Why British Airways is flying Airbus A319s to Abu Dhabi

The G-DBCG is just the first of an undisclosed number of narrowbodies British Airways plans to make a short stop in Abu Dhabi.

Aircraft maintenance contractors and manufacturers are feeling the pinch as stocks are quickly depleted as global supply chain disruptions lead to a severe shortage of aircraft spare parts.Labor shortages have also exacerbated the problem, leading airlines like british airways Struggled when they tried to outsource in a dry market.

The flag carrier struggled to find enough maintenance contractors for its short-haul fleet and recently turned to “Wet lease” Agreements with third-party airlines and maintenance contractors elsewhere to strengthen and maintain its short-haul fleet, starting with its Airbus A319s.

Seeking Repairs in Abu Dhabi

Yep, if you start spotting some British Airways Airbus A319 Flying in and out of Abu Dhabi, rest assured this isn’t part of the airline’s new flight schedule you thought you missed.Instead, Airbus narrowbodies fly direct from London middle East For hangar work.

The first was an Airbus A319 registered G-DBCG, operating as BA 9270 at takeoff London Gatwick Airport Around 15:15 on February 19th. The 17-year-old’s narrow-body flight took nearly seven hours to arrive Abu Dhabi International Airport Around 02:09.

Photo: FlightRadar24.com

While it’s unclear which of the airline’s 30 Airbus A319s will be the next heavyweight maintain Effectively, these smaller narrow-body aircraft will not be the only types of aircraft being sent to Abu Dhabi.affim Airbus A320and possibly older Airbus A321 aircraft, will also be flown in for maintenance, although the number of aircraft remains unknown.

Under pressure to deliver efficient operations

British Airways is also taking other steps to ensure the reliability of its flights, with demand expected to be higher this year during the peak summer season than last year and closer to pre-pandemic demand levels short distance fleet.In addition to sending a few narrow body machine Going to Abu Dhabi for maintenance, oneworld alliance members also signed a “wet lease” agreement with partners Finnair.

Under the previous agreement with British Airways, the Helsinki-based airline will lease at least four Airbus A320s to British Airways starting March 24, and provide crew and maintenance services for about a year . The “wet lease” agreement will help strengthen British Airways’ short-haul European network flight operations and help address supply chain and labor shortages.

Photo: Senohrabek | Shutterstock

Essentially, you’ll be paying for a British Airways flight, but flying with Finnair. Another “wet lease” agreement on the books is with charter airline Titan Airways, although the number and specific aircraft types are currently unknown.It is known, however, that Titan Airways will fly round trips on a series of short-haul routes from late February to mid-March or sometime later London Heathrow Airport For the flag carrier airline.

the bottom line

Some of the short-haul fleet is in Abu Dhabi for a short stay and is operating on behalf of British Airways under “wet-lease” agreements with the two airlines, which appear to have worked hard to prepare for the busy months ahead. Hopefully the carrier His actions will not be in vain, and passengers will not be disappointed like they were last year.

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  british airways

  IATA/ICAO code:

  Acoustics / Acoustics

  Airline type:

  Full Service Carrier

  hub:

  London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport

  year established:

  1974

  alliance:

  a world

  Airline Group:

  International Airlines Group

  CEO:

  Sean Doyle

  nation:

  U.K.