British Airways has announced it is to introduce a series of improvements to in flight catering in World Traveller economy and Club World business class.
The improvements to World Traveller include an improved main meal tray with a better starter. Cheese and biscuits will also be added on most outbound flights from London Heathrow and London Gatwick (except flights to India, Japan and Korea).
Continue reading “BA introduces catering improvements to World Traveller & Club World”
There has been much interest following an announcement by the US Department for Homeland Security that it is exploring adding US pre-clearance facilities at 10 new airports worldwide.
These airports include London Heathrow and Manchester airport.
Dublin and Shannon airports are the only in Europe to have US pre-clearance facilities and is a key reason behind International Airlines Group’s bid for Aer Lingus.
Put simply, the benefit of pre-clearance is that passengers clear US customs and immigration at a dedicated facility before boarding the aircraft.
On arrival in the US, the flight is treated in the same way as a domestic flight would and passengers can disembark the aircraft and immediately make their way out of the airport, with no further checks.
Anyone who has experienced immigration queues at the likes of New York JFK and Miami airports can testify to the benefits for passengers.
We hope so. However, there are some challenges.
Currently, transatlantic flights depart from four different terminals (Terminal 2 for United, Terminal 3 for American Airlines, Delta and Virgin Altantic, Terminal 4 for Delta, and Terminal 5 for British Airways).
It would not be feasible, nor desired on the part of the airlines, for all transatlantic flights to depart from one terminal, so each terminal would require its own pre-clearance facilities.
Any attempt to limit pre-clearance facilities to one terminal at London Heathrow is likely to be strongly resisted by those airlines whose passengers would not benefit from pre-clearance.
There is also the amount of available space for pre-clearance facilities. The transatlantic market is by far Heathrow’s biggest long-haul market. There are nearly 30 flights a day from London Heathrow to New York alone. Any facility will have to be of a considerable size to be worthwhile for passengers and compatible with efficient airport operations.
Heathrow airport also receives considerable income from letting terminal space to retailers and is likely to want to be compensated for any loss of income as a result of retail space being sacrificed to make way for pre-clearance facilities. Any attempt by Heathrow airport to be compensated through higher charges to airlines is likely to be strongly resisted by them.
So, many challenges and given the amount of work involved, pre-clearance, if it happens, is likely to be many years away.
On Tuesday 30 June 2015, London Heathrow Terminal 1 will have closed its doors to passengers for the final time after more than 45 years of operation.
The last remaining resident, British Airways, will disperse its flights from the terminal to Terminals 3 and 5*.
Having opened in 1969, Terminal 1 spent most of its life as the principal hub for short-haul traffic, specifically that of British Airways and the now defunct bmi British Midland. In between the opening of Terminal 5 and the new Terminal 2, it was also home to number of Star Alliance carriers, such as Lufthansa and Swiss.
It has been loved for features such as the former “Zone R” BA premium check-in area and loathed for long walkways and the poor condition of many public areas of the terminal.
In its life the terminal has seen wildcat industrial action, the paralysis of operations due to fog and heavy snow, terrorist threats, fire, and even an altercation that led to the arrest of Snoop Dogg.
The closure of Terminal 1 will eventually allow for the expansion of the new Terminal 2.
Continue reading “Heathrow Terminal 1 to close to passengers on Tuesday 30 June”
There has been much speculation in recent months about the future of Malaysia Airlines’ long-haul routes, specifically those to Europe, after it became known that the airline was planning a radical restructuring and reports that much of its long-haul fleet, including its Airbus A380s, were being put up for sale.
At a press conference today incoming CEO Christoph Mueller outlined in very broad terms some aspects of the restructuring.
It is known that the restructuring will involve the transfer of operations to a new legal entity and approximately 6,000 job cuts.
Christoph Mueller would not be drawn on specific route decisions, other than to say that London was considered a flagship route and would stay.
Furthermore, the airline would seek joint-venture relationships with fellow Oneworld alliance partners.
We would not rule out some form of capacity cut, either through reducing its twice-daily London Heathrow-Kuala Lumpur frequency and/or by downsizing from an Airbus A380.
Published traffic data for this route suggests that a double-daily A380 is excessive.
There is also scope to form a joint-venture with British Airways, which returned to Kuala Lumpur only last week, with mutual code sharing on the route and “back and beyond” routes to from London and Kuala Lumpur, as BA currently has with American Airlines and Japan Airlines.
Further details are expected in the coming weeks.
“Britain’s Busiest Airport”, a three part behind the scenes documentary on London Heathrow will premier on ITV at 9pm on Thursday 4 June 2015.
