British Airways is considering the purchase of additional Boeing 777-300ERs as a stop-gap solution whilst it makes a decision over whether or not to invest in more large wide-bodied aircraft.
According to Flightglobal.com, the airline is currently pondering what’s been hailed as the ‘big-twin deal’; namely BA’s potential intention to buy one of Boeing’s 777X aircraft, or an Airbus A350-1000 model. It will do so in partnership with sister airline Iberia.
BA’s chief executive, Keith Williams, confirmed: “We’ve got a large-aircraft [acquisition] programme and so has Iberia, so we’ll get a better buying capability by combining the two.” A deal this big could give those with a passion for live air traffic something much more exciting to track on radars, in addition to boosting the portfolio of both BA and Iberia.
Already, BA has put in an order as part of the first half of its plan to renew its wide-bodied aircraft; consisting of 24 787s and 12 A380s. However in order to allow it time to ponder the second half of its order and also prepare for the risk of “late deliveries”, a batch of 777-300ERs may be ordered too.
The decision to do that is a tricky one too though, as Williams explained: “The problem is, is the next generation going to be so much more fuel efficient than 777-300ERs to make it worth waiting for? But I’m conscious of the fact that if you wait for something and it never turns up eventually you don’t have any aircraft.”
The news comes shortly after BA revealed its increase in passenger numbers during May, despite Madrid-based Iberia experiencing a slight decline – although Express.co.uk confirmed that the latter was attributed to the issues surrounding Spain’s economy.
We hope you found this article helpful. We're a small team of enthusiasts dedicated to making live plane tracking available to everyone at the touch of a button. If you'd like to find out more why not try out one of our apps for your Android or iOS device?
