London Gatwick Archives - Page 11 of 13

easyJet expands at Gatwick whilst BA seeks to regain lost ground

London Gatwick Airfield (Image Credit: London Gatwick Airport)

easyJet posted a good set of financial results last week solidifying its transition from an upstart low cost carrier to a mature pan-European short-haul airline.

The airline also announced a significant expansion at London Gatwick. This has been aided by its acquisition earlier this year of Flybe’s portfolio of slots at Gatwick which now gives easyJet nearly 50% of take off and landing slots at the airport.

New easyJet routes

In addition to recent route launches to cities such as Bergen and Moscow, next year easyJet will launch new routes to Brussels, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Jersey, Newcastle and Strasbourg. The airline will also increase frequencies by one flight a day on routes to Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Geneva, Inverness and the Isle of Man.

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easyJet expands at London Gatwick whilst British Airways gears up to regain lost ground

easyJet posted a good set of financial results last week solidifying its transition from an upstart low cost carrier to a mature pan-European short-haul airline.

Continue reading “easyJet expands at London Gatwick whilst British Airways gears up to regain lost ground”

BA launches new summer seasonal routes from Heathrow

BA has launched summer seasonal routes from London Heathrow to Faro, Malaga, Mykonos, Porto and Santorini for summer 2014.

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Over the past few years, British Airways has operated summer seasonal weekend flights from its London Heathrow base to European holiday destinations.

Initially, these were charter flights for holiday companies and last year BA launched seasonal weekly flights to Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca. Both of these two destinations are to return to Heathrow next summer.

The use of Heathrow slots for summer seasonal flights ramps up a gear next summer as BA launches twice weekly flights to Faro (also operated from Gatwick), Malaga (also operated from Gatwick and London City), Mykonos, Porto and Santorini.

Flights to Oporto, Faro and Malaga operate from 30 March 2014. Flights to Mykonos operate from 3 May 2014 and flights to Santorini operate from 4 May 2014.

Although it may seem unusual BA is launching these routes from its main hub at Heathrow, instead of Gatwick which has served as BA’s main base for leisure flights over the past years, there is a logic in using Heathrow slots for such flights at weekends when business routes are relatively quiet. No doubt these routes are also supported by bookings from tour operators.

Flights can be booked now on ba.com.

British Airways launches new summer seasonal routes from London Heathrow to Faro, Malaga, Mykonos, Porto and Santorini

Over the past few years, British Airways has operated summer seasonal weekend flights from its London Heathrow base to European holiday destinations. Initially, these were charter flights for holiday companies and last year BA launched seasonal weekly flights to Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca. Both of these two destinations are to return to Heathrow next summer.

Flights to Oporto, Faro and Malaga operate from 30 March 2014. Flights to Mykonos operate from 3 May 2014 and flights to Santorini operate from 4 May 2014.

Flights can be booked now on ba.com.

Could Gatwick airport ever persuade one of the “Big Three” airline alliances to defect from Heathrow?

Yesterday’s (Monday) Financial Times featured an interesting story where the Chief Executive of London Gatwick, Stewart Wingate, postulated (known in politics and the press as “kite flying”) that if a second runway for Gatwick was approved, one of the “Big Three” airline alliances could be persuaded to defect from Heathrow airport.

Is there any mileage in this?

Put simply, I don’t think so.

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Could Gatwick persuade one of the alliances to defect?

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On Monday 23 September 2013, the Financial Times featured an interesting story where the Chief Executive of London Gatwick, Stewart Wingate, postulated, known in politics and the press as “kite flying”, that if a second runway for Gatwick was approved, one of the “Big Three” airline alliances could be persuaded to defect from Heathrow airport.

Is there any mileage in this?

Put simply, I don’t think so.

Continue reading “Could Gatwick persuade one of the alliances to defect?”

British Airways increases frequencies from London Gatwick to Punta Cana, Antigua, Kingston, St Lucia, and Orlando

Some good news for British Airways passengers at London Gatwick airport. The airline has announced that, from the start of the Summer 2014 season on 30 March 2014, it will increase the frequency of flights on the following routes:

Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) increases from 2 to 3 flights a week
Antigua increases from 5 to 6 flights a week
Kingston increases from 3 to 4 flights a week
St Lucia increases from 6 to 7 flights a week
Orlando increases from 10 to 13 flights a week

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BA increases long-haul frequencies at Gatwick

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Some good news for British Airways passengers at London Gatwick. The airline has announced that, from the start of the Summer 2014 season on 30 March 2014, it will increase the frequency of flights on the following routes:

The increase in frequency has been enabled by the addition of one more Boeing 777 aircraft, taking the number of Boeing 777s stationed at London Gatwick to 10. This is itself something of an achievement for BA at London Gatwick bearing in mind the number of slots that now need occupying at Heathrow.

It is a little disappointing that BA has not chosen to use the extra capacity to launch a new route, particularly to the East where BA has previously expressed the potential for growth in long-haul leisure routes from London Gatwick. However, there is a logic in adding frequencies to routes not served by daily flights to increase the number of outbound/inbound options for passengers.

Of note is the increase in flights to Orlando, which increase once again to 13 weekly and has historically been something of a stronghold for Virgin Atlantic. It is also interesting to note there has been no increase in flights from London Gatwick to Las Vegas which remain at thrice weekly, and complemented by daily flights from London Heathrow.

Hopefully the trend of steady growth in BA’s long-haul leisure operation at Gatwick is one that will continue.

British Airways suspends London Gatwick – Tunis route from 27 October 2013

British Airways has announced it is to suspend its thrice weekly London Gatwick – Tunis route from 27 October 2013. No reason has been given for the cancellation, but unsatisfactory commercial performance is a likely reason and the route suspension is an indication of the ongoing commercial pressures BA faces in the short-haul market at Gatwick.

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BA suspends London Gatwick – Tunis from 27 October 2013

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British Airways has announced it is to suspend its thrice weekly London Gatwick – Tunis route from 27 October 2013.

No reason has been given for the cancellation, but unsatisfactory commercial performance is a likely reason and the route suspension is an indication of the ongoing commercial pressures BA faces in the short-haul market at Gatwick.

At this stage, passengers booked on services after 27 October 2013 only have the option of a refund or moving their booking to an earlier date, as there are no direct or indirect alternatives on BA.