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Which European routes are British Airways flying with flat beds in Business Class?

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If you are missing your Club World flat bed, there is good news. British Airways is currently rostering its Boeing 787 aircraft on a number of European routes so if you book yourself into Club Europe you are in for a pleasant surprise.

None of the Boeing 787 fleet have the new Club Suite seat yet, but I’m sure you can survive Club World at a push ….

This is where you can find them. These dates are based on the timetable for next week but the dates should remain steady throughout August:

British Airways short haul routes using Boeing 787

The times represent the Heathrow departure time – obviously there will be a matching return flight a few hours later.

Amsterdam

  • Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday (all 08.20)

Larnaca

  • Monday (09.10), Thursday (09.25)

Moscow

  • Wednesday (13.20), Saturday (13.20)

Zurich

  • Wednesday, Sunday (all 09.35)

Athens

  • Friday (09.50)

Paris

  • Wednesday (10.55)

Stockholm

  • Friday (07.10)

Rome (Boeing 777, not a Boeing 787)

  • Friday, Sunday (both 08.20)

In addition, Iberia is still running an A350 on various flights between Heathrow and Madrid.

BA British Airways 787-9

ba.com shows you the aircraft type before you book

When you are booking a flight on ba.com, click on the ‘Flight Details’ link during the booking process. Part of the data that pops up is the aircraft type which is scheduled.

You can use our British Airways Boeing 787-8 ‘best seats’ guide to decide where to sit. If your aircraft seat plan shows a First Class cabin then you need to toggle to our Boeing 787-9 seat guide.

These flights come with a warning

When you book a British Airways flight, you are not contractually booking a certain aircraft type. If British Airways decides to swap the aircraft to a standard short haul plane, you do not have any grounds to change or refund your flight.

That said, you can refund a cash ticket for a Future Travel Voucher, or pay the standard fees to cancel an Avios booking.

If a particular flight is being run for cargo reasons then it is unlikely to switch. It is also possible, however, that BA is running these flights to give some flying hours to their 787 pilots and aircraft, keeping them airworthy, in which case it is easier to swap services about.

If you are planning a trip to any of the destinations on the list above, these are the flights to focus on. It should be easier than usual to get Avios seats given the greater capacity.


How to earn Avios from UK credit cards

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

Barclaycard Avios Plus card

Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard

Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review

Barclaycard Avios card

Barclaycard Avios Mastercard

5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review

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

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

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

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable 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

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 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

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year 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.

Comments (26)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • jotaele says:

    Sorry for the OT. AXA is requesting a “booking invoice” as part of the documentation needed for a delayed bag claim. BA agent directs me to a BA.com complaints form where I can’t select “booking invoice” as an option. Anyone has gone through this before?

    • Dubious says:

      Would this be another phrase for ‘receipt’ or ‘e-ticket receipt’ in BA lingo?

    • 1ATL says:

      You probably got this to your email when (if) you booked on BA.com

    • Mikeact says:

      Try posting this on todays chat for any topic other than this particular article.

  • Luke says:

    I’m waiting for Netherlands to allow vaccinated Brits, hopefully won’t be too much longer. I’ve got a Eurostar voucher so will probably do London > ‘dam via Eurostar direct train then fly back.

  • Will in SFO says:

    Did this on the 789 a couple of years ago back from MAD. We managed to snag two seats in First with CE service.

    Outbound was on the 763 which, in a way due to its impending retirement, was more of the highlight for my inner Av Geek!

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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