During a Royal Aeronautical Society conference on March 15, British Airways chief executive Sean Doyle said that the A380 “works very well in some larger markets.
"The type is, therefore an important part of our fleet, and at the minute our plans are to obviously fly it again,” Doyle said, without discussing a timeline for its return.
Before the pandemic, the airline’s 12 A380s were serving on routes to Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and Singapore from London. The planes are currently in storage in France and Spain.
While the A380 may have a future with British Airways, Doyle was also keen to highlight the carrier’s retirement of its Boeing 747 fleet in the early weeks of the pandemic – with more-efficient A350s and 787s eventually filling the gap – as an important decision for the operator in terms of its sustainability strategy.
The carrier's current widebody fleet consists of eight A350-1000s, 12 A380s, 16 777-300ERs, 43 777-200ERs, 12 787-8s, 18 787-9s, and two 787-10s, according to Cirium fleets data.
It has also widebody orders in place for 10 A350-1000s, 10 787-10s, and 18 777-9s.
