1983 [lower-alpha 2]
1 G-ARPO, wearing Northeast Airlines livery is preserved at North East Aircraft Museum
Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E 15 1974 1985 [lower-alpha 2]
1 G-AVFB, wearing BEA livery is preserved at Imperial War Museum Duxford
Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B 23 1974 1985 [lower-alpha 2]
1 G-AWZK, wearing BEA livery is displayed at Manchester Airport
1 G-AWZM, is preserved at Science Museum
1 Nose of G-AWZP also preserved at Science and Industry Museum, Manchester
Hawker Siddeley HS 748 13 1975 1988
Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar 10 1975 1983
Lockheed L-1011-200 TriStar 8 1980 1991
Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar 8 1979 1983
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 8 1988 1999
Vickers VC10 9 1974 1976 [lower-alpha 4]
Vickers Super-VC10 15 1974 1981 [lower-alpha 4]
Vickers Vanguard 12 1974 1979 [lower-alpha 2]
1 G-APEP is preserved at Brooklands Museum (not in BA colours)
Vickers Viscount-700 2 1974 1976 [lower-alpha 2]
Vickers Viscount-800 35 1974 1982 [lower-alpha 2]
A Vickers Super VC10 in 1975.
A Boeing 747-400 in 2020. British Airways was one of the largest 747 operators worldwide.
A Concorde, which set the passenger airliner world speed record, in 1998.
A Boeing 757-200 in 2007.
An Airbus A318-100 formerly operated on a sole long-haul route between London-City and New York-JFK.

See also

Notes
  1. Inherited from British Airways Regional Division
  2. Inherited from BEA
  3. Inherited from British Airtours
  4. Inherited from BOAC

References
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  2. "Seat maps". britishairways.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2016. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  3. simpleflying.com - British Airways’ Euroflyer Receives Air Operator’s Certificate And Operating License 7 December 2022
  4. "BA lease Finnair aircraft again". .turningleftforless.com. 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  5. Airbus Commercial Aircraft (June 2023). "Orders and Deliveries June 2023". Airbus S.A.S. / airbus.com. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  6. simpleflying.com - Better World: British Airways Reveals Special Blue A320neo Livery 7 September 2021
  7. "I can confirm that the final LHR 777-200ER (G-YMMU) has now been refurbished with club suites". Twitter. British Airways. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  8. "Please verify your request | Planespotters.net". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  9. "Boeing Signs Deal for Up to 42 777X Airplanes with International Airlines Group". MediaRoom. Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  10. "British Airways Won't Get Its First Boeing 777X Until 2026". Simple Flying. 29 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  11. "Boeing 787 Orders and Deliveries". The Boeing Company. 30 June 2018. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
  12. "IAG Cargo signs freight deal with Qatar Airways". IAG Cargo. 17 January 2014. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  13. "BA Cargo Vickers 963C". Airliners.net. 9 October 2011. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  14. "BA Cargo 707-330C". Airliners.net. 6 May 1980. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  15. "BA Cargo 747-200F". Airliners.net. 21 January 2001. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
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