British Airways

:For the 1930s airline of similar name see British Airways Ltd.

Fleet

Up until recently for its main fleet, BA had traditionally been a Boeing customer. This has been always been a subject of controversy, as many expect that as a British carrier it would be natural for BA to support the British manufacturing industry and buy Airbus jets (BAE Systems build all wings for Airbus jets and many Airbus subcontractors are based in the UK). The company has defended its decision by arguing that, with the exception of the 777 fleet, it has always equipped its Boeing aircraft with British-made Rolls-Royce engines. This goes back to the 1960s when the company ordered Boeing 707s - a condition was placed on the company that it used Rolls-Royce power for the new jets.

Related Topics:
Boeing - Airbus - BAE Systems - Rolls-Royce - 1960s - Boeing 707

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, it has operated non-Boeing planes in the past mainly as a result of takeovers and joint agreements with other airlines. One example of this was those planes acquired through the buyout of British Caledonian Airways in the 1980s, and it successfully operated both the Douglas DC-10 and Airbus A320 for a number of years. The latter was significant, as BA's successful operations with the ex-BCAL A320s led to its placing a huge order for the type (and its smaller brother the A319) to replace its own ageing fleet of Boeing 737s.

Related Topics:
British Caledonian Airways - 1980s - Douglas DC-10 - Airbus A320

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

BA was an operator of the famous Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde supersonic airliner, with a daily service between Heathrow and New York JFK (although the original service was from London to Bahrain). Initially, Concorde was very much a financial burden, placed on the national carrier by the government, and attracted criticism from the press as a white elephant. However Lord King recognised the importance of Concorde to British Airways, and the one thing that everybody agreed was the charismatic value of the aircraft. BA used Concorde to win business customers, guaranteeing a certain number of Concorde upgrades in return for corporate accounts with the airline - a key factor in winning business from transatlantic competitors.

Related Topics:
Concorde - Supersonic - Airliner - New York JFK - Bahrain - Lord King

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With the Paris Crash in 2000, followed by the 9/11 terrorist attacks the following year, coupled to escalating maintenance costs, the future of Concorde was limited — this despite an expensive upgrade. It was announced (on 10 April 2003) that, after 24 October 2003, they would cease scheduled services with Concorde, due to depressed passenger numbers. The last day of its Saturday-only London Heathrow to Barbados Concorde flight was on 30 August 2003.

Related Topics:
Paris Crash - 2000 - Terrorist attacks - 10 April - 2003 - 24 October - Barbados - 30 August

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The British Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft (at June 2005):

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• 33 Airbus A319-100 (further 3 on order)
• 5 Airbus A320-100
• 21 Airbus A320-200
• 6 Airbus A321-200 ( further 1 on order)
• 5 Boeing 737-300
• 19 Boeing 737-400
• 10 Boeing 737-500
• 57 Boeing 747-400
• 13 Boeing 757-200
• 21 Boeing 767-300ER
• 3 Boeing 777-200
• 40 Boeing 777-200ER

Future

British Airways fleet of Boeing 747-400s is still relatively young, however speculation still surrounds the issue of the carrier's replacement plans for the aircraft. Due to the company's history with Boeing it is often named as a natural target of Boeing for the 747 Advanced. Should this aircraft receive launch approval from Boeing, BA would potentially have significant negotiating power pitting the American company against its European rival and the A380).

Related Topics:
747 Advanced - European rival - A380

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The long-term replacement of the 767 fleet is likely to lead to a purchase of the Boeing 787 or Airbus A350. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/237717_air24.html

Related Topics:
Boeing 787 - Airbus A350

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~