British Airways fleet

This article is about the mainline British Airways fleet, including the historical fleets of British Airways. For information about the fleet of British Airways CityFlyer operations, see BA CityFlyer. For information about the fleet of British Airways EuroFlyer operations, see BA EuroFlyer.

British Airways operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft. It operates a single-aisle fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft. It also operates a twin-aisle fleet of Airbus A350, Airbus A380, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 aircraft.

Current fleet

Passenger fleet

As of June 2025^[update], British Airways operates the following mainline aircraft:^[1][2]

British Airways fleet

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers[3]					Notes
			F	J	W	Y	Total
Airbus A319-100	25	—	—	40	—	83	123	One aircraft, G-EUPJ, is painted in a retro BEA livery. This was to celebrate the centenary of British Airways and still remains painted to this day.
Airbus A320-200	49	—	—	48	—	108	156	3 aircraft (G-EUYP/R/S) painted in Oneworld livery.[4]
Airbus A320neo	30	7	—	48	—	108	156	IAG ordered a further 26 A320neos which have not yet been allocated to a specific airline within the IAG group.
Airbus A321neo	17	5	—	56	—	136	192	IAG ordered a further 23 A321neos which have not yet been allocated to a specific airline within the IAG group.
Airbus A350-1000	18	6	—	56	56	219	331	Delivered with Club Suites. Order with 12 options.
Airbus A380-800	12	—	14	97	55	303	469	Older Club World seats. To be retrofitted with all-new seating classes by late 2026.[5]
Boeing 777-200ER	43	—	8	49	40	138	235	Heathrow configuration with new interior configuration with Club Suites.[6] G-YMML painted in GREAT Festival of Creativity livery. 3 aircraft (G-YMMR/T/U) painted in Oneworld livery.[citation needed]
			—	48		184	272
				32	48	252	332	Launch customer. Gatwick configuration with older Club World seats. 2 aircraft (G-YMME/F) painted in Oneworld livery.[citation needed]
					52		336
Boeing 777-300ER	16	—	8	76	40	132	256	All with Club Suites (12 retrofitted, 4 factory-fresh).
Boeing 777-9	—	24[7]	8	65	46	206	325	Order with 18 options.
Boeing 787-8	12	—	—	31	37	136	204	Retrofitted Club Suites.
				35	25	154	214	Older Club World seats.
Boeing 787-9	18	—	8	42	39	127	216	Older Club World seats.
Boeing 787-10	12	38[8][9]	8	48	35	165	256	Delivered with Club Suites. Order with 16 options.
Total	252	80

Cargo fleet

IAG's cargo division, IAG Cargo, handles cargo operations using capacity on British Airways' passenger aircraft. IAG reached an agreement with Qatar Airways in 2014 to operate flights for IAG Cargo using Boeing 777F aircraft owned by Qatar Airways Cargo.^{[10][needs update]}

British Airways World Cargo was the airline's freight division before its merger with Iberia Cargo to form IAG Cargo. Aircraft types used by the division between 1974 and 1983 were Vickers 953C, Boeing 707-300C and Boeing 747-200F.^{[citation needed]} The Boeing 747-400F was operated from the 1990s to 2001 through Atlas Air and from 2002 to early 2012 by Global Supply Systems; of these, only one of Atlas Air's aircraft wore BA livery,^{[citation needed]} the others flew in Atlas and Global Supply's own colours. From 2012 until Global Supply System's contract terminated in 2014, three Boeing 747-8F aircraft were flown for British Airways World Cargo.^[11]

Gallery

• 
  Airbus A319-100 in BEA retro livery
• 
  Airbus A320-200
• 
  Airbus A320neo in BA Better World livery
• 
  Airbus A321neo
• 
  Airbus A350-1000
• 
  Airbus A380-800
• 
  Boeing 777-200ER in GREAT Festival of Creativity Livery
• 
  Boeing 777-300ER
• 
  Boeing 787-8
• 
  Boeing 787-9
• 
  Boeing 787-10

Order history

Except for the Boeing 707 and early Boeing 747 variants from BOAC, British Airways inherited a mainly UK-built fleet of aircraft when it was formed in 1974. The airline introduced the Boeing 737 and Boeing 757 into the fleet in the 1980s, followed by the Boeing 747-400, Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 in the 1990s. BA was the largest Boeing 747-400 operator, with 57 in its fleet.^[12][13] Before the introduction of the 787, when Boeing built an aircraft for British Airways, it was allocated the customer code 36, which appeared in their aircraft designation as a suffix, such as 777-236.^[14]

