British Airways to launch renovated A380 with fewer seats

British Airways expects its first renovated A380 to enter service in the coming months, with the cabin reconfiguration reducing the total seat count by 11% from 469 to 417 seats.

The seat reduction is focused on economy, which will fall by about 30% to 215 seats, and the airline’s CEO Sean Doyle described the upgrade as the largest single investment ever made by an airline to reconfigure an aircraft; BA remains an exception as rivals retire A380s, citing Heathrow slot limits that hinder replacing the superjumbo with smaller jets.