British Airways is to lease long-haul aircraft from Evelop Airlines to operate its Gatwick-New York JFK service over the next few months.

Business Traveller was informed of the move by a New York-based reader who is flying on the route during December, and who has been informed of the aircraft change by email.

BA has also updated its travel advice page here, which confirms that flight BA2273 from Gatwick, and flight BA2272 from JFK, will be operated by Evelop Airlines between October 27, 2019, and January 12, 2020.

The switch is to allow for continuing precautionary inspections to be carried out on the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines on some of BA’s Boeing 787-9 aircraft – an industry-wide issue also affecting other carriers.

The daily flights will be operated by Evelop Airlines pilots, cabin crew and aircraft, which in the case of this route will be a two-class A330.

It’s unclear whether this will be one of the carrier’s ex-Air Berlin A330-200 aircraft with fully flat beds in business class, or an A330-300 ex-Singapore Airlines aircraft which offers an angled lie-flat business class.

Note that unlike on BA’s normal flights between Gatwick and New York, no premium economy cabin will be offered. More information on the differences in service which customers can expect during the lease period can be found here.

Regular readers will know that low-cost carrier Norwegian has also been leasing Evelop aircraft to operate its Gatwick-New York service this year, while checks are also made to its B787-9 engines.

In addition to the above, BA has confirmed that its route between Heathrow and Cairo will be operated by Titan Airways, between the dates of November 7, 2019, and January 13, 2020.

The route was also subcontracted out earlier this year, although in that case by Air Belgium.

ba.com