It follows the design aesthetic of BA’s recently refurbished Aberdeen and Rome which a minimalist Scandinavian feel.
The lounge has been enlarged. It is described by BA as having an “opulent” First bar, a new “boutique” pre-flight dining area and a quiet work area.
One genuinely new feature is a dedicated wine room with a wide range of wines available to taste. This could well make its way over to Heathrow when BA refurbishes its lounges there in the coming years.
Passengers travelling on British Airways from New York JFK Terminal 7 who are BA Executive Club Gold cardholders and Oneworld Emerald equivalents are eligible to use the lounge. Passengers ticketed in First Class can use the Concorde Room which is not being fully refurbished.
The lounge is also available to First Class passengers of ANA when flying on ANA from New York.
The next lounge to be refurbished is the expansive Galleries Club lounge which is now underway, leaving parts of the lounge partially closed. This is expected to be complete in 2019.
The Atlantic Update is published every Wednesday morning at 06:00 BST, providing a weekly bulletin on developments on transatlantic travel between Europe and North America.
CGI Image of redeveloped New York JFK (Image Credit: Governor of New York State)
Hello and welcome to the The Atlantic Update for Wednesday 10 October 2018, our weekly bulletin on transatlantic travel between Europe and North America.
New York JFK Development Plan
Last week the Governor of New York State Andrew Cuomo heralded a $13billion revamp of New York JFK.
Anyone who has flown out of New York JFK with any degree of frequency will be familiar with the airport’s problems.
It does not give a good first impression on arrival to visitors who face a long journey to their hotels on Subway cars not equipped for passengers with luggage as there is no direct rail link to Manhattan.
On departure, there are long queues from pushback from the terminal gate to take off. Delays are common place. Many professional pilots do not have a particularly high opinion of Air Traffic Control.
Terminals 1 and 2 will be demolished and a new $7billion 2.9m sq ft terminal will be built in their place and on a site formerly occupied by Terminal 3. It will be constructed by a consortium of four airlines, Air France, Japan Airlines, Korean Air Lines and Lufthansa. The new terminal will be operated by Munich Airport International and connected to the existing Terminal 4.
Another new $3billion 1.2m sq ft terminal will be constructed by JetBlue on a site formerly occupied by Terminal 6 and a to be demolished Terminal 7. It will be connected to JetBlue’s current home in Terminal 5.
This is a typically American approach to infrastructure investment, namely heralding private sector investment and not actually being prepared to spend public money on fixing underlying problems.
Whilst there is some public funding to improve road access, that’s about it. There are also no new runways and no improvements to Air Traffic Control.
For UK based passengers, the biggest news is that Terminal 7, home to BA’s JFK operation, will be demolished. BA has to yet to comment on these plans. It is of course in the middle of a revamp of the terminal with the new First lounge having opened last week.
Logically, BA could move to Terminal 8 to colocate with American Airlines. AA and BA are at a disadvantage to Delta and Virgin Atlantic at JFK, and indeed Heathrow, in that they do not share terminals.
Welcome to our weekly Monday Briefing on the main developments in air travel in London and around the world, as published every Monday morning at 06:00 BST.
Qantas Boeing 747 SP VH-EAA (Image Credit: Qantas Airways)
Welcome to our Monday Briefing for the week beginning 8 October 2018, summarising the main developments in air travel over the past week.
Primera Air and Etihad
Two events occurred last week. One was reported very widely. Another much less so outside of the travel press.
Low cost airline Primera Air suddenly suspended operations on Monday 1 October. Thousands of passengers were stranded as were many of its now redundant employees.
The other was a relatively trivial detail that Etihad has transferred it lounge at London Heathrow Terminal 4 to No1 Lounges. The airline expects to transfer all of its lounges outside of Abu Dhabi to third party operators. The significance of this nothing is off the table as Etihad seeks to shore up its finances. That’s if it remains an independent airline.
What could the two stories possibly have in common?
It was clear that to anyone with a casual knowledge of the airline industry that both were pursuing unsustainable strategies.
Anyone who had read the briefest of histories about Swissair (see below) could see that Etihad buying minority investments in troubled European airlines, all with different alliance allegiances and management teams, was doomed to fail.
Alitalia had been recapitalised numerous times before Etihad bought a stake in the airline. It is notorious for its recalcitrant workforce. It can be said with confidence that other European airline groups would have looked at buying Air Berlin. None had chosen to open the cheque book.
