London Air Travel

Air Belgium to operate for BA on London Heathrow – Abu Dhabi

Air Belgium is to operate British Airways’ daily service from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi from 15 September to 4 October 2018.

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Air Belgium Airbus A340 aircraft (Image Credit: Air Belgium)

British Airways is to wet lease an aircraft from Air Belgium to cover its daily flight from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi from mid September to early October 2018.

The outbound flight BA73 from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi will be operated by Air Belgium from Saturday 15 September to Thursday 4 October 2018. As will the inbound flight BA72 from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow from Sunday 16 September to Friday 5 October 2018.

Update 25 September 2018:

The period of the wet lease has been extended. BA73 from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi will be operated by Air Belgium until Wednesday 31 October 2018. As will BA72 from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow until Thursday 1 November 2018.

No specific reason has been given for the wet lease. However, given the route is ordinarily operated with a Boeing 787-9 aircraft, it’s a safe assumption that the grounding of these aircraft is the cause. BA has previously wet leased aircraft to cover London Heathrow – Cairo.

The flight will be operated by an Air Belgium A340-300 aircraft. The overall service standard should be similar to that of BA.

Rebooking Options

All passengers have the option of rebooking on to an alternative BA operated service to Abu Dhabi within 14 days before, or after, the wet lease operation.

All passengers also have the option of rebooking on to a BA operated service to Dubai within 3 days before, or after, the wet lease operation. However, any additional costs such as taxis, will be at your own expense.

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.

Passengers 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.

Premium Economy Passengers

There is no premium economy cabin on Air Belgium aircraft.

BA has advised that most premium economy passengers 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.

Affected passengers can check the status of their booking using the Manage My Booking tool on ba.com

London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 10 September 2018

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.

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British Airways CEO Alex Cruz Media Appearances Friday 7 September 2018 (Image Credit: BBC, CNN, ITV News)

Welcome to our Monday Briefing for the week beginning 10 September 2018, summarising the main developments in air travel over the past week.

BA Customer Data Breach – Additional Guidance

BA has over the weekend updated its advice page on its well publicised data breach.

Additional advice published on Sunday 9 September includes:

– Telephone numbers provided during the booking process were not compromised.

– Customers who used PayPal to pay for a flight will not have had their PayPal accounts compromised, but there is some risk that personal information was accessed.

– Passengers who used Apple Pay to pay for a flight through the mobile app are not affected.

– Passengers who attempted to pay for a flight but the transaction was unsuccessful would have had their data compromised.

– Passengers who made changes to their bookings free of charge would not have had their data compromised.

– Bookings cancelled or refunded during the breach are not affected.

The Information Commissioner’s Office and the National Cyber Security Centre (part of GCHQ) will also be providing periodic updates.

We will also keep our page updated as the story develops.
Continue reading “London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 10 September 2018”

BA signs codeshare with Indian airline Vistara

British Airways has signed a new codeshare partnership with Indian airline Vistara to a number of domestic destinations in India.

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Vistara Aircraft and Premium Cabins (Image Credit: Vistara)

British Airways has signed a new codeshare partnership with Indian airline Vistara.

Passengers travelling after Thursday 27 September 2018 from London Heathrow to Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai will be able to book onward connections to a number of domestic destinations in India.

Destinations covered by the codeshare include Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Goa, Kolkata, Kochi, and Pune. BA used to fly Amritsar and Kolkata direct. As is the norm for codeshare partnerships, these can only be booked when connecting to/from a BA operated flight between London Heathrow and India. Flights are on sale now at ba.com

From a cursory scan of timetables on ba.com the suitability of connections does vary widely.

On outbound flights from London Heathrow it is possible to secure a connection time of around two hours on many routes as there are BA flights that arrive in Delhi and Mumbai in the morning. However, as BA flights from Delhi to Mumbai to Heathrow leave in the early hours or mid-morning it is difficult to secure an inbound connection without a long connection time or an overnight stay.

