What is the situation regarding crewing of the new Embraer's. Given that there were originally 11 RJ's and they will be replaced by another 11 a/c, does this change the required number of pilots and cabin crew?
Cabin Crew compliment will reduce from 3 to 2. They need to reduce the headcount by about 25. The head count is to drop at the EDI base. It is hoped it will be achieved through part time working, unpaid leave and voluntary severence.
Will the E-Jets be owned by BA or will they be leased?
The aircraft are owned by BA.
What is the current load factor of the Cityflyer flights? Replacing a 110seat RJ100 with a 70seat E170 is a significant reduction of capacity (as the larger E190s will not arrive for another 12 months or). Or is Cityflyer not selling a third or so of the seats on RJ100 for performance / comfort reasons?
The BA routes are high yielding ex LCY. They easily fill the second 0720 ex EDI M-Thu and the 1600 Wed-Fri. The last 2 ex LCY most nights. Otherwise they can have anything between 20-60 pax during the day,
FRA, AMS, ZRH, GLA and MAD will be more suited to the E170 than the RJ's when it comes to loads.