Whilst waiting for my BA Newcastle-Heathrow flight yesterday I was able to observe the loading of the Kuwait Airways plane. Security was evident and lots of people involved to get the job done quickly. The airbus left about 30 minutes before we did. Incidentally the flight crew of the inbound flight were passengers on our flight to Heathrow. I expect they were going to have some rest before operating from Heathrow. Not sure why they didnt simply return as 'passengers' on their own plane, unless they are rules against this. It was a passenger plane with only the holds being used for its precious cargo.
Also 2 Flybe cabin crew flew to Heathrow too as passengers which was unusual especially as a Flybe Gatwick flight left just minutes before us.
On my recent trip to Newcastle both flights to and from the city were absolutley full with a wide range of passengers. Not bad for midweek February. Must produce good results for BA.
Disappointing that that Gatwick route does not appear so strong. Maybe Flybe are missing a trick. 3 times daily with a jet and competitive fares may appeal to the point to point market abit more. I appreciate BA carry alot of connecting traffic but there were at least 50 point to point on our dlight who collected luggage from reclaim plus others who simply had cabin bags. With good rail connections to London from Gatwick and elsewhere Flybe could I feel do better on this route. I think the chopping and changing of frequency from week to week is partly to blame. I know this may improve their yield but does not help passenger perceptions. With BA I know that on most occasions I have 6 flights a day to choose from with little variation.
V.