Vistara operates a fleet of more than 20 Airbus A320 aircraft in a three class configuration. The airline started operations in 2015 and is a joint-venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons Ltd.

BA has long sought a domestic airline partner in India. It is one of its most important markets, but with a very volatile aviation sector. Many years BA ago did explore securing a local franchise partner, but to no avail.

British Airways Customer Data Breach

British Airways has advised that customers who booked flights on its website between 21 August 2018 and 5 September 2018 have had their data compromised.

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British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has announced that its website ba.com and mobile app has been subject to a data breach.

The airline issued a statement in the early evening of Thursday 6 September 2018 that customers who booked flights over a period of nearly two weeks between 22:58 BST on Tuesday 21 August 2018 and 21:45 BST Wednesday 5 September 2018 have had their personal and financial details compromised.

BA has stated that it is contacting affected customers who are advised to contact their banks and credit card companies for appropriate advice. The full statement is as follows:

British Airways is investigating, as a matter of urgency, the theft of customer data from its website, ba.com and the airline’s mobile app. The stolen data did not include travel or passport details.

From 22:58 BST August 21 2018 until 21:45 BST September 5 2018 inclusive, the personal and financial details of customers making bookings on ba.com and the airline’s app were compromised.

The breach has been resolved and our website is working normally.

British Airways is communicating with affected customers and we advise any customers who believe they may have been affected by this incident to contact their banks or credit card providers and follow their recommended advice.

We have notified the police and relevant authorities.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and Chief Executive said “We are deeply sorry for the disruption that this criminal activity has caused. We take the protection of our customers’ data very seriously.”

British Airways will provide further updates when appropriate.

BA has also published guidance for affected customers on its website ba.com

It is noteworthy that BA’s parent company International Airlines Group has issued the above statement to the stock exchange so this is clearly a significant and share price sensitive event.

BA is required by law to notify the Information Commissioner’s Office with 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach. The ICO has the power to levy very substantial fines in the event of a failure to properly report a breach.

Update Friday 7 September 2018

BA has updated its published guidance on the morning of Friday 7 September to advise that the breach also affects any passengers who made changes to existing bookings during the period of the breach.

The scope of changes (eg free or paid for seat assignments etc) is not defined but this means the breach could affect very many more passengers.

BA has also confirmed that it will fully reimburse passengers for any financial losses as a direct consequence of the security breach. It will also not ask customers to review/update payment card details and any unsolicited requests for this information should not be fulfilled.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has issued a short statement confirming contact with BA:

“British Airways has made us aware of an incident and we are making enquiries.”

National Cyber Security Centre Response

The UK Government’s National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, has published guidance for affected customers.

American Express Response

American Express, which issues a number of BA branded credit cards has provided the following response to customers by e-mail:

Dear Cardmember,

I’m writing to you about the reported British Airways data breach involving personal and financial details of customers being compromised through their web and mobile app.

We want to assure you we have industry-leading fraud protection technology that is continually monitoring for any suspicious activity in order to safeguard you. Also, our Cardmembers are never liable for any fraudulent charges on their Accounts. If you have used your American Express Card to book with British Airways, we are monitoring your Account for you.

There is no action you need to take – we will contact you immediately if there’s any unusual activity with your Account. In the meantime you can continue to use your Card as normal.

If we see any unusual activity which could be fraud, we will contact you immediately. For added protection, you can also sign up for free fraud and other Account activity notifications via email, SMS text messaging, or alerts through our app.

Thank you for your continued Cardmembership.

British Airways Suspends London Heathrow – Muscat

British Airways has suspended its route from London Heathrow to Muscat for the summer season. It now operates on a winter seasonal basis only.

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Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has suspended its route from London Heathrow to Muscat for the summer season. The route now operates on a winter seasonal basis only.

Currently, the route operates five times weekly. The last outbound flight from London Heathrow for the summer 2019 season, BA79, is scheduled to operate on Saturday 30 March 2019. The last inbound flight from Muscat for the summer 2019 season, BA80, is scheduled to operate on Sunday 31 March 2019.

