London Air Travel

BA suspends London Gatwick – Las Vegas from Sunday 25 April 2016

London Gatwick Airfield (Image Credit: London Gatwick Airport)

Launched in late 2009 when the airline was still reeling from the impact of the global financial crisis, British Airways’ daily service from London Heathrow to Las Vegas was an instant success with capacity quickly added through an aircraft upgrade and, more recently an additional three times weekly service from London Gatwick.

The service from London Gatwick has now been suspended, with the last return flight operating on Sunday 25 April 2016. BA will continue to fly to Vegas at least once a day from London Heathrow.

Ostensibly, the route suspension is to allow the airline to launch a flight from London Gatwick to New York JFK from Sunday 1 May 2016.

Affected passengers should receive a notice of cancellation shortly and passengers will be accommodated on BA’s service from London Heathrow which operates up to 11 times weekly.

Aer Lingus returns to Los Angeles & Newark, launches Hartford

London Air Travel » Page 76

As was widely tipped online, Aer Lingus has today announced it is to return to Los Angeles and Newark airports next year, and launch a new direct route from Dublin to Bradley International Airport in Hartford County, Connecticut. The latter route will be the sole transatlantic route from the airport.

Aer Lingus will fly five times a week to Los Angeles from Sunday 1 May 2016, and daily to Newark from Thursday 1 September 2016. Both routes will be operated by A330 aircraft. Flights for these routes are on sale now at AerLingus.com

Aer Lingus will also fly daily to Bradley International Airport from September 2016 and flights for this route are expected to go on sale 3 November. This route will be operated by a Boeing 757 aircraft.
Continue reading “Aer Lingus returns to Los Angeles & Newark, launches Hartford”

Qatar Airways opens up London-Doha-Adelaide from 2 May 2016

London Air Travel » Page 76

Qatar Airways Logo (Credit: Qatar Airways)

Just a couple of weeks after Qatar Airways announced that it is to fly from Doha to Sydney the airline continues its expansion in the Australia market, the with the launch of a daily flight from Doha to Adelaide from Monday 2 May 2016.

This is Qatar Airways’ fourth destination in Australia after (as mentioned above) Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Qatar will fly to Adelaide using its latest Airbus A350 aircraft, operating in a two class (business and economy) configuration.

The aircraft comprises 36 seats in business class in a 1-2-1 configuration, featuring 80″ fully-flat beds and 17″ HD in-flight entertainment screens, and 247 seats in economy, each 18-inches wide in a 3-3-3 configuration, with up to a 32″ pitch. Each individual economy seat features a 10.6″ in-flight entertainment screen. Wi-Fi is also available in all classes.

Flight QR 914 Depart Doha 20:55 – Arrive Adelaide 16:20
Flight QR 915 Depart Adelaide 21:30 – Arrive Doha 04:50

As Qatar Airways is a member of the Oneworld alliance, members of other Oneworld alliance frequent flyer programmes will be able to earn and redeem frequent flyer miles on this route.

BA reinstates London Gatwick – New York JFK from Sunday 1 May 2016

London Air Travel » Page 76

New York Skyline (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

British Airways is to relaunch a daily service from London Gatwick to New York JFK from Sunday 1 May 2016.

The airline last flew between the two airports for a short period in 2008-2009 and the service was then ostensibly a “slot-sitting” exercise pending the launch of BA’s London City – New York JFK service.

The route will be operated with a three class Boeing 777-200 aircraft with Club World business class, World Traveller Plus premium economy and World Traveller economy cabins.

BA will be competing head on against Norwegian Air Shuttle which has a growing transatlantic network at London Gatwick including routes such as Boston, Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles.

The flight is being accommodated by the cancellation of BA’s thrice weekly London Gatwick – Las Vegas service and frequency adjustments on other routes.

The route will also be bookable as a codeshare with American Airlines, Iberia and Finnair.

