dailynewsnblog
British Airways will fly the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on its short-haul route from its main hub at 
London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to 
Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport (MAD) this winter. While the Spanish capital is a key short-haul route for BA on account of being home to its 
oneworld partner Iberia, passenger demand isn’t the sole reason for its use.
Indeed, the Dreamliner’s increased capacity for belly cargo that can be transferred in Madrid for flights to Latin America compared to the Airbus A320 family aircraft that usually ply this route is also a factor.
Dreamliners To Madrid
According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, British Airways will begin deploying the 787 from LHR to MAD in late October, following the switch from the IATA Summer Schedule to the Winter Schedule on the last Sunday of the month. Likewise, the type will be withdrawn in late March at the start of next summer.
Given that Madrid is only a couple of hours away from London by air, the presence of widebody twinjets used to operating long-haul flights will certainly raise an eyebrow or two. However, this switch underlines the value of cargo capacity, even on aircraft that are mainly designed to carry passengers. In any case, those flying on the type will be in for a pleasant surprise.
The airline said the 787 is among the “most technologically advanced” planes in its fleet.
“The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is one of the most technologically advanced aircraft in British Airways’ fleet and is designed to boost wellbeing and offer the best possible customer experience.”
All 3 Variants Will Be Used
Along with the likes of All Nippon Airways (ANA) and United Airlines, British Airways is one of just a handful of operators that fly all three variants of the 787. ch-aviation data shows that it currently has 12 units of the short-fuselage 787-8 model at its disposal, 18 mid-sized 787-9s, and 12 stretched 787-10s. It also has 38 787-10s on order.
It is perhaps unsurprising, therefore, to see that all three variants will serve Madrid between late October of this year and late March of next year. The larger 787-10 accounts for the bulk of the coverage, operating 63 of the 114 services (55%). It and the smaller 787-8 variant will be deployed throughout the entire period, while the mid-sized 787-9 will only be used as of November.
British Airways’ Boeing 787 Dreamliner Deployments To Madrid | |
|---|---|
Aircraft | Number Of Flights (October-March) |
Boeing 787-8 | 33 |
Boeing 787-9 | 18 |
Boeing 787-10 | 63 |
These jets will be supplemented by occasional widebody flights operated by the 777-200ER to ensure that, over the winter, British Airways retains a regular frequency of six twin-aisle rotations a week on the route from LHR to MAD. As it happens, the 777-200ER is already something of a regular sight on this route, having begun operating it in late March of this year.
The 777s Will Resume Regular Madrid Service In The Summer
When the seasons change again from the IATA Winter Schedule to the Summer Schedule on the last Sunday of March, British Airways will cease flying its three different variants of the 787 between LHR and MAD. At this point, the 777-200ER will take over this corridor’s regular widebody operations, and with an increased summer frequency.
Cirium’s scheduling data currently stretches as far as August of next year, and it shows that, from March 28 until at least August 31, 2027, the 777-200ER will serve this route on a daily basis. According to ch-aviation, British Airways currently has a grand total of 43 of these aircraft in its fleet, with an average age of 26.6 years.
