British Airways has launched a string of new summer seasonal short-haul routes from London Heathrow.
BA will fly from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to Pristina, Kosovo on Saturdays from 4 July 2020 to 29 August 2020.
BA will fly from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to Podgorica, Montenegro on Saturdays from 4 July 2020 to 29 August 2020.
BA will fly from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to Perugia, Italy on Monday, Thursday and Saturdays from Thursday 2 July 2020 to Monday 31 August 2020.
BA will fly from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to both Bodrum and Dalaman, Turkey on Saturday from 23 May 2020 to 24 October 2020. BA already flies to Dalaman from Gatwick and has previously flown to Bodrum from Gatwick. BA has also previously announced a new summer seasonal route from London Gatwick to Antalya.
BA will also fly from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to Rhodes, Greece, complementing its existing service from London Gatwick. BA will also fly from London Gatwick to Corfu twice weekly from 1 May 2020 to 23 October 2020. This will complement BA’s existing summer seasonal service from Heathrow.
Flights will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft in a two class configuration with Club Europe business class and Euro Traveller configuration.
Here are the timings of the new Heathrow flights. Note there are differences between the official BA press release and BA’s online timetables. The times below are based on BA’s online timetables at the time of publication.
Also note that as these are new summer seasonal routes, the operating dates may be subject to change depending on their commercial performance.
London Heathrow Terminal 5A (Image Credit: Heathrow)
The Financial Times has reported that British Airways and the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) have agreed a new pay deal for BA pilots at the conciliation service ACAS.
This follows an overwhelming rejection of previous pay offers and two days of industrial action by BA pilots in September of this year.
According to the FT, the new deal includes an improved pay offer and improvements to pilot working conditions on matters such as rostering.
As is expected, BA will also reinstate staff travel concessions removed from BA pilots who took part in industrial action.
However, there does not appear to have been any significant movement on one of the most contentious issues in the dispute which was profit sharing. One of the key reasons for the rejection of previous offers was that BA pilots wanted a much improved pay offer with more significant profit sharing following the dramatic improvement in BA’s financial profitability over the past ten years.
The new deal will be subject to a ballot of BALPA members which a recommendation from BALPA that it should be accepted. This normally takes about four weeks, so the outcome of the result should be known before Christmas. Whether it will be accepted by BA pilots will only be known when the result is announced. However, this does remove the prospect of any further industrial action in the short term.
“Can Flying Go Green?” BBC Panorama, 11 November 2019 (Image Credit: BBC)
Welcome to our Monday Briefing for the week beginning 11 November 2019.
BBC Panorama “Can Flying Go Green?”
There’s a phrase in American politics “If you’re explaining, you’re losing”.
And that’s where aviation finds itself in the climate change debate. As a percentage of global CO2 emissions, the contribution of aviation is very low. However, it is very visible (and, for some, audible) contributor. For many, flying is seen as a superfluous indulgence.
That is, of course, not the case. You can only understand a country if you’ve visited it many times. A lot of business and public affairs simply has to be done face to face. No organisation would award a contract to a supplier they have never met in person. As trends on routes from London to Brussels and Paris have shown, travellers will gladly take the train when it’s demonstrably a better option.
A BBC Panorama investigation “Can Flying Go Green?” presented by the BBC’s Chief Environment Correspondent Justin Rowlatt to be shown on BBC One (UK) tonight at 20:30 GMT is expected to criticise airlines for practices such as “fuel tankering”. This is where airlines carry fuel for the inbound flight on an outbound flight. This is often done for operational reasons, where the security of fuel supply at an airport cannot be guaranteed, or simply for cost reasons. IAG indicated last week that it may end such practices.
There are, however, signs that the industry is starting to coalesce around a single goal. Qantas has today announced that it will join IAG in aiming to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Qantas will also take one step further and will cap its net emissions at 2020 levels. Qantas will offset all growth in emissions from domestic and international operations from next year.
IAG also indicated at its Capital Markets Day last Friday that it will review individual routes on the basis of their carbon emissions. It is hard see BA’s all business class route from London City to New York JFK surviving in the long term.
It’s also questionable whether airlines such as Virgin should continue to offer complimentary car transfers when public transport is a perfectly feasible option at many airports.
British Airways Lounge Johannesburg (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways has reopened its lounge at O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg following a six month refurbishment.
The lounge follows a similar design brief to recently refurbishment lounges at New York JFK and San Francisco.
