Is British Airways planning to order new A380 aircraft?

Bloomberg reported on Friday that British Airways is in negotiations with Airbus to order an additional tranche of A380 aircraft.

There could be some truth in this.  IAG has said that it would be willing to buy 6-7 second hand A380 aircraft, and there are a lot of them on the market.  Emirates and Singapore Airlines have started to retire their earliest aircraft and Malaysia Airlines was, at one point, trying to offload theirs too.

There is a snag with these ‘old’ (10-12 years old at most) aircraft though.

Apart from engine issues (BA is only likely to want A380 aircraft with engines which match the existing Rolls-Royce fleet), the earliest A380 aircraft were substantially heavier than promised.  Whilst there is always a price that would make a deal work, the desperation for orders at Airbus means that getting new aircraft at a big discount may be a better choice

Perhaps more importantly, Airbus has published new options for potential customers (click to enlarge slightly):

As you can see from the slide above, there is the potential to add an extra 78 seats for airlines who are willing to remove the main staircase and, by raising the level of the upper deck, move to 11 across in Economy in a 3-5-3 configuration.  The seat width remains the same due to narrower aisles and the removal of at-window storage.  The Airbus website explains in more detail how this would be done.

John Leahy from Airbus told Bloomberg Television last week, according to the article linked to above, that he expected a European airline to confirm an A380 order this year.  British Airways is believed to be the carrier.

The Emirates order for 36 new A380 aircraft placed last week means that the aircraft will continue to be built for at least another decade, giving BA more confidence if it does move forward.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)