Yet Etihad was widely hailed as transformational airline that was “reimagining travel”. Events such as the launch of the Residence on its Airbus A380s generated huge amounts of PR, with few wondering who would actually be prepared to pay for it.
Primera Air’s launch of transatlantic operations had got off to a very troubled start. Delays in the delivery of new aircraft meant that all long-haul flights from Birmingham were cancelled. It also had to lease aircraft to cover some flights from Stansted.
However, that did not deter Primera Air in pursuing a plainly implausible expansion with new transatlantic bases in 2019 planned in Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt and Madrid. Consider that when Sir Richard Branson launched Virgin Atlantic with a single route from Gatwick to Newark, it took six years to get to the four scheduled routes that Primera Air launched in one year.
Some airlines, not accustomed to the transparency that comes with public ownership, do not appreciate scrutiny of their affairs. The survival of all airlines ultimately hinges on the confidence of their customers and suppliers. They depend on the cashflow benefit of revenue from forward bookings and the credit terms of their suppliers. If either one is lost, it is game over.
There would obviously consequences for publications that make unsubstantiated claims. However, when stunts like low lead in fares from Norwegian’s now withdrawn transatlantic routes from Edinburgh are given extensive free coverage, the press at large is not serving the travelling public by challenging the sustainability of airline strategies. Continue reading “London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 8 October 2018”
British Airways is to suspend its summer seasonal route from London Heathrow to Murcia.
The route to Murcia San Javier airport launched in 2017 and is currently scheduled to operate twice weekly until Saturday 27 October 2018.
It was due to return from 2 April 2019 to 26 October 2019. However, the route has now been suspended in its entirety.
Murcia San Javier airport (airport code MJV) is in fact due to close to scheduled passenger flights in the coming months. Another airport serving the region, Corvera, also known as Región de Murcia International Airport (airport code RMU), is currently scheduled to open to passenger flights in early 2019. easyJet is to transfer operations to Corvera from the summer of 2019.
Passengers whose flights have been cancelled are entitled to a full refund. Passengers can also travel to an alternative BA destination in Spain such as Barcelona, Madrid, Malaga or Valencia. However, any consequential costs such as ground transportation will be at your expense.
When BA has previously suspended summer seasonal routes, it has secured rebooking options on alternative carriers. However, these were on network carriers via their hubs in mainland Europe – who don’t currently serve Murcia – and not on low cost airlines that fly direct from London.
Despite its name, ticketed First Class passengers have access to the Concorde Room. This means this lounge is effectively for British Airways Executive Club Gold Cardholders and Oneworld Emerald equivalents, of which there are a very substantial number on this route.
It is fair to say that for a lounge branded as First Class it did underwhelm a little. However, given the length of the refurbishment the new lounge should be a big improvement.
Unfortunately, no press images are available at the moment. It is understood that BA’s regular press photographer is flying out to New York this weekend so hopefully a full set will be available next week.
The lounge has been enlarged and it is described by BA as having new zones including a dedicated wine room, an “opulent” First bar, and a quiet work area. There is also a new pre-flight dining area.
BA transatlantic Club World meal service from London Heathrow August 2018 (Image Credit: London Air Travel)
British Airways continues to roll out its new Club World meal service across its long-haul network at Heathrow.
The latest routes to receive the new service this week are Buenos Aires, Jeddah, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita, Santiago, and Sao Paulo.
However, BA has also just pulled a major volte face.
When the service was launched last year, there was much emphasis on added “theatre” and the ability to select starters and desserts during the first meal service from a dedicated display trolley in the aisle.
New Club World Food & Beverage (Image Credit: British Airways)
However, as we noted in our review of the service 12 months in, the delivery of the new meal service has been inconsistent. Some crews have simply not used the display trollies at all. Others have, but grudgingly.
It has been confirmed that from Sunday 28 October 2018, the display trollies will be abandoned altogether.
BOAC De Havilland DH106 Comet 4 Aircraft, London Airport, 4 October 1958 (Image Credit: British Airways)
Today, Thursday 4 October 2018, marks 60 years since the first passenger jet service from London to New York.
One of British Airways predecessor airlines, BOAC, flew two de Havilland Comet 4 aircraft between London and New York International Airport, Idlewild.
