British Airways fleet

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. For information about the fleet of British Airways EuroFlyer operations, see BA EuroFlyer.

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.

Current fleet

Passenger fleet

As of October 2024^[update], British Airways operates the following mainline aircraft:^[1][2]

British Airways fleet

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers[3]					Notes
			F	J	W	Y	Total
Airbus A319-100	29	—	—	—	40	83	123	One aircraft, G-EUPJ, is painted in a retro BEA livery. This was to celebrate the centenary of British Airways and still remains painted to this day.
Airbus A320-200	53	—	—	—	48	108	156	4 aircraft to be wet-leased from Finnair from March 2023 until March 2024.[Out of date at July 2024][4] 3 aircraft (G-EUYP/R/S) painted in Oneworld livery.[5]
Airbus A320neo	26	7[6]	—	—	48	108	156	IAG ordered further 27 A320neos which have not yet been allocated to a specific airline within the IAG group.[7]
Airbus A321neo	15	5[6]	—	—	56	136	192	IAG ordered for a further 23 A321neos which have not yet been allocated to a specific airline within the IAG group.[7]
Airbus A350-1000	18	—	—	56	56	219	331	Delivered with Club Suites. Largest European operator of its type.[6]
Airbus A380-800	12	—	14	97	55	303	469
Boeing 777-200ER	43	—	8	49	40	138	235	Heathrow configuration with new interior configuration with Club Suites.[8] G-YMML painted in GREAT Festival of Creativity livery. 3 aircraft (G-YMMR/T/U) painted in Oneworld livery.[citation needed]
			—	48		184	272
			14			134	236	Gatwick configuration with older Club World seats.[citation needed]
			—	32	52	252	336
					48		332
Boeing 777-300ER	16	—	8	76	40	132	256	All with Club Suites (12 retrofitted, 4 factory-fresh).
Boeing 777-9	—	18[9]	8	65	46	206	325	Order with 24 options.[9]
Boeing 787-8	12	—	—	31	37	136	204	Retrofitted Club Suites.
				35	25	154	214	Older Club World seats.
Boeing 787-9	18	—	8	42	39	127	216	Older Club World seats.
Boeing 787-10	11	7[10]	8	48	35	165	256	Delivered with Club Suites. Order with 6 options on the order book.
Total	253	37

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 aircraft owned by Qatar Airways Cargo.^{[11][needs update]}

British Airways World Cargo was the airline's freight division before its merger with Iberia Cargo to form IAG Cargo. Aircraft types used by the division between 1974 and 1983 were Vickers 953C,^[12] Boeing 707-300C^[13] and Boeing 747-200F.^[14] 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,^[15] the others flew in Atlas and Global Supply's own colours. From 2012 until Global Supply System's contract terminated in 2014, three Boeing 747-8F aircraft were flown for British Airways World Cargo.^[16]

Gallery

• 
  Airbus A319-100 in BEA retro livery
• 
  Airbus A320-200
• 
  Airbus A320neo in BA Better World livery
• 
  Airbus A321neo
• 
  Airbus A350-1000
• 
  Airbus A380-800
• 
  Boeing 777-200ER in GREAT Festival of Creativity Livery
• 
  Boeing 777-300ER
• 
  Boeing 787-8
• 
  Boeing 787-9
• 
  Boeing 787-10

Order history

Except for 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 Boeing 747-400s operator, with 57 in its fleet.^[17][18] Before 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.^[19]

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.^[20] BA's first 777s were fitted with General Electric GE90 engines. Still, BA switched to Rolls-Royce Trent 800s for subsequent aircraft.^[21][22]

Later in 2007, BA announced their order of thirty-six new long-haul aircraft, including twelve Airbus A380s and twenty-four Boeing 787 Dreamliners.^[23] 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 were scheduled to replace 14 of British Airways' Boeing 767 fleet, while the Airbus A380s were supposed to replace 20 of BA's Boeing 747-400s until their early retirement in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.^{[citation needed]}

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 787s. Of the six that have been ordered, four will be leased and British Airways will fully acquire two.^[24]

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.^[25] 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.^[26]

On 26 June 2013, British Airways took delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The aircraft began operations in Toronto on 1 September 2013 and began service to Newark on 1 October 2013.^[27] BA's first A380 was delivered on 4 July 2013.^[28] It began regular services to Los Angeles on 24 September 2013, followed by Hong Kong on 22 October 2013.^[29]

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 (~$21.9 billion in 2023), to replace its 747-400s.^[30]

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.^[31][32]

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.^[33]

On 16 July 2020, British Airways announced it was immediately retiring the remaining Airbus A318-100 and Boeing 747-400 aircraft, the last of the latter 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.^[34][35]

Former fleet

Aircraft	Total[36]	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	[citation needed]
Airbus A320-100	5	1988	2007		[37]
Airbus A321-200	13	2001	2024
	11			Transferred to BA EuroFlyer
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][38]
	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	[38]
	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 Airbus A350-1000, Airbus A380, Boeing 777-300ER, Boeing 787 Dreamliner	[38]
	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-planned to be preserved at MOD St Athan, however was scrapped in October 2023
Boeing 757-200	61	1983	2010	Launch customer together with Eastern Air Lines Replaced by Airbus A321	[39][40]
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 operated by Eastern Airlines, LLC	[41]
Boeing 777-200	5	1995	2020	Launch customer with General Electric GE90 engine Three of the aircraft (G-ZZZA, G-ZZZB and G-ZZZC) were among the first 777s ever built They were used for the GE90 certification campaign before being delivered to BA in November 1995 Replaced by Boeing 777-300ER and 777-200ER	[42][43]
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde	8[lower-alpha 5]	1976	2003	All aircraft preserved, see Concorde aircraft histories	[44]
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]

Notes

1. Inherited from British Airways Regional Division
2. Inherited from BEA
3. Inherited from British Airtours
4. Inherited from BOAC
5. Only 7 in service, G-BBDG was never flown by BA but used for spare parts and static testing

Gallery

A Vickers Super VC10 in 1975.

A Boeing 747-200 in 1989.

Concorde in 1986.

A Boeing 757-200 in 2003, wearing one of the British Airways ethnic liveries.

An Airbus A318-100 formerly operated on a sole long-haul route between London-City and New York-JFK.

See also

• Air France fleet
• Lufthansa fleet

References

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