British Airways Archives – Page 56 of 72

BA to introduce business class on UK domestic routes

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British Airways parent company, International Airlines Group, is holding its annual Capital Markets Day today, Friday 25 November 2016.

Whilst the event is very much aimed at the group’s institutional investors, there are also a number of announcements of interest to passengers.

One of which is that BA is to introduce the equivalent of its European short-haul business class product Club Europe on U.K. Domestic routes from London to Belfast, Manchester, Leeds-Bradford, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Inverness. Historically, aircraft on UK domestic routes have operated with a single class configuration.

This means passengers will benefit from seating in 2-2, rather than 3-3 configuration as well as complimentary food & drink (though this is likely to be limited given the relatively short flying times).

The exact timescale is to be revealed though it should be relatively easy to do given it doesn’t require any physical changes to aircraft.

This is no doubt a response to the decision to introduce buy-on-board catering in economy on all European and domestic short-haul flights and will ensure passengers in business and first class connecting from long-haul flights receive complimentary catering on their short-haul connections within the UK.

You can view the slide deck from the Capital Markets Day here.

Update: Club Europe will be available on UK domestic routes from Friday 31 March 2017. More details here.

New BA routes to Brindisi, Montpellier, Murcia, Nantes, Pula, Tallinn & Zakynthos

British Airways is operating summer seasonal routes from London Heathrow to Brindisi, Montpellier, Murcia, Nantes, Pula, Tallinn & Zakynthos

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

Over the past few years British Airways has steadily built up a large portfolio of seasonal summer routes from London Heathrow to sunshine destinations in Europe.

BA has today announced another tranche of seven new seasonal routes for the summer of 2017.

These are:

Montpellier, France (from 3 May 2017 – 30 September 2017)
Nantes, France (from 28 March 2017 – 28 October 2017)
Murcia, Spain (from 28 March 2017 – 28 October 2017)
Tallinn, Estonia (from 28 March 2017 – 28 October 2017)
Pula, Croatia (from 1 July 2017 – 30 September 2017)
Brindisi, Southern Italy (from 3 June 2017 – 30 September 2017)
The Greek Island of Zakynthos (from 3 June 2017 – 30 September 2017)

All of these routes will operate twice weekly on Saturdays and either Tuesday or Wednesday.

All flights will operate to and from London Heathrow Terminal 5, with the exception of Pula which will operate from Terminal 3.

Additional weekly frequencies may be announced in the coming months, depending on commercial demand.

A large number of seasonal routes operated in previous years, such as Ibiza, Corfu, Mykonos, and Palermo will also return in 2017.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

BA has also produced a short PDF document highlighting these new routes.

British Airways Launches London Gatwick – Oakland

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British Airways Boeing 777 at London Gatwick

British Airways has announced its third new transatlantic route in as many weeks with the launch of a four times weekly service from London Gatwick to Oakland California (Oakland International Airport) from 28 March 2017.

This follows the launch of Fort Lauderdale from London Gatwick and New Orleans from London Heathrow.

Flights will operate four times weekly (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) in the summer season and three times weekly in the winter season.

Flights will be operated with a three class Boeing 777 aircraft featuring Club World business class, World Traveller Plus premium economy, and World Traveller economy.

Oakland is BA’s fifth destination in California after San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose.

Like Fort Lauderdale, this route is also served by Norwegian from London Gatwick and there can be no doubt this is a competitive response to Norwegian’s growing network of long-haul routes to the USA at London Gatwick.

BA’s parent company, International Airlines Group, clearly sees Norwegian as a major competitor that requires a strategic competitive response. Further announcements may be made by both BA and other IAG group airlines such as Iberia and Aer Lingus in the coming weeks.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

London Gatwick – Oakland

Flight BA2279 Depart London Gatwick 10:20 – Arrive Oakland International Airport 13:15 (Monday, Thursday, Saturday)
Flight BA2279 Depart London Gatwick 11:25 – Arrive Oakland International Airport 14:20 (Tuesday)

Flight BA2278 Depart Oakland International Airport 15:05 – Arrive London Gatwick 09:25 (Monday, Thursday, Saturday)
Flight BA2278 Depart Oakland International Airport 16:10 – Arrive London Gatwick 10:30 (Tuesday)

British Airways Launches London Gatwick – Fort Lauderdale

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Fort Lauderdale Beach (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

British Airways is to launch a new route from London Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale (Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport) from 6 July 2017.

This is the second new transatlantic route announcement in as many weeks after BA announced a new route from London Heathrow to New Orleans last week.

