British Airways has confirmed that it will be operating the behemoth Airbus A380 superjumbo on its route from London Heathrow (LHR) to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW).
The news comes in the same week as both Iberia and Finnair — also Oneworld Alliance members — announce direct routes to Dallas-Fort Worth from their respective hubs.
Dallas-Fort Worth will be the fourth U.S. city to welcome BA’s A380 as it returns to the skies, joining Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), and San Francisco (SFO).
British Airways’ A380 Comes to Dallas
As of March 27, 2022, BA’s Airbus A380 will operate to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) on a daily basis, 7 days per week as BA193 and BA192 on the return leg to London.
The A380’s schedule from Heathrow to Dallas-Fort Worth is as follows:
- Depart Heathrow 1:15 p.m. — Arrive Dallas-Fort Worth 5:10 p.m.
- Depart Dallas-Fort Worth 7:15 p.m. — Arrive Heathrow 10:15 a.m. (+1)
The route is currently operated by a combination of BA’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft: a daily 787-10 rotation and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays there’s an additional second service operated by a mixture of the airline’s 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft.
On the same date, March 27, 2022, American Airlines is to increase its number of flights on the DFW-LHR route from 2 to 4, in line with summer season schedule updates.
British Airways was unlikely to be able to compete for more arrival slots at the airport given that Dallas is an American Airlines super-hub. Instead, the A380 will provide BA with more weekly capacity while only operating 1 flight per day.
Inside British Airways’ A380
A380 Club World cabin. Image Credit: British AirwaysThe A380 has a total of 469 seats compared to the 787-10’s 256 — that’s an increase of 54%.
Its 2 decks are divided into 4 cabins, featuring 14 seats in first, 97 in Club World (business class), 55 in World Traveller Plus (premium economy), and a massive 303 in economy.
The downside is, that the A380’s first and business class cabins aren’t the latest generation. The hard product (the seats and cabins) is far inferior to that offered by the Boeing 787-10 aircraft that currently serves the route daily.
The A380’s first cabin does not feature the sliding door that the first cabin on the 787-10 has.
In business class, it’s back to basics with the old school 2-4-2 Club World layout. The 787-10 that currently operates the route features the infinitely better Club Suite, complete with a sliding door for added privacy in a less cramped 1-2-1 configured cabin.
Final Thoughts
British Airways’ scheduling of the A380 to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) is great news for the airport and will undoubtedly provide more connection possibilities for passengers.
It’s just a shame that the extra capacity means sacrificing the quality of the experience that passengers will have when flying in the first and Club World cabins.
Featured Image Credit:
Daniel Ross