British Airways

[Bigman]

Bang goes that idea then. The industry carnage continues.

 

[KARFA]

Just out of interest im aware BA are cutting back bigtime but what other routes have they cut or reduced? I must say though this industry sure does have its ups and downs!

So far
Heathrow - Beirut (this happened in March and predated the current crisis)
Heathrow - Helsinki
Heathrow - Leeds Bradford
Heathrow - Moscow SVO (DME route continues)

Also these are suspended for summer 2020
Heathrow - Calgary
Heathrow - Charleston
Heathrow - Montpellier
Heathrow - Podgorica

I think there will be further route cancellations and frequency reductions to come for this summer. BA do not expect to be back to full capacity for a few years.

 

[LBA4EVER]

That's what I was thinking. This might give the orange boys more of a reason to come in. However, overall I agree with lbaspotter that LNER are pretty much sorted now with the new Azuma fleet, and with more direct services from Harrogate, they are a much better prospect now.

Easyjet could operate from leeds straight away with the amount of key routes that are missing from leeds atm!

 

[White Heather]

Key routes missing yes but an inadequate terminal. I will be surprised if they even consider LBA in any meaningful way before a new terminal is built but a link to Belfast using a Belfast based aircraft several times a day avoiding peak periods would be a step in the right direction in the interim.

 

[752]

I’m sure airlines key focus is chasing the money after this pandemic, LBA BHD was up to x5 daily, of course it’s a money maker, if I was jet2 I would be looking at opening up a double daily At least even if temporary..

no brainier for easyJet or Ryanair to jump on it either.

 

[Finger66]

So BA are gone from LBA:
Disappointing: of course it is
Surprising: not in the least
The whole industry is in the biggest hole it has probably ever been in so once again a common sense business approach is having to be adopted. As has been posted by others, we are not the only ones to suffer from BA cutbacks. The IAG focus out of LBA needs to be the USA with EI. KLM can pick up traffic that goes East, North and South. It was posted earlier how flying East to AMS to come back west to the USA, whilst done, isn't the most logical.
As for any new entrants and return to frequency levels on all routes we are all just going to have to be very patient.
Get on with the terminal development so it's totally fit for purpose for when pre Covid pax levels return in a few years time.
The current terminal will be able to handle the new pax levels, albeit social distancing may prove the issue.
We all have to keep a level head and keep things in perspective just now, however much we may have wanted BA 3 times a day inc a night stopper and however much we would like an Orange or two. And of course there is more too. The right facilities will do the trick int time............

 

[Nethercote2019]

I think that everyone in airline industry realised that it’s going to be a slow recovery from Covid, even the mighty LHR will suffer & I Personally think they are probably allowing airlines to take steps to save money & not force them to use slots, as everyone know LBA was only ever a filler

 

[White Heather]

I think that everyone in airline industry realised that it’s going to be a slow recovery from Covid, even the mighty LHR will suffer & I Personally think they are probably allowing airlines to take steps to save money & not force them to use slots, as everyone know LBA was only ever a filler

A filler that lasted 7.5 years? I think not.

 

[Bigman]

If ever there was time for Aer Lingus to upgrade the Dublin flights, then this is it. We now have no ‘sensible’ connections across the pond other than via Dublin, so perhaps it is time for their main fleet A320’s to be deployed to provide much needed additional capacity.

Perhaps this might now also be the ideal time for Air France to give it a bash. I am also wondering whether Icelandair would be a possibility now with the connections that they can offer over the pond.

 

[Britannia94]

Perhaps this might now also be the ideal time for Air France to give it a bash. I am also wondering whether Icelandair would be a possibility now with the connections that they can offer over the pond.

Unfortunately I can’t see Icelandair being a contender until the issues with the 737 max are rectified.

The BA route to LHR was also vital for a fair few staff who I know who work for the company to get to and from work before operating flights out of LHR. I know some who don’t like the idea of commuting across to Manchester and then down from there. Be interesting to see how many of those this affects, that is if there not made redundant.

 

[Statto]

Except they weren’t targeting customers going to central London - they were after passengers to feed their long haul network. I travelled on quite a few busy flights and almost all of the passengers disembarked and went straight into T5 departures

 

[Ashwo99]

I used it for an unashamedly nerdy purpose, back when you could get LBA-LHR-LBA and be at LHR for most of the day I took a trip down to 1) Try out BA as I’d never used them before, and 2) to get a days spotting in at LHR, not the cheapest way to do it, but it was my birthday money so I thought why not, plus it got another 2 passengers (Me and my dad) added to the route statistics, as a large supermarket says, every little helps. Shame it’s been pulled now.

 

[LBA787]

I knew the writing was on the wall when BA announced Inverness and subsequently upgraded that service to a night stopper over LBA.

It’s a shame really as we or in fact BA for that matter will never really know how the route would’ve performed had it had the optimal operation.

 

[Starflyer]

I'm not really sure you can compare the two. The local powers-that-be around Inverness absolutely threw money at getting the BA nightstop into INV. Unless there is a similar civic and local development will around LBA, it just couldn't compete. It wasn't really much of a decision for BA.

 

[Jerry]

I'm not really sure you can compare the two. The local powers-that-be around Inverness absolutely threw money at getting the BA nightstop into INV. Unless there is a similar civic and local development will around LBA, it just couldn't compete. It wasn't really much of a decision for BA.

It probably also helps that Inverness is exempt from APD.

 

[XEROX]

It probably also helps that Inverness is exempt from APD.

Unrelated, but I wouldnt be surprised if the goverment abolished APD post Covid + Brexit

 

[Aviador]

Unrelated, but I wouldnt be surprised if the goverment abolished APD post Covid + Brexit

It isn't going to be the cash cow it once was.

 

[White Heather]

Unrelated, but I wouldnt be surprised if the goverment abolished APD post Covid + Brexit

Extinction Rebellion won't like it. They won't want anything that helps aviation recover. They are loving seeing it decimated.

 

[XEROX]

Extinction Rebellion won't like it. They won't want anything that helps aviation recover. They are loving seeing it decimated.

Very true, but the aviation sector is an economy driver, ER can shout all they like, but when the UK economy shrinks by 20.4% - as it currently has, we will find that money talks.

The politicians will probably introduce minor green / carbon taxes, but they will definitely want the sector to be key for any economic recovery.

 

[scottrhino]

Yes it’s strange that ER target aviation and not an Amazon distribution centre for example, which imports thousands of shipped goods and has 100’s of courier vans delivering 18 hours a day.

I work in a sector that has seen courier deliveries increase massively post Covid 19 so with imports and distribution are adding massively to carbon emissions but that’s ignored.

These people will be marching today or tomorrow and are generally just anarchists against the state. They’re a minority but seem to have a big voice. I wonder what their solution is to the problem, mud huts, horse and cart and gardens growing your own veg.......oh sorry not horses as they create methane, damages the ozone!!