BAs Route Cuts From LGW ....
I have heard from a variety of sources that the following are quite likely BA long haul cuts from LGW, to be announced soon. LGW-ATL is having tremendous difficulty. Since the US/France openskies and the AF/DL anti trtust immunity in the US, the loads and yeilds are close to non existant. In short they are being hit hard by AF and DL and it will be axed. The LGW-DFW will soon be hit very hard by AA at DFW. AA does not like the way BA handled the fiasco over their propsed alliance. In short look for AA to give BA hell in DFW and the route will be cut.Likewsie look for AA to amke inroads in North Carolina and the flight LGW-Charlotte will be gone. LGW-SAN will be gone, at least as a nonstop. It might be added on to LHR-LAX but that remains undecided. Feeling is that the LGW-MCO is too popular with family groups etc. that it might just survive. It is undecided what will happen to LGW-BWI. It might survive is a LHR flight. But definetly Charlotte is a goner. That leaves LGW-PHX and LGW-DEN, both of which are doing well. The question is than it is profitable to keep staff, equipment etc. at LGW just for these handfull of flights. On a final note, IAH-LGW is feeling pressure from CO and its IAH-LGW flight and so as a last resort the routing this summer will be LHR-IAD-IAH. My feeling is that it will not work becasue of teh extra time in route and by october, that flight may be gone too. One does not have to have an IQ level of a genius to realize that BA is hruting rather badly in the US, without an alliance partner to feed them traffic etc. Regardless of whom they ever team up with in the US, US/UK openskies will be an absolute requirement. The only thing is that if they go with CO,NW or even US again, there will be little or possibly no route overlap. However the basic requirement of openskies will not change. Look for these route cuts to be made public in phases over a couple of weeks, starting perhaps as early as next week.