As with the San Francisco lounge, the two former Club and First lounges have been combined into one, with a dedicated pre-flight dining area and a la carte menu for First Class passengers.
The lounge also features a centrepiece bar, a self-service food station with hot and cold food options. These include local specialities such as Indezi River cheese and Cape Malay curry. There is also a wide range of seating with at seat power.
Food options for First Class passengers in the dedicated pre-flight dining area include seasonal soups; ricotta and pea filled conchiglie; steak sandwich with mustard and basil relish; and chocolate brownies.
The lounge can be accessed by passengers travelling in Club World and First Class as well as Silver and Gold members of the Executive Club, and Oneworld alliance equivalents.
The last remaining lounge refurbishment project for this year is the Geneva lounge.
British Airways Airbus A350-1000 Club Suite (Image Credit: British Airways)
International Airlines Group, the parent company of British Airways, is holding its annual Capital Markets Day today, Friday 8 November 2019.
As part its presentation, IAG has published its first complete plan for the roll-out of its “Club Suite” to existing long-haul aircraft at London Heathrow.
British Airways Club Suite Roll-Out Plans (Image Credit: International Airlines Group)
This gives a flavour of when passengers can expect to see the Club Suite on Heathrow based long-haul aircraft.
Overall, BA plans to have the Club Suite on 100% of Heathrow long-haul aircraft by 2025. By this time, BA will have retired its last Boeing 747 aircraft.
More than 50% long-haul aircraft at London Heathrow should feature the Club Suite by the end of 2021. Nearly 80% of long-haul aircraft at London Heathrow should feature the Club Suite by the end of 2022.
The Club Suite On New Aircraft
As expected, the Club Suite will be available on new deliveries of long-haul aircraft.
4 new Boeing 777-300 aircraft, which will be delivered in 2020
12 Boeing 787-10 aircraft, 6 of which will be delivered in 2020
18 new Boeing 777-9 aircraft, 8 of which will be delivered in 2022
The Club Suite On Existing Aircraft
BA has already begun retrofitting the Club Suite to four class Boeing 777-200 aircraft.
From the slide, the priority is clearly to continue retrofitting the Club Suite to Boeing 777-200 aircraft throughout 2020 and 2021. It’s worth adding that at the same time BA will convert economy seats on these aircraft from 9 to 10 abreast. The Club Suite is expected to be on 16 Heathrow based Boeing 777-200 aircraft by the end of 2020.
BA will then retrofit the Club Suite to its 12 existing Boeing 777-300 aircraft from 2020/2021. The Club Suite is expected to be retrofitted to 3 Boeing 777-300 aircraft by the end of 2020.
It will also begin retrofitting the Club Suite to 12 Boeing 787-8 aircraft from 2021 and 18 Boeing 787-9 aircraft from 2022.
The last existing fleet type to be retrofitted with the Club Suite will be 12 Airbus A380 aircraft from 2023.
As expected, the Club Suite will not be retrofitted to Boeing 747 aircraft. The current plan remains to retire the last Boeing 747s by 2024. The current plan is to have 25, 20, and 12 aircraft in service by the end of 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.
These plans are of course subject to change according to the availability of seats from manufacturers and the ability to withdraw aircraft from service for refurbishment.
Economic and geopolitical events may also require BA to slow down capital expenditure or review its fleet plans in terms of new deliveries and the retirement of aircraft.
The Club Suite at London Gatwick
It should also be noted that this presentation is silent on whether the Club Suite will be retrofitted at Gatwick.
At the moment there appear to be no plans to do so.
BA Boeing 787 at British Airways Maintenance Cardiff (Image Credit: British Airways)
Disruption to British Airways flights due to additional checks required to the Rolls-Royce engines of its Boeing 787 fleet is to now continue well into 2020.
This means the airline will have been grappling with two years of disruption. BA has addressed this issue through wet leases of aircraft and tactical cancellations. These will now continue into the first quarter of 2020.
The latest update from Rolls-Royce in late September 2019 was that the number of “Aircraft On Ground” across all affected airlines should reach single digits by the second quarter of 2020.
Wet Leases
BA has wet leased aircraft from airlines to cover certain routes.
Air Belgium is currently operating London Heathrow – Cairo for BA (BA155 / BA154) with an Airbus A340 aircraft. This will continue until Wednesday 6 November 2019.
