British Airways’ Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 fleets are performing ahead of expectations, the airline’s parent group has disclosed.

The carrier operates four A380s, with another eight on order, and has taken four 787s from a total commitment to 42.

Parent company IAG’s chief executive, Willie Walsh, speaking during a full-year results presentation, said the aircraft were performing “in line, if not slightly better, than we would have expected”.

Walsh says technical reliability is ahead of expectations and the company has experienced a “significant reduction of seat costs” with the A380 compared with its Boeing 747-400s.

The carrier has been able to secure additional slot flexibility by introducing the A380 onto the Los Angeles route, where it had previously operated three 747s, and has benefited from a slight increase in premium capacity.

Walsh says the airline is seeing a similar effect on the Hong Kong route where it is substituting an A380 and Boeing 777 for two 747s.

Source: Cirium Dashboard