Passsengers should also be aware that from January 2016 BA will have limited lounge facilities at Gatwick as its lounges will be closed pending its move to the South terminal in November 2016.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

London Gatwick – New York JFK

Flight BA2273 Depart London Gatwick 16:40 – Arrive New York JFK 19:30

Flight BA2272 Depart New York JFK 22:00 – Arrive London Gatwick 10:00

BA launches seasonal routes from Heathrow to Biarritz, Menorca & Palermo

British Airways is to operate summer seasonal routes from London Heathrow to Biarritz, Menorca and Palmermo

London Air Travel » Page 76

British Airways Short Haul Economy Cabin (Credit: British Airways)

British Airways continues its successful strategy of summer seasonal routes from London Heathrow with the launch of there new routes from 2016: Biarritz in South West France, Mahon on the island of Menorca and Palermo, the capital of Sciliy.

The airline will fly two times a week to Biarritz from Sunday 1 May, four times a week to Menorca from Friday 29 April 2016 and two times a week to Palermo from Saturday 30 April 2016.

All flights will depart from London Heathrow Terminal 5. Flights are on sale now at ba.com

London Heathrow – Biarritz (Biarritz Pay-Basque airport)

BA0382 Depart London Heathrow 16:25 – Arrive Biarritz 19:15 (Wednesday & Sunday)

BA0383 Depart Biarritz 20:10 – Arrive London Heathrow 21:00 (Sunday)
BA0383 Depart Biarritz 20:15 – Arrive London Heathrow 21:05 (Wednesday)

London Heathrow – Menorca (Mahon airport)

BA0494 Depart London Heathrow 16:10 – Arrive Menorca 19:30 (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday)

BA0495 Depart Menorca 20:20 – Arrive London Heathrow 21:50 (Monday, Friday, Saturday)
BA0495 Depart Menorca 20:25 – Arrive London Heathrow 21:55 (Wednesday)

London Heathrow – Palermo (Palermo International Airport)

BA0610 Depart London Heathrow 15:15 – Arrive Palermo 19:10 (Saturday)
BA0610 Depart London Heathrow 15:20 Arrive Palermo 19:15 (Tuesday)

BA0611 Depart Palermo 19:55 – Arrive London Heathrow 21:55 (Saturday)
BA0611 Depart Palermo 20:00 – Arrive London Heathrow 22:00 (Tuesday)

BA launches seasonal London City – Bergerac from May 2016

London Air Travel » Page 76

BA CityFlyer Embraer at London City Airport

British Airways is to launch a new summer seasonal route from London City airport to Bergerac from Sunday 1 May 2016.

The route will initially operate to Bergerac airport three times a week (Monday, Friday, and Sunday), increasing to four times a week between Thursday 23 June to Thursday 1 September 2016.

As is par the course for seasonal London City routes flight times vary by day, but broadly speaking flights leave London City mid-morning and return from Bergerac early afternoon.

The route will be operated by a combination of Embraer aircraft owned by British Airways and a Saab 2000 aircraft which is operated under a “wet lease” by Eastern Airways.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com.

Finnair launches Helsinki to Fukuoka & Guangzhou from May 2016

London Air Travel » Page 76

Finnair continues its strategy of making its Helsinki hub the gateway to Asia with the launch of two new routes, to Fukuoka and Guangzhou.

Finnair will launch a direct route from Helskini to Fukuoka in southern Japan in May 2016, with three weekly flights.

The service to Fukuoka makes Finnair the only European airline to fly to four cities in Japan, the others being Tokyo Narita, Nagoya and Osaka.

Finnair will launch a direct route to Guangzhou in China with four weekly flights between 6 May and 29 October 2016.

Guangzhou is Finnair’s sixth destination in Greater China. Finnair has year-round services to Beijing, Chongqing, Hong Kong and Shanghai, and a summer seasonal service to Xi’an.

Both destinations will be served with Finnair’s Airbus A330 aircraft, in a two class (economy and business) and configuration.

Finnair’s flight to Fukuoka will be part of the British Airways, Finnair and Japan Airlines joint-venture, and passengers of the respective airlines will be able to book this flight, and onward connections.