The route is due to return from Wednesday 30 October 2019. It will then be suspended again from Sunday 19 April 2020 until Wednesday 28 October 2020.

No reason has been given for the suspension. However, as the route is operated with a Boeing 787 a need to generate some slack in Boeing 787 schedules is likely to be a factor. The route was also subject to blanket cancellations during industrial action in 2018, which suggests it is one of BA’s more lightly loaded routes.

Oman Air will continue to fly from London Heathrow to Muscat twice daily year-round.

London Air Travel’s Atlantic Update – 5 September 2018

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.

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Flying over the North Atlantic - August 2018 — Flying over the North Atlantic – August 2018 (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

Hello and welcome to the The Atlantic Update for Wednesday 5 September 2018. It is a relatively short bulletin this week due to public holidays.

BA Long-Haul Schedule Changes

BA has confirmed a few transatlantic schedule changes for 2019:

– Heathrow to Las Vegas will reduce from 10 to 7 weekly from Saturday 28 October 2018 and will remain so throughout the 2019 summer season.

– London Gatwick to Las Vegas will increase to 6 times weekly from Sunday 31 March 2019. This is no doubt a competitive response to Virgin Atlantic moving the route to Heathrow.

– Heathrow to Phoenix will reduce from 10 to 7 weekly from Friday 26 October and will remain so throughout the 2019 summer season. This was expected after American Airlines announced it was launching this as a summer seasonal route.

Tropical Storm Gordon

As Tropical Storm Gordon is expected to make landfall, according to National Hurricane Center it is expected to gain strength as a Category 1 hurricane.

A number of US airlines have implemented flexible rebooking policies for passengers due to travel in the Gulf Coast region.

The airports expected to be affected are Baton Rouge, Panama City, Gulfport, Lafayette, Mobile, New Orleans, Pensacola and Destin Fort Walton Beach.

American Airlines, Delta and United have issued a weather waivers for passengers due to travel to the region over the next couple of days.

Also of note this week:

Why did America Give Up On Mass Transit. (CityLab)

Every Generation Gets the Beach Villain It Deserves. (New York Times)

Late Post-Publication Updates

[Reserved for updates during the day.]

The Atlantic Update is published every Wednesday at 06:00 BST. If you have any comments, suggestions or tips then please drop us a line at mail [@] londonairtravel.com

BA’s New Club Europe Catering

British Airways is to introduce new catering in its short-haul business class Club Europe cabin from Wednesday 12 September 2018.

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A selection of BA Club Europe meals - September 2018 — BA Club Europe Meals – September 2018 (Image Credit: British Airways)

BA is to introduce new Club Europe catering across its short-haul network from London Gatwick and Heathrow from next Wednesday, 12 September 2018.

The precursor to this are changes that were introduced last year.

There were definite winners and losers. The winners were longer range flights to destinations such as Helsinki where there was a wider choice of mains, with each course delivered separately. The losers were many shorter range flights where hot meals at lunch and dinner were replaced with a panini or a salad.

There has been criticism from frequent flyers about the repetition of meals and the scope creep of Brunch and Afternoon Tea where no hot meal is offered. These are set by scheduled departure time which does of course not mean the time you actually eat your meal. Many business travellers do not have the luxury of being able to observe normal meal times throughout the day and would simply prefer a guarantee of a hot meal on their flight.

The Changes

London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 3 September 2018

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.

London Air Travel » Page 91

BA CityFlyer, CitJet, FlyVLM, KLM (Image Credits: Respective Airlines)

Hello and welcome to our Monday Briefing for the week beginning 3 September 2018, summarising the main developments in air travel over the past week, and a look to the week ahead.

London City

London City airport was once one of London’s better kept secrets.

It wasn’t the most accessible but, whilst passengers grappled with long security queues at a Heathrow once heavily prone to disruption, those in the know headed East for a much less stressful experience.

