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.
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”
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.
British Airways 99th Birthday Montage (Image Credits: British Airways)
Hello and welcome to our Monday Briefing for the week beginning 27 August 2018, summarising the main developments in air travel over the past week, and a look to the week ahead.
BA prepares for its centenary year
If you were flying through Heathrow Terminal 5 on Saturday you may have noticed celebrations for BA’s 99th birthday.
The airline’s official birthday is 25 August when, in 1919, a De Havilland DH4A aircraft flew from Hounslow Heath to Paris. This marked the world’s first scheduled international transportation service.
Although the celebrations were relatively low key, this really should be seen as a small taster of what is to come next year. It will celebrate its centenary. No doubt preparations are well underway and the airline will need to be putting its best foot forward. Next year we will of course see a new Club World seat as BA takes delivery of the first of 16 Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.
On a related note, here are some archive images of one of the most defining aircraft of the airline’s history, Concorde.
Qantas reiterates commitment to non-stop London – Sydney flights
Qantas released its annual results last week.
Its CEO Alan Joyce described the new direct London Heathrow – Perth service as the “highest rating” service for customer advocacy on the Qantas network.
Only Qantas knows the exact financial performance of the route, and is never going to divulge anything beyond vague comments. However, the route has at least proven successful operationally, with little by way of known teething problems or technical issues.
Qantas has reiterated that it is actively in discussions with Airbus and Boeing for aircraft for non-stop flights from London to Sydney from 2022. A final decision should be made next year.
In its investor presentation, Qantas did refer to the UK as one of its slowest growing markets that is suffering from overcapacity. With that in mind, it is likely that any direct service would replace Qantas’ existing Airbus A380 service from London to Sydney via Singapore. This is in the same way that that the non-stop Perth flight replaced the Airbus A380 service from London to Melbourne via Dubai. It is also highly unlikely that Qantas will go back to four daily services from London of ten years ago.
Boeing 787 Dreamliner issues continue
Time for a mea culpa.
Last week we said that BA’s schedules should be returning to normal after wet-leases from Qatar Airways to cover some flights had ended. This is now evidently not the case. BA has, once again, grounded some of its Boeing 787 fleet and instituted blanket cancellations to Doha, Los Angles and Mumbai.
Air New Zealand also confirmed last week it is continuing to lease in aircraft (one Boeing 777-300 and two Boeing 777-200) to cover grounded aircraft. It has also changed schedules to release aircraft capacity.
Singapore Airlines Brand Review
A little over six months ago, Channel 4 (UK) broadcast an hour long documentary “The World’s Most Luxurious Airline”.
It followed the design and launch of Singapore Airlines’ latest Airbus A380 First Class seats. There were the predictable production devices of the juxtaposition of the worlds of First Class and the everyday and Alan Partridge moments from carefully cast and edited contributors.
The Twittering classes duly followed the prescribed hashtag and engaged in the typical gentle mocking of the programme. However, a cloud darkened and the mood took an abrupt turn when the programme turned to Singapore Airlines’ stringent cabin crew recruitment processes for “Singapore Girl”.
Apropos of nothing, Singapore Airlines has invited marketing agencies to pitch to the airline for, inter alia, “fresh perspective on how the Singapore Airlines brand should be modernised”.
Airlines around the world from easyJet to Qantas are actively seeking to increase recruitment of female pilots. TUI was admonished in the UK press last week because some cabin crew handed out “Future Pilot” and “Future Cabin Crew” children’s stickers along gender lines.
There’s nothing inherently wrong in promoting highly trained and attentive front line staff. However, Singapore Girl is literally a product of the 1970s and Singapore Airlines is likely to face a backlash at some point unless it changes direction.
British Airways is offering frequent flyers caught in last week’s IT meltdown a free renewal of their Executive Club status for the next two years.
British Airways Executive Club Cards
After British Airways’ worst week in nearly ten years, the airline has begun to take steps to repair the damage to its brand and restore relationships with its frequent flyers.