Titan Airways will then operate London Heathrow – Cairo from Thursday 7 November 2019 to Wednesday 12 January 2020 with a two class Airbus A321 aircraft. There is no equivalent cabin to Club World on this aircraft and Club World passengers will be downgraded to premium economy, with an appropriate refund of their fare. Club World passengers are also entitled to a full refund.
Envelop Airlines is currently operating London Gatwick – New York JFK (BA2273 / BA2272) until Sunday 12 January 2020. This is a two class Airbus A330 aircraft, with no premium economy cabin. All passengers have the option of rebooking on alternative BA services between London Heathrow and New York JFK. Also note, that American Airlines does not have regulatory approval to codeshare on BA routes operated by other airline on behalf of BA. Passengers who have booked on this route through American Airlines will need to rebook on to alternative services operated by either American or BA.
Tactical Cancellations
BA has also tactically cancelled some flights and routes. These are not flights necessarily operated with the 787 but have been cancelled to release aircraft for deployment elsewhere:
London Gatwick – New York JFK (BA2273 / BA2272) is cancelled from Tuesday 14 January 2020 to Monday 10 February 2020.
BA has also tactically cancelled selected return flights between London Heathrow and Abu Dhabi, Boston, Hong Kong, Muscat, New York JFK, Toronto Pearson and Washington Dulles.
As at Thursday 31 October 2019 around 16 return flights have been cancelled between mid January 2020 and mid March 2020. Ordinarily, we would publish a full list but the list produced for the travel trade doesn’t quite tally up to what timetables are showing on ba.com
If you are due to travel on an affected route, the best advice is to check the status of your booking using the Manage My Booking tool on ba.com. If your flight is cancelled you are entitled to a full refund or reaccomodation on alternative flights to, or near to, your intended destination.
British Airways Lounge Milan Linate Airport (Image Credit: British Airways)
Flights to Milan Linate airport have resumed today, Sunday 27 October 2019, following a period of closure due to runway maintenance works.
BA has taken the opportunity to use the period of closure to undertake a “refresh” of its lounge airport.
The refreshed lounge has now reopened with new furnishings with at seat power and improved complimentary catering.
British Airways Lounge Milan Linate Airport (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Lounge Milan Linate Airport (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways Lounge Milan Linate Airport (Image Credit: British Airways)Continue reading “British Airways Opens “Refreshed” Milan Linate Lounge”
London Heathrow Terminal 5A (Image Credit: Heathrow)
Sunday 27 October 2019 marks the beginning of the Winter 2019 travel season for airlines. This runs until Saturday 28 March 2020. Here are the main known schedule changes for British Airways at London Heathrow.
These are for indicative guidance and are subject to change according to commercial and operational requirements. Flights from Heathrow can booked at ba.com
London Heathrow Terminal Changes
Billund, Hanover, San Diego and Zagreb move from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3.
Luxembourg, Lyon and Phoenix move from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5.
New Long-Haul Routes
BA will fly to Dammam as an extension to its existing service to Bahrain from 1 December 2019. As a consequence of this, BA’s ground transfer service from Bahrain to Dammam (Sold as flight numbers BA8499/BA8498) will cease.
Boeing 787-10 Flights
British Airways will take delivery of its first Boeing 787-10 aircraft in January 2020.
BA has 12 787-10 aircraft on order, and six will be received in 2020. The first 787-10 route will be London Heathrow – Atlanta from an, as yet unconfirmed date, in February 2020.
Airbus A350-1000 Flights
BA’s Airbus A350-1000 aircraft are due to operate the following flights during the winter season:
Flights BA107/BA106 – London Heathrow – Dubai Flights BA93/BA92 – London Heathrow – Toronto Flights BA163/BA162 – London Heathrow – Tel Aviv (from Sunday 1 December 2019) Flights BA119/BA118 – London Heathrow – Bengaluru (from Wednesday 1 January 2020)
Airbus A380 Flights
Here are seasonal changes to routes operated with Airbus A380 aircraft:
Daily A380 flights to Boston (BA213/BA212) end on Sunday 27 October 2019. It is currently scheduled to return on Monday 30 March 2020.
Daily A380 flights to Chicago O’Hare (BA297/BA296) end on Friday 25 October 2019. It is currently scheduled to return on Sunday 29 March 2020.
On Saturday 26 October 2019, A380 flights to Hong Kong swap from BA31/BA32 to BA27/BA28.