This was a mere 24 hours after the Port Authority of New York granted approval for passenger jet services following concerns over noise. It was also less than a month after the aircraft had been delivered to the airline and it had received its certificate or air worthiness.
The westbound flight left London at 09:55 local time and landed in New York at 15:15 local time after a refuelling stop for one hour and ten minutes in Gander, Newfoundland. The total journey time was 10 hours and 20 minutes
There were 31 passengers out of a capacity for 48 on the aircraft. They included Sir Gerald D’Erlanger, Chairman of the board of BOAC. He carried a letter from the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Denis Truscott to Mayor Wagner of New York. There were 12 paying passengers, many of whom had made reservations in anticipation of passenger jet services years ago and were only called to travel at very short notice. There were two classes of travel, First and Deluxe.
The aircraft carried 15 crew members, instead of the usual 8. One of the cabin crew members was Peggy Thorne who made a return visit to British Airways yesterday.
Air Belgium Airbus A340 aircraft (Image Credit: Air Belgium)
Air Belgium’s Airbus A340 aircraft is becoming something of a fixture at London Heathrow Terminal 5.
Having already wet-leased an Air Belgium aircraft to cover London Heathrow – Cairo and London Heathrow – Abu Dhabi, Air Belgium will cover one of BA’s three daily return flights from London Heathrow to Dubai from November to mid December 2018.
One outbound flight, BA105 from London Heathrow to Dubai, will be operated by Air Belgium from Thursday 1 November to Friday 14 December 2018. As will the inbound flight, BA104 from Dubai to London Heathrow, from Friday 2 November to Saturday 15 December 2018.
The flight will be operated by an Air Belgium A340-300 aircraft. The overall service standard should be similar to that of BA.
Update 20 November 2018
The extent of the wet lease has now been extended to Saturday 30 March 2019 for flight BA105 and Sunday 31 March 2019 for BA104.
Rebooking Options
All passengers have the option of rebooking on to BA’s two alternative return flights to Dubai (BA107/B106, BA109/BA108) as close to your original date of travel as possible.
Full refunds are not available to any passenger, unless allowed by the original fare rules.
First Class Passengers
There is no First Class cabin on Air Belgium aircraft.
Unless passengers rebook on to an alternative BA service, they will be downgraded to business class and receive a partial refund of their fare. Passengers will still have a First Class baggage allowance, earn the Avios and Tier Points of the First Class fare, and have access to First Class ground facilities such as the Concorde Room at London Heathrow.
Alternatively, passengers can use the value of their ticket towards the purchase of a new ticket to an alternative destination.
Update: BA has since updated its guidance to advise that First Class passengers are entitled to a full refund. Passengers can also rebook on to a BA operated service to Abu Dhabi. However, any consequential costs such as ground transportation will be at your expense.
Premium Economy Passengers
There is no premium economy cabin on Air Belgium aircraft.
Unless passengers rebook on to an alternative BA service, they will be downgraded to economy and receive a partial refund of their fare. Passengers will retain their original baggage allowance and Avios earning entitlement. Some passengers may also be upgraded to business class.
Alternatively, passengers can use the value of their ticket towards the purchase of a new ticket to an alternative destination.
Update: BA has since updated its guidance to advise that premium economy passengers are entitled to a full refund. Passengers can also rebook on to a BA operated service to Abu Dhabi. However, any consequential costs such as ground transportation will be at your expense.
Passengers can check the status of their booking using the Manage My Booking tool on ba.com Affected passengers should contact BA or their travel agent.
The Atlantic Update is published every Wednesday morning at 06:00 BST, providing a weekly bulletin on developments on transatlantic travel between Europe and North America.
Hello and welcome to the The Atlantic Update for Wednesday 3 October 2018, our weekly bulletin on transatlantic travel between Europe and North America.
Winter Is Coming
Primera Air has now joined eos, FlyGlobespan, MaxJet, Silverjet and Zoom on the list of defunct transatlantic airlines.
There has been huge growth in the transatlantic market in recent years with Norwegian pursuing rapacious growth at Gatwick and niche routes between secondary airports with the single aisle Boeing 737 Max. Wow Air and Icelandair have sought to make Reykjavik the Dubai of the North Atlantic.
