British Airways’ first Boeing 787-10 is finally being delivered after a half-year delay. The aircraft is currently due to arrive in its new London Heathrow home at 11:50 this morning.
Its been a long wait for British Airways’ first Boeing 787-10. The aircraft was first due to be delivered to the British flag carrier in January, with entry to service targetted for February. However, the plane wasn’t delivered in January or February, March, April, and May. Now, around half a year later, the new aircraft is finally on its first journey across the Atlantic Ocean to its new home.
G-ZBLA is en route to London
We’ve been impatiently waiting for British Airways’ first Boeing 787-10 delivery for quite some time now. The aircraft is finally being delivered, though, having departed from Charleston, Boeing’s 787-10 factory, at 23:37 local time. At the time of writing, the aircraft was cruising at 41,000 feet around halfway across the Atlantic Ocean. The aircraft is currently due to arrive at British Airways’ London Heathrow home at 11:50.
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The aircraft was registered in the United Kingdom on Friday, June 26th, according to records from the Civil Aviation Authority. The British flag carrier’s second Boeing 787-10 has already completed a couple of test flights. In total, British Airways has 12 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners on order, which will complement its existing fleet of 787s comprising 12 -8s, and 18 -9s.
Alex Cruz, British Airways Chairman, and CEO said,
“The delivery of our first 787-10 aircraft marks another significant milestone in our £6.5bn customer investment plan. The aircraft delivers a 25 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions compared to the aircraft it replaces… It will also offer greater comfort for our customers, as it features our latest generation seats in all cabins.”
What to expect from the aircraft?
In most ways, the experience on the aircraft likely won’t be much different, with one huge exception. This new Boeing 787-10 is the first British Airways Boeing aircraft to be delivered with the new Club Suite cabin installed.
British Airway’s 787-10s will come with a four-class cabin layout. At the front of the aircraft is the airline’s exclusive eight-seat First cabin. This features the same seat found in the airline’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft, in a 1-2-1 configuration.
Behind the first-class cabin, taking up almost half of the aircraft’s floor space is the Club Suite cabin. This consists of 48 forward-facing suites in a 1-2-1 configuration. You can find out how we found the airline’s Club Suite cabin here!
Finally, taking up the rear of the cabin are the World Traveller and World Traveller Plus cabins. World Traveller Plus, the airline’s premium economy class, has 35 seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. World Traveller has 165 seats. These are in a 3-3-3 configuration, except for the rear three rows that are 2-3-2 due to the aircraft tapering in at the end.
Given the uncertainty surrounding the British Airways schedule as a result of the current situation, it is unclear when the aircraft will operate its first revenue flight for the airline.
Are you hoping to fly on British Airways’ first Boeing 787-10? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!