British Airways to resume A380 services with passengers able to book SHORT-HAUL trips from November
British Airways to resume A380 services, with passengers able to book SHORT-HAUL trips from November on the superjumbo to Madrid and Frankfurt
- A travel site says it was sent documents confirming BA’s A380s are returning
- The A380 European services will begin on November 8, long-haul in December
- Qatar Airways, meanwhile, is also resuming A380 services
By Ted Thornhill, Mailonline Travel Editor and ReutersBritish Airways will soon be reinstating Airbus A380 services, beginning – incredibly – with short-haul flights using the superjumbo between London, Madrid and Frankfurt.
That’s according to flight tips site God Save The Points (GSTP), which says that it was ‘sent scheduling and operating documents which confirm British Airways plans to return the A380 to service’, along with site Head For Points.
GSTP said that the A380 European services will begin on November 8, before long-haul superjumbo services recommence in December to Dubai, Los Angeles, Miami and Dallas.
British Airways will soon be reinstating Airbus A380 services, beginning – incredibly – with short-haul flights using the superjumbo between London, Madrid and Frankfurt
In 2019, MailOnline Travel flew first class (pictured) with BA to Johannesburg in an A380, and back in economy. The cabin experience in both directions was very good indeed, we reported
The idea, GSTP said, behind the short-haul services, is to re-familiarise crew and pilots with the aircraft.
GSTP added: ‘It’s unlikely first class would become bookable, unless business class (Club) is sold out, but to say you’ve flown an A380 on a two-hour flight is amusing.
‘These flights won’t have the latest Club Suite business class seats, but offer a stellar economy experience for intra-Europe short-haul flying, thanks to the long-haul seat dimensions.’
In 2019, MailOnline Travel flew first class with BA to Johannesburg in an A380, and back in economy.
The cabin experience in both directions was very good indeed, we reported.
The BA A380 European services will begin on November 8, before long-haul services recommence in December to Dubai, Los Angeles, Miami and Dallas
Qatar Airways, meanwhile, is also resuming A380 services.
The airline last year indefinitely parked its 10 A380s after the Covid-19 collapse in long-haul travel, and said it would only ever use five of them once they returned to service.
Executive Traveller, quoting the airline’s chief executive, said Qatar Airways would operate flights with five of its parked A380s from November, with all 10 possibly returning next year.
‘We have to find capacity for our passengers who need airlines to take them to their loved ones for Christmas,’ Akbar Al Baker was quoted as saying.
A Qatar Airways representative confirmed the report was accurate.
The five A380s would give the Gulf carrier more than half the 4,000-seat capacity it had lost in the Qatari regulatory grounding of 13 A350s in August.
The grounding followed Qatar Airways allegations that the fuselage surface below the paint on each of the jets was deteriorating.
The airline has been locked in a months-long public dispute with Airbus over the allegations, insisting it would not take any A350 deliveries until the problem was resolved.
Emirates will receive three more A380 aircraft from Airbus this year with its last unit on order scheduled to join its fleet in November, bringing forward the original delivery timeline from June 2022.
These deliveries will bring Emirates’ total fleet of A380s to 118 units in November.
Emirates has reinstated its A380 operations on over a dozen popular routes.
