Travel rebound spurs BA to hurry back with jumbos

Thursday, 30th September 2010

British Airways is accelerating the return to service of two of eight Boeing 747 airliners it grounded earlier in the recession as travel demand bounces back more quickly than the airline had been expecting. The 747-400 jumbo jets, each with 350 seats, have been brought out of storage and are having maintenance checks performed on them.

One of the jets will be brought back into service at the end of January. The other will come into service a weeks after that. Many airlines mothballed jets during the travel recession at a large outdoor storage facility at California’s Mojave Desert. The dry conditions at the site near Victorville minimise corrosion, making it an ideal location for airliner storage.

British Airways CEO Willie Walsh made the announcement yesterday. He said that some capacity was being restored to previous levels but the airline is also considering new destinations and will probably make an announcement regarding expanded services in the near future.

One of the 747s will replace a smaller 777 on the Heathrow-Dallas route, making the 777 available to provide a seventh daily flight between Heathrow and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The other 747 will probably be brought into the summer 2011 schedule but BA has yet to choose a destination.

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↑ September 2010 news index

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