It is also BA’s fourth destination in Florida after Miami, Orlando and Tampa.

Flights will operate three times weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) with additional flight on Sunday in the peak summer season (16 July – 3 September 2017).

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

BA is not for the first airline to fly to Fort Lauderdale from Gatwick as Norwegian have been flying the route for some time. Indeed, this is the second time BA has launched a new route to head-to-head with Norwegian at Gatwick, after reinstating flights from Gatwick to New York JFK.

This route will popular with tourists to South Florida and those taking cruises from the area.

It is also a potentially better gateway than Miami airport and should promise a smoother experience in US Customs & Immigration.

That said, BA’s Airbus A380 operated flights from London Heathrow to Miami will offer the option of First Class, newer World Traveller Plus and World Traveller seating, a more advanced in flight entertainment system and a more pleasant cabin environment. It will of course be possible to “mix and match” flights between different airports. Flights will also be codeshared with Aer Lingus, American Airlines, Finnair and Iberia.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

Here are links to the press releases from BA and Broward County Aviation Department.

London Gatwick – Fort Lauderdale

Flight BA2169 Depart London Gatwick 09:25 – Arrive Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport 13:45 (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 16 July – 3 September 2017)

Flight BA2168 Depart Fort Lauderdale 17:00 – Arrive London Gatwick 06:30 (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 16 July – 3 September 2017)

BA to launch London Heathrow – New Orleans from 27 March 2017

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British Airways Boeing 787-8 (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways is to launch a new direct route from London Heathrow to New Orleans in Louisiana (Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport) from Monday 27 March 2017.

This will be the only direct scheduled flight from New Orleans to London.

Flights will be operated from London Heathrow Terminal 5 using a three class Boeing 787 aircraft (Club World Business Class, World Traveller Plus Premium Economy and World Traveller Economy).

Flights will intially operate four times weekly on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. However, we would not be surprised to see the route upgraded to a daily service in the future.

New Orleans is the third transatlantic route to be launched by BA from London Heathrow using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, after Austin and San Jose, California.

The prospects of success for the route are strong. New Orleans is a popular tourist destination (notably for its Mardi Gras) as well as a popular choice for conventions.

Further transatlantic route announcements from BA are likely to come (albeit at a steady pace). And BA is likely to continue the trend of launching routes from cities that are not served by direct flights to London and/or Europe.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

BA has also produced a short PDF brochure for the new route.

London Heathrow – New Orleans

Flight BA225 Depart London Heathrow 15:40 – Arrive New Orleans 19:40

Flight BA224 Depart New Orleans 21:10 – Arrive London Heathrow 12:00

BA to suspend London Heathrow – Chengdu from 12 January 2017

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British Airways has confirmed it is to suspend its London Heathrow – Chengdu route from Tuesday 12 January 2017.

The last outbound flight from London Heathrow (Flight BA88) will operate on Tuesday 12 January, and the last inbound flight to London Heathrow (Flight BA89) will operate on Wednesday 13 January.

Whilst airlines regularly review their route networks and suspend under-performing routes and it has been known for some time that the Chengdu route is underperforming, the announcement is significant.
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BA to introduce Buy On Board catering on Heathrow & Gatwick short-haul routes from 11 January 2017

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After months of speculation and rumour, British Airways has today confirmed it is to introduce Buy On Board catering all U.K. Domestic and EuroTraveller economy routes from 11 January 2017.

The menu will be supplied by Marks & Spencer.

This will replace all complimentary food & drink in these cabins.

Food & drink can only be paid for by debit or credit card or the Executive Club frequent flyer currency Avios via the BA app. Cash will not be accepted.

At present, only cold items are for sale. No hot items will be available for sale.

Food & drink remains complimentary in Club Europe business class and on long-haul flights. In addition, Buy On Board will not be introduced at London City and London Stansted until the summer of 2017. BA also promises to revamp its Ckub Europe catering in the spring of 2017.

We’re fairly sanguine about these changes. Anyone who has flown BA over the years could not fail to notice the diminishing complimentary offer and the inconsistencies between London Heathrow & Gatwick flights.

That said, the removal of complimentary alcoholic drinks and breakfast on early morning flights is unlikely to be popular.

In addition, it is perhaps surprising that BA does not offer complimentary items for passengers travelling on the most expensive fares or those with Silver/Gold frequent flyer status.

You can be confident that customer feedback will be monitored closely and, after the changes are introduced, we would encourage any feedback (positive and negative) to be made known.

