In a new system update, it was observed that British Airways will increase seat capacity by 21.7% on its flights from London/Heathrow (LHR) to Buenos Aires/Ezeiza (EZE) and Rio de Janeiro/Galeao (GIG) by replacing its current Boeing 777-200 (ER) operations with Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.
According to the reservation system and the Cirium platform, the change will take effect on October 28, 2024, and will be maintained throughout 2025. It is worth noting that since last November, British Airways has stopped operating separately to Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro from Heathrow and now operates these routes jointly.
This new change also marks the return of the Airbus A350-1000 to Buenos Aires (which operated between 2021 and March 2023) and the first time it will fly to Rio de Janeiro. This aircraft features the newest cabin in British Airways’ long-haul fleet and is configured with 331 seats divided into 56 Club Suites (Business Class), 56 World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy), and 219 in World Traveller (Economy).
This cabin offers an increase of 8 additional seats in Club Suites, 16 in Premium Economy, and 35 in Economy compared to the current Boeing 777-200 (ER) operations.
The current daily flights and schedules will be maintained, providing a capacity of 4,634 seats per week on each route.
British Airways flight schedule
- London – Rio de Janeiro flight BA 249 LHR 22:10 – 07:05 GIG / daily.
- Rio de Janeiro – Buenos Aires flight BA 249 GIG 08:35 – 11:40 EZE / daily.
- Buenos Aires – Rio de Janeiro flight BA 248 EZE 13:30 – 16:25 GIG / daily.
- Rio de Janeiro – London flight BA 248 GIG 17:55 – 08:10 LHR / daily.
According to ANAC Brazil and Argentina, during the first quarter of 2024, British Airways transported 58,944 passengers between London, Rio de Janeiro, and Buenos Aires, with an average load factor of 85%, broken down as follows:
- London – Rio de Janeiro: 23,850 passengers
- London – Buenos Aires: 18,313 passengers
- Rio de Janeiro – Buenos Aires: 16,781 passengers