In 1991, British Airways placed its first order for Boeing 777-200 aircraft, ordering another four for fleet expansion in 2007 at a cost of around US$800 million.^[15] BA's first 777s were fitted with General Electric GE90 engines. Still, BA switched to Rolls-Royce Trent 800s for subsequent aircraft.^[16][17]

Later in 2007, BA announced their order of 36 new long-haul aircraft, including 12 Airbus A380s and 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners.^[18] Rolls-Royce Trent engines were again selected for both orders with Trent 900s powering the A380s and Trent 1000s powering the 787s. The Boeing 787s were scheduled to replace 14 of BA's Boeing 767s, while the Airbus A380s were planned to replace 20 of BA's Boeing 747-400s.

On 1 August 2008, BA announced orders for 6 Boeing 777-300ERs and options for four more as an interim measure to cover for delays over the deliveries of their 787s. Of the six that have been ordered, four will be leased and British Airways will fully acquire two.^[19]

On 22 April 2013, IAG confirmed that it had signed a memorandum of understanding to order 18 Airbus A350-1000 XWB aircraft for British Airways, with an option for a further 18. The aircraft would replace some of the airline's fleet of Boeing 747-400s.^[20] Options for 18 Boeing 787 aircraft, part of the original contract signed in 2007 providing a total of 28 options, have been converted into firm orders for delivery between 2017 and 2021, leaving only 10 options left to be firmed.^[21]

On 26 June 2013, British Airways took delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The aircraft began operations in Toronto on 1 September 2013 and began service to Newark on 1 October 2013.^[22] BA's first A380 was delivered on 4 July 2013.^[23] It began regular services to Los Angeles on 24 September 2013, followed by Hong Kong on 22 October 2013.^[24]

On 28 February 2019, British Airways parent International Airlines Group ordered up to 42 Boeing 777-9 aircraft, 18 firm orders with 24 options, valued at up to $18.6 billion (~$21.9 billion in 2023), to replace its 747-400s.^[7]

At the 2019 Paris Air Show, British Airways owner IAG signed a letter of intent to purchase 200 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, despite the type still being grounded worldwide.^[25][26]

In July 2019, the British carrier took delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000 XWB aircraft, fitted without First, but with more of the new Club Suites.^[27]

On 16 July 2020, British Airways announced it was immediately retiring their remaining Airbus A318-100 and Boeing 747-400 aircraft, the last of the latter having flown the previous month. British Airways had originally intended to phase out the last remaining 747 aircraft by 2024, but pushed the plans behind, in part due to the downturn in air travel following COVID-19 pandemic, and to focus on replacing the 747 with the more fuel-efficient Airbus A350, Airbus A380 and Boeing 787.^[28]

On 28 July 2023, IAG converted six of the ten remaining options for the Boeing 787 into firm orders for the 787-10 and added six more options for the variant to be allocated to British Airways, and converted one option for the Airbus A350-900 into a firm order to be allocated to Iberia.^[29]

On 9 May 2025, IAG ordered up to 76 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, out of which 32 firm orders and 10 options for the Boeing 787-10 will be allocated to British Airways, and 21 firm orders and 13 options for the Airbus A330-900 will be allocated to Aer Lingus, Iberia and LEVEL. It also revealed the firming of options for 18 additional aircraft, including six Airbus A350-1000 aircraft and six Boeing 777-9 aircraft for British Airways, and six Airbus A350-900 aircraft for Iberia.^[9]