Full details are available in the BA press release and on ba.com

BA and Qatar Airways to establish joint-venture

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

British Airways and Qatar Airways have today announced the formation of a joint-venture on the airlines’ respective flights to UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia via their respective hubs in Doha and London Heathrow.

The joint-venture will take effect from 30 October 2016.

The two airlines will codeshare on all their respective flights between the UK and Doha. This will include Qatar Airways operated flights from both London Heathrow and UK regional airports (Birmingham, Edinburgh and Manchester).

Qatar Airways will codeshare on selected British Airways operated flights from London Heathrow to the UK and mainland Europe.

British Airways will codeshare on selected Qatar Airways routes from Doha to the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

These routes include Colombo, Ho Chi Minh City, Multan, Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Denpasar Bali, Addis Ababa, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam, Basra, Baghdad, Khartoum, Sulaimaniyah, Kilimanjaro, Al Najaf, Dhaka, and Djibouti.

There appear to be some exclusions.

For example, Qatar Airways flights to Australia (which BA serves with its own aircraft and codeshares with Qantas Airways and Cathay Pactific) are not mentioned. Nor are BA flights to North America included, where the growth of Middle Eastern airlines has been politically contentious.

Qatar Airways will not codeshare on British Airways routes from London Heathrow to the UK and mainland Europe which it serves directly from Doha.

Similarly, British Airways will not codeshare on Qatar Airways routes from Doha which it serves directly from London Heathrow.

The two airlines will also seek to co-ordinate schedules and fare pricing.

BA and Qatar have been working more closely in recent years. However, codesharing has been limited to a small number of routes and has not been helped by the fact that, until the end of October, BA flies to Doha via Bahrain and its flights were not well timed for onward connections. BA will fly to Doha non-stop from 30 October 2016.

For BA, this deal enlarges its route network to cover a number of destinations it does not serve from London Heathrow such as routes it has withdrawn from in Pakistan and Africa. Qatar Airways gains access to BA’s distribution network and frequent flyer base in the UK to help it compete more effectively against Etihad Airways and Emirates.

Qatar Airways now owns 20% of BA’s parent company International Airlines Group. Qatar Airways has also announced a codeshare arrangement with fellow IAG member airline Vueling.

More details are available in the IAG press release and codeshare flights are on sale now at ba.com

BA to open dedicated First Class security channel at Terminal 5

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British Airways First Wing, London Heathrow Terminal 5 (Opens April 2017)

Ever since Terminal 5 opened at London Heathrow in March 2008 a familiar complaint has been the circuitous route passengers have to take from the South Security area (via an often crowded set of escalators and past numerous shops and restaurants) to the Galleries South lounge complex.

This is in spite of the fact that the lounges are immediately adjacent to the security area!

Indeed, only passengers with access to the Concorde Room lounge (First Class passengers and Concorde Room card holders) have the privilege of avoiding this via a special door (once rumoured to have cost BA many millions of pounds).

Next April, some nine years after Terminal 5 opened, all this will change for passengers travelling in First Class and British Airways Executive Club Gold card holders (and Emerald members of Oneworld frequent flyer programmes) who will have access to a dedicated security channel near to the existing First Class check-in area at the south end of the terminal. This security channel will also provide direct access to the Galleries First lounge.

BA is confident that this new security channel will also reduce queuing at the existing North & South security zones.

It is obviously encouraging to see investment to improve the experience for passengers at Terminal 5, particularly when so many other airlines are investing in their ground experience at London Heathrow. BA has released some computer generated images to preview the new area which are below.
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BA delays launch of London Heathrow – Tehran to Thursday 1 September 2016

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British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has delayed the relaunch of its route from London Heathrow to Tehran, Iran from Thursday 14 July to Thursday 1 September 2016.

No specific reason has been given for the delay. However, we surmise that the delay is either due to a shortage of suitable long-haul aircraft or operational and regulatory delays in establishing operations in Tehran.

Affected passengers have the option of an indirect reroute on the following airlines: Lufthansa (via Frankfurt/Munich), Alitalia (via Rome Fiumicino), Turkish Airlines (via Istanbul), or Aegean Airlines (via Athens). Connections to the aforementioned airlines flights will be via British Airways operated flights from London Heathrow.

BA has also revised its schedule for London Heathrow – Tehran which is now as follows:

London Heathow – Tehran

Flight BA153 Depart London Heathrow 20:30 – Arrive Tehran 05:45 (Daily, except Sundays)

Tehran – London Heathrow

Flight BA152 Depart Tehran 08:35 – Arrive London Heathrow 11:10 (Daily, except Mondays)

(Timetable is indicative and may vary by season.)