Here’s a précis of the first two episodes from the ITV Press Centre. Preview clips and images are also available from Heathrow airport.
UK viewers will also be able to watch on catch-up on the ITV Player.
This episode follows Heathrow staff racing against the clock to process thousands of passengers arriving from 84 different countries. Airside Safety Officer Glenn and his colleagues work closely with Air Traffic Control to keep Heathrow’s two runways open and clear of debris. Meanwhile, staff from the Animal Reception Centre welcome a variety of weird and wonderful animals – from pet ferrets to a wild tiger. Inside the terminals, Heathrow staff deal with passengers including a man who is stuck living at the airport after being deported from Thailand, and a family whose young relatives have got lost in Arrivals.
This episode follows Heathrow staff trying to process 100,000 departing passengers a day, and get their flights away on time. Dispatcher Callie and Ramp Manager Steve have their plans thrown into chaos by a passenger who disappears after checking on to their flight. In Security, Sundeep and his team have to search an unusually dressed traveller, and deal with a man who is unhappy about having his bag searched. Meanwhile, Heathrow’s extradition team ensures police suspects are put on departing flights, while paparazzi photographer Kate is on the lookout for celebrities flying through the airport.
The series is produced for ITV by Raw TV.
The Irish Government has today announced its support for International Airlines Group’s bid for Aer Lingus.
Full details of the bid can be viewed in the offer document. A more easily digestable summary of IAG’s bid for Aer Lingus can be viewed in this IAG presentation.
The deal is also far from done yet as Ryanair (which holds 30% of the shares in Aer Lingus) has yet to show its hand. The transaction will also be subject to regulatory approval.
Here’s a summary of what we know (and don’t know) so far
Continue reading “Irish Government approves sale of Aer Lingus to IAG – What we know”
Malaysia Airlines has today announced that the company has voluntarily entered into administration.
Under this process the assets of the business will be transferred to a new company which will take over its operations. This is a common means of restructuring a company in financial distress.
There has been speculation about the future of Malaysia Airlines’ long-haul network, particularly in light of reports that its fleet of Airbus A380s, which are used to operate its twice daily London Heathrow – Kuala Lumpur services, are for sale.
However, Malaysia Airlines is at pains to announce that flights are open for booking and are operating normally.
Continue reading “Malaysia Airlines voluntarily enters administration”
British Airways has today announced it is to upgrade its recently launched London Heathrow – Austin route from a three class Boeing 787 to a four class Boeing 777 from Sunday 25 October 2015.
The announcement has been confirmed in a press release from the city of Austin.
This will increase capacity from 214 to 224 seats on each flight. This may seem a modest increase, but the difference is 14 first class seats, 13 additional business class seats, from 35 to 48, and 15 additional premium economy seats, from 25 to 40. The number of economy seats will actually fall from 154 to 122.
This continues the trend of very successful new transatlantic route launches by BA in recent years. At a recent investor update, International Airlines Group CEO Willie Walsh said he considered that there are three-five additional US cities BA could serve profitably, so we should expect to hear more new route announcements in the coming years.
Some time ago we wrote about a patent application by British Airways in respect of a new business class seat which would afford all business class passengers direct aisle access.
With American Airlines, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Finnair and others introducing new business class seats which provide all passengers with direct aisle access, British Airways has maintained its typically eight across “yin-yang” business class cabin on all recent deliveries of new aircraft.
The reason for this is the efficiency of the cabin layout and that BA flies a number of routes with very high business class demand (such that some 747s are to have business class seating increased from 70 to 86 seats and its A380s have 97 business class seats).
The patent application did prompt speculation that BA would abandon the “ying yang” layout on future deliveries of Boeing 787-10 and Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.
However, IAG CEO Willie Walsh was asked about whether there were any plans to introduce an entirely new seat at a recent investor update and this is what he had to say:
Continue reading “BA To Keep “Yin-Yang” Club World Seat On New Aircraft”
British Airways is once again offering the chance to win free flights to destinations from London Gatwick to the Caribbean at London Victoria railway station this week.
25 pairs of tickets are available each day.
The BA stand is located towards platforms 15-19 and is open from 8am to 8pm. As you can see from the above picture flights to Barbados were on offer on Tuesday.
Flights to St Kitts were on offer yesterday (Wednesday) and flights to Grenada are on offer today (Thursday). The stand is likely to be very busy at peak commuter times, so be prepared for queues.
Full details of BA’s network at London Gatwick are available here.