The airline has e-mailed members of its Executive Club frequent flyer programme who were caught up in last week’s disruption to advise that their current Executive Club card status (e.g. Bronze, Silver or Gold) will be renewed automatically for the next two years.
This means that these members of the Executuve Club do not need to earn the requisite number of tier points to renew their current status level.
This is not the first time BA has done this. It has previously either offered or entertained requests for automatic renewal when there has been severe disruption at London Heathrow or when there has been a downturn in the economy.
However, it is the first time BA has renewed some members’ cards automatically for two years.
This clearly a beneficial and generous gesture. However, a cynic might point to the fact that this a move that has no up front cost to the airline and doesn’t address the underlying causes of last week’s disruption.
Furthermore, it does illustrate the power of the Executive Club in securing passenger loyalty, over and above other aspects of flying BA such as the in flight product.
It is a reasonable assumption that this will be the first of many measures to repair the damage caused by last week’s events. Further announcements will no doubt be forthcoming in the next few weeks.
Some British Airways London Heathrow cabin crew are due to take industrial action from Friday 16 June to Monday 19 June 2017.
British Airways Cabin Crew (Image Credit: British Airways)It never rains, but it pours!
Unite, the union which represents British Airways “Mixed Fleet” cabin crew at London Heathrow, has decided to round off BA’s worst week in nearly ten years by announcing industrial action over four consecutive days from Friday 16 June to Monday 19 June 2017.
This is continuation of a dispute that led to well in excess of 20 days of industrial action over February and March, albeit with very limited impact to BA’s schedules.
BA has yet to its confirm its schedules during the strike. However, it does say that all customers will be able to reach their destinations during the strike, suggesting that short-haul routes with multiple flights a day are most at risk of cancellations
What can be confirmed now is:
All flights from London City, London Gatwick and London Stansted will operate as normal.
All flights from UK regional airports (apart from flights to London Heathrow) will operate as normal
The majority of flights from London Heathrow will operate as normal with some flights merged and short-haul flights most at risk of cancellation. There may also be some tactical long-haul cancellations
BA will not publish a list of cancelled flights as it evidently keen to play down the impact of the industrial action.
If your flight is cancelled you wile offered the opportunity to rebook to an alternative flight or a refund
The impact of the strike is likely to be low. The best advice is to check your booking using the Manage My Booking tool and ensure your e-mail and telephone contact details are up to date. In addition, it is a good idea to download the BA app to your smartphone to receive notifications about your flight.
In terms of the risk of further industrial action, the union is required to give 14 days’ notice to BA. So if there are no announcements two weeks before your flight you can assume it is not a risk of strike action.
How to claim from British Airways If you have incurred expenses following cancellations and delays to your flights.
The fall out from BA’s weekend IT meltdown continues with the share price of its parent company IAG falling on the stock market and the airline facing questions over its decision to outsource many of its IT functions.
One issue that is likely to run and run is what damages affected passengers are entitled to and what expenses BA is liable to reimburse.
If you have incurred expenses on hotels, meals, ground transportation and communications you can submit a claim for these online:
You can simply do this by submitting a claim through the BA website.
You will need to have details of your booking to hand, and be able to submit copies of your receipts (either by post or electronically) and provide details of an account to which the refund should be transferred.
However, BA has remained silent on entitlement to claims for compensation under EC Regulation 261/2004 and refunds for passengers who booked alternative flights themselves
After Saturday’s cancellations BA did eventually rebook passengers on to other airlines.
However, many passengers took matters into their own hands and booked alternative flights directly with other airlines. These would be substantially more expensive than through reciprocal agreements between airlines. See for example:
BA has not, to our knowledge, published a formal policy on this. We suspect that this, and the matter of EU compensation under EC Regulation 261/2004, is likely to run for some time yet and will probably not be resolved without passengers instigating legal proceedings.
