Extra BA/BAW Flight to PHX

[jetsflier 87]

Recently, an extra B744 has been flying to Phoenix. Last month, on what I think I remember was the first Wednesday of the month, a British Airways 747-400 flew over at around 2:30PM. Here in Phoenix the scheduled landing is at around 5:15, so when I got home I looked at flightaware and saw an extra flight had been taken. This flight then left about 10 minutes before the "Scheduled" B744 landed.

 

However, yesterday, the first Wednesday in June, this occurred once again. This aircraft flew in under the number BA/BAW9069, and left on BA/BAW9068. This flight again landed around 2:45PM and departed around 5:00PM. 

 

Does anybody know any reason this flight can be taken, I can't seem to book a seat on that flight through BA's website, it's not even listed. Is this aircraft filled with passengers? And even if it was, why a once-a-month scheduled flight, that definitely doesn't gain a BOATLOAD of extra customers here.

 

Sorry for the lengthy post, but being able to see the biggest plane that lands here in PHX is great, especially twice in a day

[Cessnaflyer 56]

Did the normally scheduled flight fly?

 

We would have those flights once every month because there was something happening that a lot of people needed to go somewhere. Might be the same thing happening.

[tf51d 284]

Looks like the flight BAW 9608 comes in once a month. Flightaware shows it coming in Apr 3, May 4, and June 5. Sounds like some kind of a charter flight to me.

[Tabs 2,790]

That's odd - I live just a couple miles from KPHX and I've never noticed the one in the middle of the day coming in.

[jetsflier 87]

Interesting. I've seen visually both flights on approach to RWY26 and I verified with flightaware that they were "extra" flights.

 

I really wonder why this is happening, once would make sense, it could be a charter or some other special flight. But then, doing it once more, and it "seemingly" follows a pattern, there's something going on.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

Here would be your answer:

 

June 5, 2013 - British Airways Boeing 747-436 G-BNLJ operated yesterday’s delayed BA289/BA288 London Heathrow – Phoenix rotation this afternoon as BA9608/BA9609.

 

http://www.thebasource.com/british-airways-b747-400-g-bnlj-operates-delayed-ba289/

[jetsflier 87]

Then why exactly would BA289 still operate on that day? I do remember seeing this on flightaware though. I don't understand that if the flight is delayed, they get an entire new equipment for the flight, and then later, still fly the original equipment. Was the second plane empty, since all of the other passengers are on BA9609?