Originally Posted by
Sotonsean
Great to see China Eastern Airlines return to LGW with a resumption of service from Shanghai.
I've seen this flight several times on the LGW arrivals/departures board but shown as cancelled. I have noticed that this often happens when airlines are due to announce new routes.
China Southern Airlines from Wuhan has also appeared recently on the LGW arrivals/departures boards. I wonder if China Southern Airlines will be the next long haul airline to announce service to LGW.
Indeed
LGW now has a nice mix of airlines that mirror the mix pre-covid up to 2019/early 2020
It certainly has come a long way since it was on its knees when all the travel restrictions were in place. Hopefully more are in the pipeline
IIRC I think China Southern were initially planning on moving the route to Wuhan from LHR to LGW prior the pandemic breaking out? Could certainly see them making an entrance to LGW. Cathay I think will also be looking at resuming LGW either this year or next, as they rebuild their network.
I also predict that Delta will expand presence at Gatwick, depending on JetBlue's expansion at LGW. For instance, I can see them launching BOS to compete with B6 on the route. This was a route that Delta had planned for LGW originally before Covid hit. Sadly, I don't think we will see VS back at LGW for some time, which is a shame.