Flights are now open for booking at Finnair.com

Timetable:

Flight AY67 Depart Helsinki 17:00 – Arrive Guangzhou 07:30 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday)
Flight AY68 Depart Guangzhou 10:00 – Arrive Helsinki 15:00 (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday)

Flight AY75 Depart Helsinki 16:30 – Arrive Fukuoka 08:00 (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)
Flight AY76 Depart Fukuoka 09:30 – Arrive Helsinki (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday)

The founders of Monocle debut the “Kioskafé” at London Paddington

London Air Travel » Page 76

Kioskafe, Paddington, London (Image Credit: London Air Travel) — Kioskafé, Paddington, London (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

Readers of Tyler Brûlé’s column in the weekend edition of the Financial Times, which for the uninitiated documents the travails of a life spent jet-setting around the globe, will know that a frequent target is the poor state of newspaper and magazine retailing in the UK.

One target has long been WH Smith. Specifically, its poorly lit and understaffed shops, the ill-targeted special offers, the self-scan check-outs and, in the case of its Heathrow branches, its parochial selection of newspapers and magazines.

Tyler Brûlé is not someone who isn’t afraid to put his money where his mouth is, nor to challenge convention.

Having long argued that print media is not dead, in 2007 Tyler Brûlé founded the magazine Monocle. As well as being a commercial and editorial success it eschews social media, does not carry out any research, charges more than the magazine cover price for a subscription and double the cover price for back issues.

Monocle has since extended its reach to shops, a cafe at 18 Chiltern Street London, and a 24 hour radio station, Monocle 24.

Tyler Brûlé is also the founder of the design agency Winkreative which designed the original brand identity of Swiss International Airlines, Porter Airlines, the cabin interior of British Airways Club World on Boeing 747-400 and 777-200 aircraft and the recently launched Union Pearson Express in Toronto.

The Kioskafe

The latest venture from Winkreative’s parent company, is the Kioskafé which opened in the past week at 31 Norfolk Place, opposite the Frontline Club and a short walk from London Paddington railway and Underground stations.
Continue reading “The founders of Monocle debut the “Kioskafé” at London Paddington”

Qatar Airways opens up London-Doha-Sydney from 1 March 2016

London Air Travel » Page 76

Qatar Airways aircraft in Oneworld livery (Image Credit: Oneworld)

If there’s one route from London where travellers have an unrivalled choice of routes and airlines, it has to be London – Sydney.

Sydney is a destination that cannot be reached non-stop from London requiring a stop-over en route (hence the name the “The Kangaroo Route”).

Not long ago, it was typically a choice of a stop-over in Singapore or Bangkok. Now there is not only a vast choice of stop-overs in Asia, but also the Middle East with Emirates in particular soaking up significant volumes of traffic between Europe and Australia.

Qatar Airways is one of the Middle Eastern airlines that, to date, has not served Sydney. However, a relaxation of the bilateral treaty that governs flights between Qatar and Australia has allowed Qatar Airways to launch a new route from Doha to Sydney from Tuesday 1 March 2016.

Flights will be operated with a two class Boeing 777 aircraft and are well timed for connections to and from London Heathrow. The early evening arrival in Sydney will be welcome to those who prefer to avoid an early morning arrival.

Flight QR908 Depart Doha 20:10 – Arrive Sydney 18:05
Flight QR909 Depart Sydney 22:20 – Arrive Doha 05:05
Continue reading “Qatar Airways opens up London-Doha-Sydney from 1 March 2016”

BA Gatwick lounges to close permanently in January 2016

London Air Travel » Page 76

British Airways’ Galleries Club and First lounges in the North Terminal of London Gatwick airport are to close permanently in January 2016.

This move is to allow the redevelopment of the North Terminal which will see easyJet consolidate its London Gatwick operations in the North Terminal and British Airways move to the South Terminal in November 2016.

In the interim, BA passengers will have access to the No 1 lounge. However details are scant as to what specific lounge amenities will be available on a complimentary basis to BA Club and First passengers.

BA has assured that a new lounge complex will be built in the South terminal. However, again, details are scant as to the format of the lounges and specifically whether there will be a dedicated First lounge for First Class passengers and Executive Club Gold cardholders, as is present in the North terminal.