BA switches to a twice daily A380 operation to Johannesburg (BA55 & BA54 / BA57 & BA56) from Sunday 27 October 2019.
BA resumes daily flights to Los Angeles on flights BA269/BA268 from Sunday 27 October 2019.
The A380 moves from a daily operation to San Francisco to Monday, Thursday & Saturday only on flights BA286 & BA287.
Daily A380 flights to Vancouver ended on Wednesday 30 September 2019. It is currently scheduled to return from Friday 1 May 2020.
The A380 returns to Washington Dulles daily from Sunday 27 October 2019 on flights BA217 & BA216 until Sunday 29 March 2020.
Other Long-Haul Changes
Beijing moves from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) to Beijing Daxing Airport (PKX) from 27 October 2019.
Cairo will continue to be operated by an Air Belgium Airbus A340 aircraft until Wednesday 6 November 2019. It will be then operated by a Titan Airways A321 aircraft until Wednesday 12 January 2020.
Calgary is suspended for the winter from Friday 25 October 2019. It will resume, initially three times weekly only, from Sunday 29 March 2020.
Charleston ends on Thursday 24 October 2019 and is currently scheduled to resume on Sunday 29 March 2019.
Muscat resumes for the winter from Wednesday 30 October 2019 and will operate, initially four times weekly, until 18 April 2020.
A long-run of Boeing 747 operations to Phoenix comes to an end as the route switches to a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
Suspended Short-Haul Routes
Gran Canaria is suspended from Sunday 3 November 2019. The route will continue to operate from Gatwick.
Kyiv and St Petersburg have been suspended on Thursday 3 October 2019.
Returning Winter Seasonal Routes
Grenoble resumes, on Saturdays only, from Saturday 14 December 2019 to Saturday 28 March 2020.
Innsbruck resumes on Friday 13 December 2019.
Three times weekly services to Marrakech resumed on 3 October 2019 until Saturday 25 April 2020.
Services to Salzburg resume, initially four times weekly, from Friday 13 December 2019 until Saturday 28 March 2020.
Sunday 27 October 2019 marks the beginning of the Winter 2019 travel season for airlines. This runs until Saturday 28 March 2020. Here are the main known schedule changes for British Airways at London Gatwick.
These are for indicative guidance and are subject to change according to commercial and operational requirements. Flights from Gatwick can booked at ba.com
Long-Haul Changes
Cape Town resumes for the winter, three times weekly, from Monday 11 November 2019 to Saturday 28 March 2020.
Cancun increases to five times weekly.
Fort Lauderdale has been suspended since Saturday 7 September 2019.
Lima is suspended for the winter from Friday 25 October 2019 until Sunday 29 March 2020.
Male resumes for the winter from Sunday 27 October 2019 to Friday 27 March 2020.
New York JFK will be operated by an Envelop Airlines Airbus A330 aircraft from Sunday 27 October 2019 to Sunday 12 January 2020. This is a two class aircraft, with no premium economy cabin. All passengers have the option of rebooking on alternative BA services between London Heathrow and New York JFK. The route will also be cancelled from Tuesday 14 January 2020 to Monday 10 February 2020.
Toronto has been suspended for the winter since Tuesday 24 September 2019 and is scheduled to resume from Friday 1 May 2020.
New Short-Haul Routes
BA has transferred its service to Gran Canaria from London Heathrow to Gatwick. It will initially operate three times weekly in the winter season on Monday, Friday and Saturday.
BA launched a new year-round route from Gatwick to Milan Bergamo on Sunday 1 September 2019.
Suspended Short-Haul Routes
The following winter seasonal routes will not return this year:
Friedrichshafen, Lyon
Returning Short-Haul Winter Seasonal Routes
The following routes return for the winter season:
Cologne returns from Friday 1 November 2019 to Friday 27 March 2020.
Geneva returns from Friday 13 December 2019 until Friday 10 April 2020 with increased frequency of 26 flights a week.
Grenoble returns from Saturday 14 December 2019 to Sunday 19 April 2020 with increased frequency of 4 flights a week.
Innsbruck returns from Sunday 8 December 2019 to Friday 24 April 2020 with a decreased frequency of 4 flights a week.
Nuremberg returns from Friday 29 November 2019 to Monday 6 January 2020.
Vienna returns from Sunday 27 October 2019 to Sunday 12 January 2020.
