A330s | 2003-2008

(TOP)
Airline - British International
Aircraft - Airbus A330-300 | G-BGEM
Delivered British International, 2005
Livery - Standard 2002
Country - Great Britain

(MIDDLE)
Airline - British International
Aircraft - Airbus A321-200 | G-MFBJ
Delivered to AerCap, 2003
Leased to British International, 2003
Sold to British International, 2003
Livery - Standard 2002
Country - Great Britain

(BOTTOM)
Airline - British International
Aircraft - Airbus A330-200 | G-BGDH
Delivered British International, 2009
Livery - Standard 2002
Country - Great Britain

As mentioned previously, British International took delivery of its first Airbus A330-300 in 2003. The -300 pictured, above - G-BGEM - was the 13th delivered to the airline, joining the fleet in 2005. All the A330-300s were delivered with a new generation of Business Class seats, which were beloved by passengers. These were the very first iteration of staggered four-abreast seats, based on a licensed version of a Thompson Aerospace prototype seat which would eventually become the Thompson Vantage XL (these have already been shown in a previous upload, as retrofitted to the airline's 747-400s). These seats were not the first fully-flat beds in Business, however they provided revolutionary bed length and width, as well as privacy and storage. The A330-300s were delivered with 32 of these seats, as well as 32 Premium Economy (basically extended legroom) seats and seating for 209 Economy passengers, for a total capacity of 273.

In early 2008, British International retrofitted the newest four of its twelve A321s into a long-haul configuration, with 33" seat pitch throughout Economy, in-seat IFE, and a lie-flat Business Class product. This was not the same Business Class as installed on the 747s and A330-300s - rather it was a much more modern (but slightly more cramped) Thompson Vantage seats in a staggered three-abreast configuration. The retrofit also added two extra lavatories to the Economy Class cabin. The retrofitted A321s included fifteen Business Class and 138 Economy seats, for a total capacity of 153 passengers (less than British International's short-haul A320s). These aircraft were used for medium-to-long-haul flights that warranted long-haul seats and service but did not have enough demand to sustain a widebody either year-round or on more than one daily frequency - routes like Amman, Beirut, Cairo, Larnaca, Moscow, Muscat, and Ras Al Qua. The aircraft shown here is G-MFBJ, the tenth A321 to join the fleet and the second to be reconfigured. It remains in service to this day.

Also in 2008, the carrier took delivery of its first A330-200. In a surprising twist, it was not configured with the airline's original staggered Business Class product, instead opting for the same Thompson Vantage installed on the reconfigured A321s. The reasoning behind this was that while the 2-1-2/1-2-1 staggered configuration on the A330-200 lacked direct aisle access from every seat, it made up for this fact by being five years more modern than the original 2003 Business Class on the A330-300. The -200s featured almost as many seats in Business - 31, to be precise - as the -300s despite their smaller size because of the denser configuration. They were also equipped with 32 Premium Economy and 177 Economy seats, for a total capacity of 240. Just like the A330-300s and the 747-400s, they also featured an on-board bar.

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