Norwegian has already suspended all transatlantic routes from Belfast and Edinburgh and announced some winter seasonal suspensions at Gatwick. Wow Air has suspended Edinburgh, San Francisco and Stockholm from Rejkjavik. With Brent Crude reaching $85 for the first time in nearly four years, attention is inevitably going to be focused on smaller airlines.
It is often said that it is during the good times that airlines sow the seeds of their difficulties during a downturn. With a rising oil price and significant geopolitical uncertainty on both sides of the atlantic, it is going to be a long winter.
American Airlines Route Announcements
American Airlines has announced a number of new routes in the Americas for the summer of 2019.
This includes a number of new routes from Dallas Fort Worth, its principal hub.
From Sunday 3 March 2019, American will launch new domestic routes from Dallas Fort Worth to Valley International Airport, Harlingen, Texas; Augusta Regional Airport, Georgia; Gainesville Regional Airport, Florida; Yuma International Airport, Arizona; and Meadows Field Airport, Bakersfield, California.
From Tuesday 2 April 2019, American will launch new year-round services to Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, Arizona and Hollywood Burbank Airport, California. It will also launch seasonal service to Monterey Regional Airport, California.
Elsewhere, American will launch new routes on Thursday 14 February 2019 from Reagan National Airport, Washington, to Will Rogers Airport, Oklahoma City; from La Guardia to McGhee Tyson Airport, Knoxville, Tennessee and from New York JFK to San Antonio International Airport, Texas.
Also launching on Tuesday 2 April 2019 is a new route from Los Angeles to Tulsa International Airport, Oklahoma and from Saturday 8 June 2019 a new seasonal route from Charlotte to Cherry Capital Airport, Traverse City, Michigan.
Primera Air has suspended operations from Monday 1 October 2018. The Civil Aviation Authority will not be arranging repatriation flights for UK passengers.
Primera Air has today, Monday 1 October 2018, suspended all operations with immediate effect.
Its scheduled transatlantic flights today from London Stansted Flight PF41 to Newark and Flight PF47 to Washington Dulles have been cancelled.
Primera Air has been in operation since 2004. It only entered the consciousness of the UK travelling public over the past year with the launch of transatlantic flights.
By any measure, its transatlantic operations had got off to a difficult start. Flights from Birmingham were suspended shortly after launch. At Stansted, the airline had to lease aircraft to cover late deliveries of new Airbus A321 aircraft, with some flights carrying very substantial delays. Late aircraft substitutions also meant that some flights had to stop in Reykjavik for refuelling.
This had not deterred Primera Air’s ambitions. It had planned to launch transatlantic flights from Berlin, Brussels, Frankfurt and Madrid next summer.
This year has proved to be a difficult one for small transatlantic airlines. Norwegian has cancelled all transatlantic flights from Belfast and Edinburgh. It has also had to wet lease aircraft to cover some flights from London Gatwick.
Whilst low cost long-haul airlines have proven that there is a market for an unbundled long-haul economy product, they have illustrated how difficult it is for small airlines to manage long-haul operations. They do not have the schedules and fleets, nor the alliance and joint-venture partners, to cover aircraft availability issues.
Repatriation Flights & Rescue Fares
The UK Civil Aviation Authority has issued the following guidance for passengers who have booked flights with Primera Air.
Put simply, as Primera Air is not regulated by the Civil Aviation Authority it will not be arranging any repatriation flights.
For passengers who have booked flights, the best advice is to contact your credit company. For passengers who need to return home, your travel insurer may be able to assist.
In the past when airlines have collapsed, other airlines have announced “rescue fares” where you can buy a ticket for the same price as your original fare. These may be announced in the coming days.
Update Tuesday 2 October 2018
A number of European airlines have offered special fares for routes matched by Primera Air. In some cases you will need to provide evidence of an existing reservation with Primera Air at the time of booking and possibly at check-in.
British Airways is offering special fares, but only for those who are stranded and need to return to London. These can only be booked by contacting BA directly.
Norwegian is offering a discounted fare for London Gatwick – New York JFK for travel up to 14 October 2018. This can only be booked by calling +47 210 16771.
Ryanair is offering special fares from London Stansted to Malaga, Gran Canaria and Tenerife. These are available up to midnight Thursday 4 October for travel up to March 2019. These can be booked through Ryanair
Virgin Atlantic is offering a distressed traveller fare. This is available by calling 0344 8747747. Bookings can be made up until 16 October 2018, for travel available to 31 October 2018.
