Originally Posted by
globetrotter79
Being reported that the LGW-BGI route will move to LHR from the end of the coming winter season. Whilst of course this could be an individual route move in reaction to the Virgin introduction of LHR-BGI.....since it is such a core anchor route for BA Gatwick long haul, is this a sign BA are going to pull up stumps entirely at Gatwick??
Not necessarily as the schedule shows one daily flight from Heathrow and one daily flight from Gatwick instead of the two daily flights being from Gatwick.
Personally I do not believe any shift from Gatwick for all services will be permanent. Gatwick is a lower cost airport to operate from than Heathrow. Furthermore the leisure market may well recover more quickly than the business market and the former is Gatwick’s strength. Willie Walsh said recently it is the kind of market BA needs to retain right now. Not all the 6 million customers BA flies from Gatwick will follow them to Heathrow or be prepared to pay the Heathrow premium especially in lean times. You only have to compare the prices on duplicate routes to see this. BA holiday prices from Gatwick are also very competitive when compared to Heathrow based departures. Many of those passengers will migrate to EasyJet, Ryanair. Tui etc... and maybe permanently.
i think a lot will depend on bookings for Summer 2021. Summer 2020 is a write off and Winter 2020/2021 will be very tough.
The fleet and network may well contract for a couple of years but go completely I’m not sure.
I am no expert just my thoughts.