Originally Posted by
Flightrider
There is actually a bit of a sea-change hidden within this announcement, I think. Of late, the mantra has been very much that whatever happens at Gatwick must not be allowed to impact on Heathrow - the only really duplicate routes have been domestics (predominantly for long-haul leisure feed) and Amsterdam (much the same). Adding Berlin and Madrid at Gatwick together with also continuing to serve some of the routes at Heathrow looks to be a relaxation of that policy if indeed it hasn't been taken out completely.
Interesting point of view, actually. MAD is obviously an IAG hub and BER seems to be a strong point of sale for BA - the E-190s have been shuttled through on the way to STN/MAN/SOU over the years. ATH in the summer is a no-brainer and was one of the first "long" routes for LCC's back in the day. Quite a number of 'leisure' flights remain at Heathrow, so that might be playing into the mix too.
In any case it looks like a decent summer schedule and one which should be able to stand on its own two feet - the destinations are mainly O&D, as you say.