NEW START FOR BA?

POST Panda01

DATE Feb 10, 08:37

British Airways has announced flights from Stansted using Cityflyer. Could this be a new start in operating outside of London? If so, I reckon Scotland or Belfast could be next.

RichardB Feb 10, 08:59

All the flights are done with one plane visiting the four cities in rotation, at a time when London City airport [LCY] is closed (Saturday lunchtime-Sunday lunchtime). So hardly a major shift in direction for BA.

conshaldo Feb 10, 09:31

A great idea from BA. The airline may have failed in pulling Edinburgh travellers away from Jet2/Ryanair/Easyjet and has set its sights now on Stansted. With more loyal travellers in the Greater London area, it could be seen as a more successful operation.

SimonS1 Feb 10, 11:43

I thought it was just a way of using Cityflyer planes that do not operate out of LCY at the weekend. In the past they have done charter work; maybe this is a change of tack.

Daytripper Feb 10, 13:11

A sensible use of BA resources. I regularly fly with BA from LCY to Palma and Ibiza. During the summer they are always full, and for those who find LCY convenient, Stansted is similarly useful. My burning question to BA concerns lounge access. Although I’m not expecting a BA lounge, Stansted has a third-party facility. No excuses this time, BA. [Editor’s note: eligible passengers will be able to use the airport’s Escape lounge.]

rferguson Feb 10, 13:17

BA has always said it will deploy its resources where it can generate the most return. If BA identifies that a B777 can generate more revenue and yield by operating, say, from Manchester to Mont-Joli [Canada] than from Heathrow, it will launch the route. I don’t think BA has ever had a policy of never launching flights from non-London airports. The numbers just need to add up.