[Anonymous]

[passionateflyer]

BA65/64 rotation was for years served by a 747 until Virgin started flying the Nairobi route back in June 2007, when BA downgraded their daily service to a four class 777. What are the chances that now Virgin have pulled out (effective September 26th 2012) that BA may reintroduce the 747 on the route? BA also had a thrice-weekly 767 rotation in addition to the daily BA65/64 rotation until Virgin started competing. Perhaps that might also be reintroduced?

[LeTigre]

With new long-haul services due to launch soon, do BA really have a spare 747 for this?

[LuganoPirate]

I think they’ll stick with the 777. With VS gone there will be some less capacity meaning better revenue. Perhaps when they get their new 380’s and depending on pax numbers, it will free up a jumbo which they can then use.

[sparkyflier]

Or the other way around, BA could use a 747 (maybe with a tag is they used to do for many years), in order to release a 777 to start other new longhaul routes.

[JordanD]

I think the 747 was gone before 2007 – I flew to Nairobi in 2006 and it was 777 one way, 767 the other. There was a faded poster at Nairobi airport about a 747 service, but I remember a conversation with the crew that that had gone a couple years prior.

[theworldtraveller]

interesting … there are still 2 x 747’s in the desert, warming themselves up for service!

[passionateflyer]

18 months on from Virgin’s withdrawal from the route and BA has re-introduced the 747 to the Nairobi route, upping the number of seats from 224 to 345 daily, which represents an increase in capacity of 54% (largely contributed by a doubling of seats in World Traveller from 122 to 243 daily).

What’s interesting is I think this largely represents the uphill battle Virgin has competing against a largely similar long haul operation as BA, with no real feed into it at Heathrow, unlike BA.

There was also talk of Virgin starting Tanzania since BA pulled out however I see this as highly unlikely because if BA can’t profitably serve the route with their feeds to it at Heathrow, then Virgin definitely won’t be able to.

It raises the question about whether Virgin will ever be able to make significant profit while it mimics BA’s long haul operation, and as previously commented in other threads, risk-averse Delta who have just increased their shareholding in Virgin may be sensing this and be ready to make some significant changes.

Does anyone know if the two 747s which were in the desert in 2012 have been re-introduced given the JNB one out of action and Nairobi getting a a/c upgrade or are the new fleet deliveries compensating sufficiently?

[LuganoPirate]

I don’t profess to know much about BA’s fleet operations, but with them taking new deliveries at a rate I believe of about one a month, it will just be necessary to keep a couple of the newer ones flying a bit longer. So I doubt they’ll take them out of desert storage which nonetheless requires some time and expense to bring back into service.

[SergeantMajor]

I don’t think Virgin is really going to be a player for international longhaul, unless a new airport makes slots more widely available.

At present it’s a slot portfolio with an airline attached.

There are plenty of other airlines providing indirect service to Kenya, so BA doesn’t have the monopoly it once did; that’s a good thing.

But I’d still rather be flying BA, especially at a time of heightened international security concerns. Given recent tragic events, it’s all the more important crew are capable of dealing with unforeseen circumstances, as outlined in this thread:

http://www.businesstraveller.com/discussion/topic/Dramatic-Footage-of-Aftermath-of-BA-Hijack-in-2000?page=1#49795

http://www.businesstraveller.com/discussion/topic/Dramatic-Footage-of-Aftermath-of-BA-Hijack-in-2000?page=1#49795

[SergeantMajor]

I don’t think Virgin is really going to be a player for international longhaul, unless a new airport makes slots more widely available.

At present it’s a slot portfolio with an airline attached.

There are plenty of other airlines providing indirect service to Kenya, so BA doesn’t have the monopoly it once did; that’s a good thing.

But I’d still rather be flying BA, especially at a time of heightened international security concerns. Given recent tragic events, it’s all the more important crew are capable of dealing with unforeseen circumstances, as outlined in this thread:

http://www.businesstraveller.com/discussion/topic/Dramatic-Footage-of-Aftermath-of-BA-Hijack-in-2000?page=1#49795

http://www.businesstraveller.com/discussion/topic/Dramatic-Footage-of-Aftermath-of-BA-Hijack-in-2000?page=1#49795

[SimonS1]

I agree SM, personally I would be surprised if Virgin still exists in 5 years time as it does now. They don’t have critical mass and there will presumably come a time when the shareholders tire of the losses. Bringing new planes is great but they have to be paid for.

As far as Nairobi is concerned, I don’t sense BA has standards of security or crew any better/worse than the other international airlines flying there. Something that happened 14 years ago wouldn’t be front of mind if I was flying to Kenya next week.

[Swissdiver]

While the route was operated by a B747 this summer, the B777-200 is back, at least next month, to my big disappointment… It is somewhat strange as last week, the flight was packed in all classes…

[Flyerboy1]

From what I believe the route will be operated by a mixture of 747/777

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