GB Airways
Will,
i'm not so sure about the 319's being old, unreliable and ready for scrapping.
BA's 1st A319 was G-EUPA which was only built in 1999 and came into service at the END of that year... their most recent A319 is late 2001.
By your reckoning, if these a/c have an 8 year life span then EZY are gonna have to start looking at their fleet replacement program quite soon!
G-BUSJ was a problematic a/c i gather, but it was 10 years older than even the oldest A319.
Besides, even if the a/c aren't new i think it's a good sign that BA are still committed to LGW eh?
i'm not so sure about the 319's being old, unreliable and ready for scrapping.
BA's 1st A319 was G-EUPA which was only built in 1999 and came into service at the END of that year... their most recent A319 is late 2001.
By your reckoning, if these a/c have an 8 year life span then EZY are gonna have to start looking at their fleet replacement program quite soon!
G-BUSJ was a problematic a/c i gather, but it was 10 years older than even the oldest A319.
Besides, even if the a/c aren't new i think it's a good sign that BA are still committed to LGW eh?
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Thats correct, they were making money mainly due to the sell on board product. The quicker that comes in through the whole fleet, the quicker the airline will make some money (gotta retain club though)...........
With LGW going all airbus shorthaul, will there be any crossover on routes/aircraft/pilots? ie will BA pilots fly GB aircraft, or will GB fly some BA routes, or will some GB pilots fly BA aircraft?!? Certainly adds some interesting scenarios there for BALPA..........
Will
With LGW going all airbus shorthaul, will there be any crossover on routes/aircraft/pilots? ie will BA pilots fly GB aircraft, or will GB fly some BA routes, or will some GB pilots fly BA aircraft?!? Certainly adds some interesting scenarios there for BALPA..........
Will
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Wild claims huh, mark my words, MAN will close within 2 years,..........GB cannot expand there due to the lack of slots, and the risk does not merit the return they are making (unless of course they can get more slots).
Will, sorry to dampen your theory, but GB Airways has never failed to get slots at Manchester to expand. It has always been allocated the slots for which it applied - there or thereabouts with the odd move if its requested slots weren't immediately available at the precise times. If it wants more slots, it needs to apply. To say that it hasn't expanded due to lack of slots when it had never applied for any more is, I'm afraid, rather wide of the mark.
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How long before GB pull out of Madeira then? Shall we start a sweepstake?! 
easyJet has announced a major expansion of its route network from a number of UK airports, with the launch of seven new flights to destinations across Europe. The expansion, to take place in the autumn, will see the addition of Madeira to its route network, plus new routes to current destinations such as Lisbon and Krakow, bringing the total number of easyJet routes to 307 across 80 airports in 22 countries.
From the autumn Funchal in the south east of Madeira will be served by a daily flight from Stansted Airport, plus three weekly flights from Bristol (on Monday, Thursday and Saturday). Both new routes start on October 29.
Bristol Airport will also get four flights a week to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, starting October 31, with flights from Gatwick starting a day earlier. The Polish city of Krakow is also to benefit from two new routes - one from Edinburgh with four flights a week and the other to Bournemouth, offering three flights a week. Both routes launch in late October.
A spokesman for easyJet said the decision to expand its network across the UK is an effort to connect its bases with a variety of attractive destinations and provide convenient, flexible, low fares to major destinations, from local airports. One-way fares on flights to Krakow start from £21.99, with single tickets to Funchal starting from £24.99, inclusive of fees and charges.
easyJet has announced a major expansion of its route network from a number of UK airports, with the launch of seven new flights to destinations across Europe. The expansion, to take place in the autumn, will see the addition of Madeira to its route network, plus new routes to current destinations such as Lisbon and Krakow, bringing the total number of easyJet routes to 307 across 80 airports in 22 countries.
From the autumn Funchal in the south east of Madeira will be served by a daily flight from Stansted Airport, plus three weekly flights from Bristol (on Monday, Thursday and Saturday). Both new routes start on October 29.
Bristol Airport will also get four flights a week to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, starting October 31, with flights from Gatwick starting a day earlier. The Polish city of Krakow is also to benefit from two new routes - one from Edinburgh with four flights a week and the other to Bournemouth, offering three flights a week. Both routes launch in late October.
