[Anonymous]

[kingdomchris]

Hi, everyone here seems very knowledgeable and so I hope you can offer up some advice. I live in Miami and I’m planning to use my Avios to bring my mum and sister here in January 2014 in First.

Looking at the schedules for January 2014, there are 2 flights per day, both of which are on B747-400s. When I look at the seat map with ExpertFlyer, all the scheduled flights appear to be Mid-J fleet. I really would like them to have the New First experience. I considered routing them through JFK or ORD on a 777, but my mum has limited mobility and I don’t think she will be up to changing terminals and making a connecting flight.

It’s my understanding that there are about 12 Mid-Js remaining which are planned to be retired. Is there any information available as to the timeframe for when these aircraft will be taken out of service? I’m wondering if BA is assigning Mid-J seat maps to these flights for next year just as placeholders, given that we are still 8 or so months out, and perhaps we’ll see these switched out for Hi-J 747s or 777s closer to the departure date.

Anyone have a feel for how the next few months will play out with these remaining Mid-Js and when we can finally say goodbye to Old First?

[IanFromHKG]

Can’t help you with your query about the aircraft, but BA should help your mother if she has mobility issues – these include:

* On all longhaul twin aisle aircraft an on-board wheelchair is available
* A complimentary “meet and assist” service for customers with reduced mobility
* A complimentary service for taking customers with reduced mobility to and from the aircraft

See here: http://www.britishairways.com/travel/travservcom/public/en_us#6

So, the airline would normally provide a wheelchair (and someone to push it) or a buggy to deal with the terminal change and going to and from check-in, lounge etc. We have done this for my mother-in-law (who needs assistance more because she has expressive aphasia and therefore cannot communicate) and it works very well
I would also add that the Concorde lounge at JFK is pretty special, so if you do decide to do a connecting flight I would route through there. The lounge (and overall experience, frankly) at ORD is pretty ordinary

[first_class_please]

http://ftdashboard.net/overview/baflights.htm

Gives details of past flights and their New First usage.

The BA207 is 50% of the time with NF and the BA209 64%.

It does appear when NF is not used then it is some of the very early Mid-J aircraft, G-BNLR / G-BNLY etc.

Looking at the history http://ftdashboard.net/dest/mia.htm you can see that more and more flights are operating with the NF though than earlier in the year, as aircraft are still being retro fitted.

Sorry cant give you a definite, but its at least better than 50/50 chance!

[kingdomchris]

Yes, I’ve been studying ftdashboard for a while, looking at the MIA flights. It’s my understanding that all the 777s with a First cabin have now been updated, as well as the Hi-J 747s. The only 4 class aircraft that have not been updated with NF are the Mid-Js, and that they are going to be retired, rather than updated. (correct me if I’m wrong please)

Looking forward as to the aircraft assignments for MIA, it appears they will remain on 2 flights a day, served by 747s, so the only changing factor would be the gradual retirement of the Mid-J fleet. I’m just wondering over what period of time they plan to take those 12 or so aircraft out of service, and by what point we can safely assume that NF will be on 100% of their 4-class product. I imagine there must be a tentative schedule for this, tied in with the introduction of the A380s.

[first_class_please]

They should all be gone by end of 2014, if the A380 and B787 orders do not face any delays.

http://centreforaviation.com/analysis/does-british-airways-787-option-conversion-signal-a-return-to-a-more-expansionist-capex-policy-104464

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