BA 777 Delivery

[texan]

Really good story of BA picking up a new 777 from Seattle, sparcely furnished, only enough seats for the few passengers and crew. Interesting to see the "ballroom" of the fuselage without any seats in it, also didn't know about the eight bunks at the back for the crew - do they all have this?


http://blog.continentalclub.co.uk/flights/british-...

The rest of his blogs are pretty good too...

[bobskii]

Brilliant read, I would love to able to get an invite on one of those pick ups!

[Fat Albert]

Good read, just a shame we are buying them with GE engines and not RRs

[Big Bad Ben]

Fat Albert said:

Good read, just a shame we are buying them with GE engines and not RRs

It is a shame, but inevitable in this case: I don't think Royce's make engines for the 300ER...

[Junior Bianno]

Interesting, but his prose style makes me feel queasy. Wonder if he talks like that...

[ccr32]

Good read and some nice pics - wasted 15 minutes of Friday anyway

[horza]

Junior Bianno said:

Interesting, but his prose style makes me feel queasy. Wonder if he talks like that...

This.

Reads like a restaurant review. Weird.

[Jonathan27]

They do all have the bunks. I got an invite to the BA open day last year. We took my daughter along so that she could sit in the pilots seat on a few aircraft (747, 320), and they showed us the crew quarters on the 747, quite impressive but also very cramped.

[MikeDov]

I work for BAMC in Cardiff, TBF cabin build finished last Wednesday, it departed from us and went straight into service, I think on the Bombay run, then off to Hong Kong the following day, these things go straight into service, no time for ceremony, just start earning money!

[Puggit]

Jonathan27 said:

They do all have the bunks. I got an invite to the BA open day last year. We took my daughter along so that she could sit in the pilots seat on a few aircraft (747, 320), and they showed us the crew quarters on the 747, quite impressive but also very cramped.

When we got diverted because of the 'snow' at Heathrow in early Feb, I got a look at the bunks in a 747 too. The pilot was perilously close to finishing his flying hours, so I think they were scoping out options! I happened to be loitering at the back while they all went in.

[JW911]

All BA 747s have bunks. Not all 777s do, only the -300ERs and the Rolls Royce powered -200s. The forward overhead flight crew rest area (above First) for the pilots is quite impressive. The cabin crew bunks are above the rear galley.

Edited by JW911 on Friday 9th March 20:52

[texan]

So how much room is there above the passenegr cabon? Do they go up a little spiral staircase then crawl in? Surely there can't be enough headroom to walk upright?

[sneijder]

Do they have some kind of ballast ? Airliners are completely out of trim with no passengers in, I've had mad panics from dispatchers when flights haven't been edited properly and passengers are all bunched in the wrong end.

Having no seats must make the problem even worse.

[ETOPS]

texan said:

So how much room is there above the passenegr cabon? Do they go up a little spiral staircase then crawl in? Surely there can't be enough headroom to walk upright?

In my company, we enter by spiral staircase. By the staircase is a big locking cupboard for our carry-on size suitcases. When you get up there, the are two leather reclining chairs with footrests and entrainment screens and a reading light. They are very comfy, and our entertainment selection is very good.

Behind these are two full size beds, each with a variable brightness light, individual temperature controls, and more stowage to the side for personal items like noise cancelling headphones, kindle, computer, pjs etc.

It is a wonderful plus to be on the 777, certainly the bsst crew rest facility I have come across. For perspective, when my wife and I travel, I have chosen to volunteer to fly the aircraft, to make use of those!

Not quite high enough to stand up, but certainly Enough to move around, get changed etc.

[vtgts300kw]

Why do they have rest areas? Why should the pilots need to have a lie down on a flight?

[anonymous-user]

vtgts300kw said:

Why do they have rest areas? Why should the pilots need to have a lie down on a flight?

Because the aircraft can fly for longer than the crew can legally work for.

[Orbin]

very interesting read, thank you.

[vtgts300kw]

el stovey said:

Because the aircraft can fly for longer than the crew can legally work for.

Thanks.

[PaulG40]

I enjoyed that read! looks like a nice place to be on!

[onyx39]

The rate of climb on take off must have been phenomenal! I have a friend whose late father used to work for TWA and he often used to catch a 747 on its final leg across to Amsterdam for the day to "spot" he once said that when they left LHR, they had so few passengers on board, it made them so light, they were almost @ 1000 ft by the time they left the airport perimeter !