However, in terms of submitting a claim for compensation under EC Regulation 261/2004 there is general guidance on compensation and a claim form on the BA website.
Update: Since this article has published BA has confirmed that it will consider claims for compensation under EC Regulation 262/2004. The airline will also consider claims for refunds who booked themselves onto flights operated by other airlines.
Guidance for passengers due to travel from Monday 29 May 2017
Following the crash to BA’s computer systems worldwide on Saturday 27 May 2017, BA has issued the following guidance to affected passengers and passengers due to travel from Monday 29 May 2017.
This guidance is as of 09:30 BST Monday 29 May 2017 and may change overnight/early morning as the situation remains fluid.
Travel on Monday 29 May 2017
BA should operate most if not all flights from London Gatwick and all long-haul flights from London Heathrow on Monday 29 May 2017.
Despite BA’s intentions to operate the majority of flights from London Heathrow on Sunday 28 May 2017, there have been a very substantial number of short-haul cancellations and delays.
As at 09:30 BST on Monday 29 May there are at least 15 short-haul cancellations scheduled for today with some operating flights also showing delays.
The best way to keep track of your flight is to download the BA app on your smartphone and check your booking on the Manage My Booking tool on the BA website. It is particularly worth checking your bookings to ensure that e-mail and telephone contact information is up to date.
BA has also implemented a flexible rebooking policy and any passengers intending to travel on Monday 29 May 2017 may obtain a full refund or rebook onto an alternative flight up to Thursday 30 November 2017.
Passengers are due to travel on a short-haul flight on Tuesday 30 June 2017 can also take advantage of this rebooking policy. Note that BA’s cancellation and rebooking policies have been modified over the weekend and may well be changed again.
Given the scale of disruption and ongoing congestion at London Heathrow it is worth giving consideration to this.
Passengers affected by disruption
Passengers whose flights have been cancelled can either claim a full refund or rebook onto an alternative flight up to Thursday 30 November 2017. You can also claim consequential expenses such as hotels, meals and ground transport from BA. You can submit a claim for these expenses on the BA website.
BA’s contact centres are likely to be extremely busy in the coming days and its best to hold off contacting BA if possible.
BA has emphasised that passengers who have been separated from their luggage cannot come to London Heathrow to collect their bags as it is not possible to do this. BA will arrange for lost baggage to be couriered to their destinations at its expense.
Following the crash to BA’s computer systems worldwide on Saturday 27 May 2017, BA has issued the following guidance to affected passengers and passengers due to travel from Sunday 28 May 2017.
This guidance is as of midnight Sunday 28 May 2017 and may change overnight/early morning as the situation remains fluid.
Travel on Sunday 28 May 2017 and Monday 29 May 2017
BA plans to operate the majority of flights from London Gatwick and as many flights as possible from London Heathrow on Sunday 28 May 2017. However, there is still a very large number of cancellations and severe delays at London Heathrow with short-haul flights, particularly UK domestic routes, bearing the brunt.
In addition, due to congestion passengers are not being admitted into Terminal 5 until 90 minutes before departure time.
Schedules should largely return to normal on Monday 29 May 2017.
The best way to keep track of your flight is to download the BA app on your smartphone and check your booking on the Manage My Booking tool on the BA website. It is particularly worth checking your bookings to ensure that e-mail and telephone contact information is up to date.
Given the very extensive nature of today’s disruption there may also be ongoing issues with baggage handling and disruption to some in flight services such as catering.
BA has also implemented a flexible rebooking policy and any passengers intending to travel on Sunday 28 May 2017 and Monday 29 May 2017 may rebook onto an alternative flight up to Saturday 10 June 2017.
Passengers are due to travel on a short-haul flight on Tuesday 30 June 2017 can also take advantage of this rebooking policy.
