British Airways

[Jerry]

Just booked my first flight from Heathrow T5 with BA and my first departure from Heathrow in a very long time! Flying to Amsterdam at the end of May for an afternoon of planespotting at the Panorama Terrace which has been on my list of things to do for a while.
Aircraft is an A321 don't think it's a NEO but the seat map does have the same amount of rows 37 as my ABZ flight which is supposed to be a NEO.

 

[Jerry]

BA do seem to come in for a lot of stick online these days but today they deserve applause, well their staff do. My sister and her friend are flying to LAX today, they were due to fly on the 12.45 departure but somehow got the time wrong and arrived at the gate 1 minute late and they were unable to board. Credit due to the BA gate staff they rebooked them for free onto the 15.30 then upgraded her friend to Business class for free, my sister thought they were both flying in Premium economy whereas she was in Business class.
So now they are flying upper deck of an A380 in Business class after missing there last flight and haven't been charged a penny extra for it!

 

[jfy1999]

British Airways Boeing 747 Beats Transatlantic Subsonic Speed Record

Thanks to amazing tailwinds and a very good pilot, a British Airways Boeing 747 has flown from New…

simpleflying.com

Online flight tracking service, Flight Radar 24 recorded British Airways flight number BA112 as departing John F. Kennedy Airport at 11:21 PM UTC and arriving at London Heathrow at 4:48 AM UTC, a flight time of four hours and 56 minutes.

 

[Jerry]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1233295236476088320

38 Heathrow aircraft will have BA's new Club Suite by the end of the year: 9 Airbus 350-1000; 16 Boeing 777-200ER; 7 Boeing 777-300ER and 6 Boeing B787- 10

 

[jfy1999]

Portland flights will no longer launch due to COVID

https://twitter.com/x/status/1285610608193396736

 

[jfy1999]

London Air Travel reports that multiple routes are being terminated.

Heathrow - Abu Dhabi, Calgary, Charleston, Dammam, Durban, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, Muscat, Osaka, Pittsburgh, Seoul, Seychelles
Gatwick - Lima

https://twitter.com/x/status/1339211604148236288

 

[Jerry]

The planned route to Podgorica is cancelled
Ljubljana shows 5 weekly flights for S21, and Pristina 1 weekly

https://twitter.com/x/status/1339224079337988097

 

[superking]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1285610608193396736

If this route goes ahead,it will be perfect for you Jerry.Jerry not been able to get out to the States i hope all is well with you both. Stay safe and merry christmas.

 

[Jerry]

If this route goes ahead,it will be perfect for you Jerry.Jerry not been able to get out to the States i hope all is well with you both. Stay safe and merry christmas.

They cancelled it. When I'm eventually allowed to travel to the USA I'll most likely stick to Cardiff and KLM for Portland especially.

 

[BRSregular]

Having just booked LHR to Vegas for November, is there any way to know at this stage which plane would be serving the route? A quick online search states they use the 747 for this route!!

 

[superking]

I would say the 777 will be used. Think back a engine fire at Vegas was a 777. Happy new year.

 

[KARFA]

Probably 777 or A350. Things are changing so much atm, and still likely to change further over the next few months, that it’s highly likely whatever is showing now will not be the type you actually come November.

 

[Jerry]

Having just booked LHR to Vegas for November, is there any way to know at this stage which plane would be serving the route? A quick online search states they use the 747 for this route!!

If you have your booking reference for your flight if you go onto BA website it should say under flight details. Or you could look at the seat plan that might tell you but it is probable that it could change between here and now. But confident to say it won't be a 747!

 

[Jerry]

It appears that the Ghanaian government is not happy with BA decision of moving Accra to Gatwick and Ghana Aviation ministry has asked them to rescind the decision or expect reciprocal action including being told to land at other airports in Ghana.
https://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHo...-saga-Ghana-to-take-reciprocal-action-1163626

 

[TheLocalYokel]

It appears that the Ghanaian government is not happy with BA decision of moving Accra to Gatwick and Ghana Aviation ministry has asked them to rescind the decision or expect reciprocal action including being told to land at other airports in Ghana.
https://mobile.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHo...-saga-Ghana-to-take-reciprocal-action-1163626

Won't BA just stop flying to Ghana if the government there carries out its 'threat'? I can't imagine Ghana is anywhere near to being the airline's blue riband route. Nose, face and cutting come to mind.

 

[Jerry]

Won't BA just stop flying to Ghana if the government there carries out its 'threat'? I can't imagine Ghana is anywhere near to being the airline's blue riband route. Nose, face and cutting come to mind.

They could but they could leave the route open for Virgin to step in on which would be a good bit of pr for them. BA said that the route has only 18% business traffic. There is a big Ghanaian community in London so I suspect most of the passengers are vfr.
Obviously we don't know if there's any subsidy involved but I suspect that the Ghanaian government may well feel insulted by the move to Gatwick!

 

[TheLocalYokel]

They could but they could leave the route open for Virgin to step in on which would be a good bit of pr for them. BA said that the route has only 18% business traffic. There is a big Ghanaian community in London so I suspect most of the passengers are vfr.
Obviously we don't know if there's any subsidy involved but I suspect that the Ghanaian government may well feel insulted by the move to Gatwick!

It's a peculiarity why so many organisations and individuals, including it seems governments, seem to imbue Heathrow with a sort of cachet when compared with Gatwick. Both airports serve London after all.

I can understand that point of view from major international companies having substantial presences that have grown through being located near Heathrow, with the prosperity and economy of much of the Thames Valley very much linked to that airport. If that doesn't apply does it really matter whether after an inter-continental flight to London you land at Heathrow or Gatwick?

 

[Jerry]

It's a peculiarity why so many organisations and individuals, including it seems governments, seem to imbue Heathrow with a sort of cachet when compared with Gatwick. Both airports serve London after all.

Heathrow seems to have a prestige about it that Gatwick doesn't. Gatwick is very much considered a low cost leisure airport.

 

[KARFA]

That's because LGW is a low cost leisure airport.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Heathrow seems to have a prestige about it that Gatwick doesn't. Gatwick is very much considered a low cost leisure airport.

That's because LGW is a low cost leisure airport.

They are still both major airports serving London and the UK from around the world, albeit LHR has a much greater range of long-haul flights of course, but I don't understand why those long-haul flights that still use Gatwick should be regarded in some way as an inferior experience. In the ten years up to the pandemic I've used Emirates annually to Dubai and then onward long-haul connectivity - admittedly for VFR purposes and not business. At various times I've used both LHR and LGW. The latter takes around 40 minutes longer to reach from my home but I was happy with both airports and would be content to use either again, as would my wife who has no interest in aviation other than as a means of getting from A to B.

There always seemed to be a mix of what appeared to be business and leisure travellers on Emirates flights from both airports. The EK lounges were on a par with each other in my experience, the only difference being LHR has a view of airfield operations whilst LGW doesn't which might be important to some dedicated aviation enthusiasts.

I've not used British Airways for many years but I wonder if they experience a change of passenger profile when switching a route from LHR to LGW.