Its aficionados wanted the airport to stay that way. But, just like an up-and-coming neighbourhood on the cusp of gentrification, the big boys soon moved in.

BA CityFlyer has gone from almost next to nothing in ten years to by far the most dominant airline at the airport. With a degree of autonomy from its parent, it has been aided by a fleet of shiny new Embraers and a very strong frequent flyer base in the airport’s catchment.

BA has confirmed it is had to add four Embraer E190s to its fleet in 2019 – though from whom it is not known. It has already announced a new route to Rome and is expected to add more next year. The Embraer aircraft are one of the few reliable pleasures in short-haul travel in Europe. To cut a long story short, for industrial relations reasons, the seating capacity of these aircraft is capped at less than 100 seats. So they have been spared the “densification” that has befallen their larger Airbus cousins at Gatwick and Heathrow.
Continue reading “London Air Travel’s Monday Briefing – 3 September 2018”

VLM Airlines in liquidation; London City – Antwerp cancelled

VLM Airlines has entered into liquidation and it has immediately suspended all operations.

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FlyVLM Fokker 50 turboprop (Image Credit: VLM Airlines)

VLM Airlines has yesterday, Friday 31 August 2018, entered into liquidation.

The decision was made by the majority shareholder in the airline and has been confirmed on its website.

SHS Aviation B.V., the majority shareholder of the N.V. SHS Antwerp Aviation (VLM), today decided at an extraordinary general assembly to dissolve the Belgian airline and to liquidate it.
Earlier this month it was announced that VLM would discontinue the connections to Aberdeen, Birmingham, Cologne-Bonn, Maribor, Munich and Rostock and that VLM would henceforth focus on business charter flights and the Antwerp-London City Airport and Antwerp-Zurich routes. Also the scheduled flights from Antwerp to London City and Zurich are now cancelled.
The settlement takes effect immediately. Youri Steverlynck and Birgitta Van Itterbeek (Monard Law) were appointed as liquidators. They are responsible for the contacts with potential buyers.
SHS Antwerp Aviation N.V. is a subsidiary of the Dutch investment company SHS Aviation B.V., which is owned 60% by Dutch investors and 40% by Chinese investors. SHS Antwerp Aviation N.V. is developing airline activities under the trading name ‘VLM’. VLM employs 85 people.

The airline has therefore suspended operations and all future flights are cancelled. VLM flew from London City to Antwerp, a route it inherited from CityJet a little under 12 months ago.

If you do have a future booking with VLM, then the best advice is to contact your credit card company for refund.

Air Belgium to operate for BA on London Heathrow – Cairo

Air Belgium is to operate British Airways’ daily service from London Heathrow to Cairo over three days in early September 2018.

London Air Travel » Page 91

BA has confirmed that it is to wet lease an aircraft from Air Belgium to cover its daily flight from London Heathrow to Cairo over three days in early September 2018.

The outbound flight BA155 from London Heathrow to Cairo will be operated by Air Belgium from Monday 3 to Wednesday 5 September 2018. As will the inbound flight BA154 from Cairo to London Heathrow from Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 September 2018.

As its name suggests, Air Belgium is based in Brussels and it flies from Charleroi Airport in Southern Belgium to Hong Kong three times weekly.

The flight will be operated by an Air Belgium A340-300 aircraft. The overall service standard should be similar to that of BA.

Premium Economy Passengers

Oddly, in its update for the travel trade BA have advised that there is no premium economy cabin on the Air Belgium aircraft.

However, the Air Belgium website indicates that it does in fact have a premium economy cabin!

BA has advised that most premium economy passengers will be downgraded to economy, but with their original baggage allowance and Avios earning entitlement, to be added retrospectively. Affected passengers will be entitled to claim a refund for the fare difference. Some passengers may also be upgraded to business class.

If this is not acceptable to any passengers, there is the option of rebooking onto an alternative BA operated service between London and Cairo on an alternative date. Affected passengers can check the status of their booking using the Manage My Booking tool on ba.com