Passengers affected by disruption on Saturday 27 May 2017
Passengers whose flights were cancelled on Saturday 27 May 2017 can either claim a full refund or rebook onto an alternative flight up to Thursday 30 November 2017. You can also claim consequential expenses such as hotels, meals and ground transport from BA.
BA’s contact centres are likely to be extremely busy in the coming days and its best to hold off contacting BA if possible.
BA has emphasised that passengers who have been separated from their luggage cannot come to London Heathrow to collect their bags as it is not possible to do this. BA will arrange for lost baggage to be couriered to their destinations at its expense.
As has been widely reported all over the world today, BA has experienced what must be the biggest IT disruption in its history as almost all of its IT systems failed today, Saturday 27 May 2017.
This has led to the cancellation of all flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick for the remainder of Saturday with reports of very long queues to exit Terminal 5 from the post-security airside area and passengers being separated from their luggage.
As has been widely reported all over the world today, BA has experienced what must be the biggest IT disruption in its history as almost all of its IT systems failed today, Saturday 27 May 2017.
This has led to the cancellation of all flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick for the remainder of Saturday with reports of very long queues to exit Terminal 5 from the post-security airside area and passengers being separated from their luggage. (Here is guidance for passengers due to fly from Sunday 28 May 2017.)
This is the first time in several years BA has been forced to cancel its entire flying programme, and the timing on a bank holiday weekend clearly could not be worse.
It is understood that the scale of the disruption was extremely severe with almost all IT systems out of operation, bar its internal e-mail. The airline has cited a power failure as its cause, and has denied claims of a possible cyber attack.
BA is by no means the only airline in the world to face significant disruption due to IT. Both United Airlines and Delta have experienced network-wide disruption due to system failures.
Your children can fly for free on selected BA flights between London & Belfast, Edinburgh, Inverness, Leeds-Bradford, Newcastle and Billund this summer.
British Airways “Kids Fly Free” Summer Promotion
Your children can fly for free on BA between select short-haul destinations and London Heathrow this summer
BA first ran this promotion last year and it has relaunched it for summer 2017. Up to two children to the age of twelve can fly for free with an adult on flights between London Heathrow and Belfast, Edinburgh, Inverness, Leeds-Bradford, Newcastle in the UK and Billund in mainland Europe.
The promotion only applies to flights to/from London Heathrow and bookings in EuroTraveller economy. It does not apply to flights to/from London Gatwick or London City.
The offer is valid for travel from Thursday 1 June 2017 to Tuesday 31 October 2017 and flights must be booked by Saturday 30 September 2017.
There are no particular downsides or catches to this promotion. Other than that availability is restricted and some destinations, notably Edinburgh, have significantly more flights a day to choose from than others.
Note this offer is only open to residents of the UK, the Republic Of Ireland and Denmark. Full terms and conditions and more information is available on ba.com
British Airways Short Haul Economy Cabin (Credit: British Airways)
A little over two years ago BA removed the right of its Bronze, Silver and Gold Executive Club cardholders to select a seat for free when booking its “basic” (formerly known as “Hand Baggage Only”) short-haul economy fares, “Basic” is one of two types of short-haul economy fares on BA. The other is known as “Plus” which includes the option to check-in a bag for free.
The only option to select a seat at the time of booking was to pay for a seat assignment, as all other passengers are required to do, thus removing a valuable benefit of the Executive Club.
No doubt this was also to encourage Executive Club members to buy more expensive “Plus” short-haul economy fares. However, there was considerable criticism that many travellers are bound by their corporate travel policy to book the cheapest available fare. Therefore they had no option to buy “basic” fares and were not able to utilise all of the benefits of their Executive Club membership.
This benefit will be reinstated for all basic fares on short-haul flights from Wednesday 14 June 2017.
Clearly, this is good news. It at least, in part, reverses the trend of cuts by BA to its short-haul economy product. It also suggests that BA will not be following the trend of US airlines of stripping more benefits from its cheapest short-haul economy fares, such as lounge access or the ability to earn miles.
