Summary
- British Airways operates all three variants of the Boeing 787.
- This week, the 787-8 will fly to 14 destinations, the 787-9 to 18, and the 787-10 to eight – with some overlap.
- Due to its lower range, the 787-10’s average sector length is much shorter than the other variants.
British Airways is one of only a few carriers to operate the Boeing 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10. Averaging 6.8 years old, the oneworld carrier has 37 aircraft from the family: 18 of the -9 variant, 12 of the -8, and seven of the -10, the most recent of which arrived in May. Entirely deployed from London Heathrow, Europe’s second-busiest airport by flights, this is where they’re flying in the week starting September 28th.
14 destinations for the 787-8 this week
BA’s lowest-capacity widebody, the 787-8, has 214 seats. There are 35 in business, 25 in premium economy, and 154 in economy. A pretty low-premium config, they are used on brand-new long-haul routes, where first class is not required, on more leisure-driven markets, and on generally thinner routes or at less demanded times of the day.
Photo: Pittsburgh International Airport.
Some 14 destinations will see it this week, with 67 departing flights (double for both ways). There are daily flights to Baltimore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Nashville, and San Jose (California; the route ends in October).
Then there’s Pittsburgh, which sees it six weekly; Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Rio de Janeiro five weekly; Montreal three weekly; and Buenos Aires, Delhi, Islamabad, and Toronto twice-weekly. Cincinnati launched in June and switches to the 777 this winter.
18 destinations see the 787-9
BA’s first 787-9 was delivered in September 2015 (G-ZBKA), with the most recent in May 2018 (G-ZBKS). The 787-9 has just two more seats than the 787-8, with the difference obviously about the config. There are eight first class seats, 42 in business, 39 in premium economy, and just 127 in economy. The 787-9 has 18% fewer economy seats than the -8, which is especially good for higher premium markets.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.
Eighteen airports globally will see it this week, with 76 departures from Heathrow. Tokyo Haneda is the most served (11 weekly), with daily flights to Hong Kong, Mexico City, Shanghai Pudong, Singapore, and Sydney (via Singapore; changes to the 777-300ER this winter).
Sub-daily, there are six weekly services to Dubai; four weekly to Tel Aviv, Montreal, and Santiago; three weekly to Boston, Buenos Aires, Male, Mumbai, and Seattle; and twice-weekly to Houston. Finally, there are weekly services to Delhi and Islamabad.
Eight destinations for the 787-10
BA has fewer 787-10s than any other widebody in its fleet. All have 256 seats: eight in first class, 48 in business, 35 in premium economy, and just 165 in economy. It has a 30% larger economy cabin than the 787-9 and is only 7% larger than the 787-8.
Stay aware: Sign up for my weekly new routes newsletter.
BA has 47 weekly departures from Heathrow by the variant. Newark sees it double daily, while Boston has eight weekly flights. Kuwait and Seattle are daily; Houston five weekly; Dubai three weekly; JFK just twice; and Toronto once. None are among the world’s longest 787-10 routes.
Of all the 787 family, the -10 has the highest passenger/freight capacity and the maximum payload but the shortest range. To overcome this, Boeing is developing a higher gross weight version. This is reflected in BA’s average route length of 3,692 miles (5,942 km) this week, 18% less than the -8 and 29% lower than the -9.
Will you be flying one of the variants in the coming week? Let us know in the comments.
Sources of information: Cirium, OAG, Google Flights, ch-aviation.com.