Former fleet

Aircraft	Total[30]	Introduced	Retired	Notes	Refs
Airbus A318-100	2	2009	2020	Operated BA1/BA2 and formerly also BA3/BA4 between London–City and New York–JFK.	[citation needed]
Airbus A320-100	5	1988	2007	Ordered by British Caledonian, which merged into BA in 1988.	[31]
Airbus A321-200	13	2001	2024
	11			Transferred to BA EuroFlyer.
BAC One-Eleven 400	8	1974	1997		[a]
BAC One-Eleven 500	34	1974	1993		[b]
	1			G-AVMO is preserved at Scottish National Museum of Flight.
	1			G-AVMU is preserved at Imperial War Museum Duxford.
BAe 146-200	8	1989	1990
BAe 146-300	7	1992	1994
BAe ATP	33	1989	1994
Boeing 707-300	12	1974	1984		[c][d]
Boeing 707-400	8	1974	1981		[d]
	1			Nose and forward fuselage of G-APFJ on display at Scottish National Museum of Flight.
Boeing 737-200	59	1977	2001
Boeing 737-300	36	1988	2009
Boeing 737-400	45	1991	2015
Boeing 737-500	15	1996	2009
Boeing 747-100	17	1974	1999		[d][32]
	1			Nose of G-AWNG display at Hiller Aviation Museum, California (not in BA colours).
	1		1990	Written off as flight BA149.
Boeing 747-200	24	1977	2002	First 747-200 to be powered with Rolls-Royce RB211-524B engines.	[32]
	1			G-BDXJ preserved at Dunsfold Aerodrome (not in BA colours).
Boeing 747-400	53	1989	2020	First 747-400 to be powered with Rolls-Royce RB211-524G engines. Replaced by Airbus A350-1000, Airbus A380 and Boeing 777-300ER.	[32]
	1			G-CIVW wearing the standard Chatham Dockyard livery is preserved at Dunsfold Aerodrome.
	1			G-BNLY wearing the Landor livery is preserved at Dunsfold Aerodrome.
	1			G-CIVB wearing the Negus livery is preserved at Cotswold Airport.
	1			G-BYGC, wearing the BOAC livery-planned to be preserved at MOD St Athan, however was scrapped in October 2023.
Boeing 757-200	56	1983	2010	Launch customer together with Eastern Air Lines. Replaced by Airbus A321.	[33][34]
Boeing 767-300ER	28	1990	2018	Launch customer with Rolls-Royce RB211 engines. Replaced by Boeing 787. 7 aircraft sold to Qantas. 4 aircraft currently operated by Eastern Airlines, LLC.	[35]
Boeing 777-200	5	1995	2020	Launch customer with General Electric GE90 engines. Three of the aircraft (G-ZZZA, G-ZZZB and G-ZZZC) were among the first 777s ever built. They were used for the GE90 certification campaign before being delivered to BA in November 1995. Replaced by Boeing 777-200ER.	[36][37]
Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde	7	1976	2003	All aircraft preserved, see Concorde aircraft histories.	[38]
Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C/E	24	1974	1983		[b]
	1			G-ARPO wearing Northeast Airlines livery is preserved at North East Aircraft Museum.
Hawker Siddeley Trident 2E	15	1974	1985		[b]
	1			G-AVFB wearing BEA livery is preserved at Imperial War Museum Duxford.
Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B	23	1974	1985		[b]
	1			G-AWZK wearing BEA livery is displayed at Manchester Airport.
	1			G-AWZM is preserved at Science Museum.
	1			Nose of G-AWZP also preserved at Science and Industry Museum, Manchester.
Hawker Siddeley HS 748	13	1975	1988
Lockheed L-1011-1 TriStar	10	1975	1991	Six converted to L-1011-100.
Lockheed L-1011-200 TriStar	8	1980	1991
Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar	6	1979	1983	Sold to the Royal Air Force.
	2	1985	1988	Leased from Air Lanka.
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30	8	1988	1999	Inherited from the merger with British Caledonian. Replaced by Boeing 777-200.
Vickers VC10	9	1974	1976		[d]
Vickers Super-VC10	15	1974	1981		[d]
Vickers Vanguard	11	1974	1979		[b]
	1			G-APEP is preserved at Brooklands Museum (not in BA colours).
Vickers Viscount-700	2	1974	1976		[b]
Vickers Viscount-800	35	1974	1982		[b]

Notes

1. Inherited from British Airways Regional Division
2. Inherited from BEA
3. Inherited from British Airtours
4. Inherited from BOAC

Gallery

• 
  An Airbus A318-100 formerly operated on a sole long-haul route between London-City and New York-JFK
• 
  A Boeing 737-400 in 2012
• 
  A Boeing 747-200 in 1989
• 
  A Boeing 747-400 with Landor livery in 2020
• 
  A Boeing 757-200 in 2003, wearing one of the British Airways ethnic liveries
• 
  A Boeing 767-300ER in 2017
• 
  A Concorde in 1986
• 
  A Lockheed L-1011 TriStar in 1989
• 
  A McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 in 1996
• 
  A Vickers Super VC10 in 1975

See also

• Air France fleet
• KLM fleet
• Lufthansa fleet