The change raises operational issues for travelers, especially those going in business class.
SAN FRANCISCO- British Airways (BA), the flag airline of the United Kingdom, plans to use the Airbus A380 for a second daily trip between London Heathrow (LHR) and San Francisco (SFO).
From March 29 to May 31, the airline will run daily flights with A380 aircraft, replacing the previous mixed fleet of Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300ER, according to Ishrion Aviation.
British Airways San Francisco Flight
The change raises operational issues for travelers, especially those going in business class.
The A380 variant has a 2-4-2 seating arrangement, which contrasts from the more current layout of the Boeing 777-300ER, which includes Club World.
Aircraft reliability is a major consideration in route design. The operating performance of the Airbus A380, as well as the existing condition of British Airways’ A380 fleet, will be critical to ensuring constant service levels.
Current BA A380 Routes
The carrier’s strategic A380 deployment includes seven major routes:
London Heathrow (LHR) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) will offer a daily A380 service beginning January 1, 2025.
The daily A380 frequency between London Heathrow and Dubai (DXB) remains unchanged.
Johannesburg (JNB) continues to receive daily A380 services from London Heathrow.
The A380 flight from Los Angeles (LAX) will have variable operations. During certain periods, the route will maintain daily service with reduced frequencies: 6 weekly flights from November 27 to December 5, 2024, and 4 weekly flights from January 12 to 20, 2025.
Miami (MIA) is a high-capacity route, with two daily A380 flights from London Heathrow.
San Francisco (SFO) will receive conventional daily A380 service, with additional A380 operations on January 12 and 16, 2025.
The A380 service to Singapore (SIN) will continue on a daily basis.
The global A380 operational environment shows a concentrated deployment among ten carriers. During the winter 2024-2025 season, around 150 Airbus A380 aircraft are currently serving 93 itineraries.
These double-decker aircraft are operated by All Nippon Airways (NH), Asiana Airlines (OZ), British Airways (BA), Emirates (EK), Etihad (EY), Korean Air (KE), Lufthansa (LH), Qantas (QF), Qatar Airways (QR), and Singapore Airlines (SQ).