British Airways has given the clearest indication yet that it will order ultra-large aircraft to replace its Boeing 747-400s, but does not expect to begin serious negotiations with Airbus and Boeing until next year.
The UK carrier has traditionally been lukewarm about ultra-large aircraft, showing no enthusiasm to be an early customer for the Airbus A380 as it pursued its strategy of expanding its Boeing 777 fleet rather than adding 747-400s.
Despite this, BA has the world’s largest fleet of passenger 747-400s, with 57 aircraft in service, and now acknowledges that ultra-large aircraft like the A380, or the recently launched 747-8, will have a role in its future. “The reality is that not all our 747-400s are going to be replaced by smaller widebodies,” says BA director of planning Robert Boyle.
“As there isn’t really the option to replace them with the same-sized aircraft, we’ll look at larger ones like the A380 and 747-8,” he adds.
Boyle is not specific about the timing for such an order, saying that it is dependent on the replacement timing for BA’s 747-400s, the oldest of which are 17 years old. “We’ll be getting in to the ‘zone’ to decide on a replacement in the next year or so,” he says, ruling out placing an order for both types.
The 747 replacement evaluation, which is one of several campaigns that the airline is poised to begin in the near term for short- and long-haul aircraft, will also include the Airbus A340-600 and 777-300/300ER, says Boyle.
He cautions, however, that BA must resolve its pension deficit issue with staff before any fleet-renewal plans can be implemented.
Meanwhile, Boyle says the airline is studying the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 as replacements for its 757/767 fleet, and that an A320 versus 737 competition is on the horizon to replace the ageing fleet of 737 Classics based at London Gatwick.
“We operate 19 737-400s that are owned, along with 14 -300/500s for which we have just extended the leases out until 2008-9,” he says. “We should be in a position to decide on a replacement by the end of 2007.”
Although BA operates 70 A320 family aircraft and still has some options remaining from its huge 1998 deal with Airbus for 188 aircraft, Boyle says that the airline will compete the order between both manufacturers to maximise the competitiveness of the bids.
MAX KINGSLEY-JONES/LONDON
Source: Flight International
