Where Has British Airways Been Flying Its 'BA Better World' Airbus A320neo?

British Airways

IATA/ICAO Code:

BA/BAW

Airline Type:

Full Service Carrier

Hub(s):

London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport

Year Founded:

1974

Alliance:

oneworld

Airline Group:

IAG

CEO:

Sean Doyle

Country:

United Kingdom

Last September, British Airways revealed the sustainability-themed livery it had chosen to apply to one of its Airbus A320neos. This marked the launch of the UK flag carrier's latest sustainability program, which is known as 'BA Better World.' Now, more than nine months later, let's look at where it has been flying.

The aircraft in question

Let's start by quickly establishing the exact nature of the aircraft that British Airways chose for the special livery. It bears the registration G-TTNA and was the first Airbus A320neo to be delivered to the UK flag carrier. Data from ch-aviation.com shows that it joined the carrier just over four years ago, in April 2018.

This makes it slightly older than average among British Airways' wider A320neo fleet, as its 17 examples of the type have an average age of just 2.9 years old. At the time of its last measurement, in April this year, G-TTNA had racked up 8,659 flight hours across 4,437 cycles, giving an average cycle length of just under two hours.

The aircraft is fitted with 180 economy class seats, although not all of these are used, as British Airways blocks the middle seats for its business class passengers. However, by implementing this tactic, rather than a US-style 2-2 premium cabin, it can configure the aircraft with greater flexibility, depending on the demand for its 'Club Europe' section. Simple Flying reviewed this product in April.

G-TTNA is just over four years old. Photo: Airbus

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The aircraft's most common routes

So, whereabouts has British Airways been flying this uniquely-liveried narrowbody? While it is unsurprising that BA's London Heathrow hub is by far G-TTNA's most-visited airport, another UK destination ranks next highest on the list. RadarBox.com shows that it has flown to Glasgow 83 times in the last year.

From a short domestic hop, the aircraft's following three most-visited destinations are considerably further away, ranking among some of BA's most distant short-haul destinations. These are the holiday islands of Cyprus (Larnaca, 54 visits in 12 months), Madeira (Funchal, 53 stops), and Tenerife (South Airport, 50 visits).

Moving below 50 visits in the last 12 months, we have European destinations a little close to home, including Geneva (46), Athens (40), and Milan Linate (36). Sandwiched between these are two other UK domestic destinations, Edinburgh (42) and Manchester (41). Ranking 10th (excluding Heathrow) for most visits by G-TTNA is Jordan's Amman Queen Alia International (33).

Glasgow is comfortably G-TTNA's most-visited destination away from London Heathrow. Photo: Jake Hardiman | Simple Flying

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Usage trends

Looking at more general trends, May was a busy month for G-TTNA, with the aircraft racking up 270.1 hours across 115 flights (per RadarBox.com data). This equated to nine hours of usage a day, with its average flight time being 2.3 hours and the mean distance clocking in at 815 nautical miles (938 miles / 1,509 kilometers).

This represents greater average daily usage than the past 12 months, where the annual mean figure came to 7.9 hours of flying time per day. This period saw G-TTNA rack up 2,574.8 flight hours across 1,071 flights. Interestingly, the former is higher than its lifetime annual average (per ch-aviation) of 2,097.2 hours a year, but the latter ranks lower (vs. 1,075 average annual cycles).

What do you make of G-TTNA's most common routes? Have you ever flown on the aircraft, perhaps to one of the destinations mentioned? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!