Many airlines are currently affected by issues with the Trent 1000 engines offered on some Boeing 787 aircraft. One of these, British Airways, has been wet-leasing aircraft in order to avoid canceling flights. Now, their wet-lease agreements are set to be switched up slightly.

Despite not being the only airline affected by the ongoing issues, British Airways is currently wet-leasing aircraft to run on two routes. For a long time, this has focused around Air Belgium's Airbus A340. However, things are not set to change, with the A340 set to be replaced by Titan Airways' Airbus A321. This agreement, as well as another agreement with Evelop, is set to run until mid-January.

Why are airlines wet-leasing aircraft?

Airlines can wet-lease aircraft for any number of reasons. This could be to operate an additional one-off flight, to even launching an airline as is planned by fly pop. However, in the case of the Boeing 787, a number of the aircraft are grounded due to issues with the aircraft's Trent 1000 engines provided by Rolls Royce.

In order to avoid canceling flights, airlines have been wet-leasing aircraft to fill in the gaps created by aircraft on the ground. For example, we've seen Norwegian leasing Hi Fly's Airbus A380 several times.

British Airways Airbus A321neo London Cairo
A number of airlines have been affected by Trent 1000 problems. Photo: Tom Boon - Simple Flying

So what's happening at British Airways?

British Airways is very upfront and transparent about its flights replace by wet-leases. In fact, the airline has a whole web page dedicated to the topic, which explains that its current wet-lease agreements are due to run until mid-January 2020.

The airline has been wet-leasing Evelop's Airbus A330 for quite some time which has been operating on the route from London Gatwick to New York's JFK as BA2273 and BA2272. This agreement will continue until January 12th, 2020. However, should passengers not wish to fly on the Evelop aircraft, the airline is allowing them to swap to other New York-bound flights.

Heading to Cairo is the Air Belgium Airbus A340, operating BA155 and BA154. These Airbus A340 flights are set to continue departing London until the 6th of November. However, from the 7th of November, another wet-lease operator will take over. Titan Airways is a UK charter and wet-lease company based at Stansted Airport. Its livery will soon be seen at Heathrow, however, as British Airways will be utilising its services departing London between the 7th of November and the 12th of January.

Evelop Airlines, British Airways, Wet Lease, Trent 1000
British Airways is currently utilising an Evelop A330 for flights between London Gatwick and New York JFK. Photo: Evelop Airlines via Wikimedia

Simple Flying approached a British Airways representative who told us the following:

"We're doing everything we can to make sure our customers travel as planned, in light of continuing issues with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines which are affecting many airlines around the world. In order to fly as many customers as possible on their original dates of travel, we have leased an aircraft from Titan Airways and Evelop Airlines. We are in touch with customers who are affected to offer them a range of options if they don't wish to continue with their booking."

What is happening with the Trent 1000?

A month ago Simple Flying reported that Rolls Royce had delayed its timeline on solving the Trent 1000 engine crisis. In February, Rolls Royce said that 35 Boeing 787s with Trent 1000 engines were grounded, hoping to drop this number to 10 by the years' end. However, in September the engine manufacturer said: "We now expect the return to single-digit level of AOGs on the Trent 1000 to be delayed until Q2 2020."

Have you flown on a British Airways flight that has been operated by a wet-lease provider? Let us know how you found it in the comments.