
BA has started to firm up its new schedules at London Gatwick after the acquisition of more than 20 daily pairs of slots from the former airline Monarch. This is equivalent to an extra 150 flights a week.
BA has had to move quickly as it is required to use the slots 80% of the time or risk forfeiting them.
In terms of immediate actions, BA has added extra frequencies on winter ski routes like Grenoble and Turin in February and March as well as Tenerife South in the February half-term. It has also chartered aircraft and crews from Germania and Titan Airways to operate certain flights. These are now showing as “Operated by ST” or “Operated by ZT” in timetables on ba.com If you have an existing booking it should be clear in the Manage My Booking tool which airline is operating your flight.
Frequency increases on existing Gatwick routes:
In the peak summer schedule (late May to late September), BA has increased frequencies on a number of existing Gatwick routes compared to the previous year:
Alicante -From 14 to 22 weekly
Faro – From 17 to 21 weekly
Lanzarote – From 3 to 5 weekly
Madeira – From 6 to 9 weekly
Malaga – From 27 to 35 weekly
Tenerife (South) – From 6 to 13 weekly