A spokesman for easyJet said the decision to expand its network across the UK is an effort to connect its bases with a variety of attractive destinations and provide convenient, flexible, low fares to major destinations, from local airports. One-way fares on flights to Krakow start from £21.99, with single tickets to Funchal starting from £24.99, inclusive of fees and charges.
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Without aggressive marketing from GB ? BA ? they willl both continue to lose routes. BA seems unable to resond to the new outfits on the block be they short haul and longhaul. Will it be a long / short drawn out death following IB and Alitalia.(plus staff cost reductions).
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Am I right in thinking the Franchise expires in 2010, and is due to be renegotiated in the coming months? Its all just gone too quiet at the moment. Is that cos its summer season, or is that because something is happening behind the scenes?
Will Very Bored
Will Very Bored
Will, the franchise is still up in 2010 but heaven knows when its renewal (or cancellation?) is renegociated....
Some on here claim to 'know' it's being cancelled so perhaps they can tell you more
Some on here claim to 'know' it's being cancelled so perhaps they can tell you more
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Heard the project in the middle east got shelved, so looks like its gonna be a quiet winter, but check this I found,..........
BA plans US flights from European capitals next summer
20.08.07
British Airways is to launch its first transatlantic flights from continental capitals next summer in a move that is expected to start a tit-for-tat battle with its large European rivals, the Times newspaper reports. It is suggested that the new services will start next May.
The airline's directors are understood to have given the go-ahead for the services within the past few weeks. A new 'airline-within-an-airline' will use a fleet of modified Airbus A321s, smaller than the planes BA uses for its transatlantic flights from the UK, for the routes from Europe to the US. They are expected to be operated by GB Airways, and fly from Brussels, Madrid and Paris to New York's John F Kennedy airport, although the final network is yet to be decided.
The flights will not be business-class only, as had been reported. Instead, they will have at least two classes, business and a less luxurious offering. It is not yet known whether this will be BA's normal economy seating or a type of premium-economy cabin.
BA declined to comment on its plans for GB Airways, but Willie Walsh, the chief executive, has in the past made clear its intentions to start services from the Continent to America, in order to take advantage of the EU - US "open skies" deal, which will also open up its Heathrow hub to more competition.
BA executives believe that the strength of its brand is such that it can lure passengers away from its big European rivals such as Air France and Lufthansa, even in their home markets. They also think the same is true in America, where the BA name has particular clout with business travellers.
But Air France and Lufthansa are unlikely to take BA's invasion of their home turf lying down. European airlines could choose to follow BA's lead and start flights direct from Heathrow to the US, or, as some analysts believe more likely, donate precious landing slots at the London airport to their American partner airlines to allow them to compete head-on with BA.
GB Airways also faces competition from a new wave of low-cost all-business-class airlines. Eos and MAXjet fly from Stansted to New York and other US destinations, while Silverjet flies from Luton to New York. Some airline executives believe that a major European airline could strike a franchise deal with one of the new carriers to mount a frontal assault on BA at Heathrow.
BA plans US flights from European capitals next summer
20.08.07
British Airways is to launch its first transatlantic flights from continental capitals next summer in a move that is expected to start a tit-for-tat battle with its large European rivals, the Times newspaper reports. It is suggested that the new services will start next May.
The airline's directors are understood to have given the go-ahead for the services within the past few weeks. A new 'airline-within-an-airline' will use a fleet of modified Airbus A321s, smaller than the planes BA uses for its transatlantic flights from the UK, for the routes from Europe to the US. They are expected to be operated by GB Airways, and fly from Brussels, Madrid and Paris to New York's John F Kennedy airport, although the final network is yet to be decided.
The flights will not be business-class only, as had been reported. Instead, they will have at least two classes, business and a less luxurious offering. It is not yet known whether this will be BA's normal economy seating or a type of premium-economy cabin.
BA declined to comment on its plans for GB Airways, but Willie Walsh, the chief executive, has in the past made clear its intentions to start services from the Continent to America, in order to take advantage of the EU - US "open skies" deal, which will also open up its Heathrow hub to more competition.
BA executives believe that the strength of its brand is such that it can lure passengers away from its big European rivals such as Air France and Lufthansa, even in their home markets. They also think the same is true in America, where the BA name has particular clout with business travellers.
But Air France and Lufthansa are unlikely to take BA's invasion of their home turf lying down. European airlines could choose to follow BA's lead and start flights direct from Heathrow to the US, or, as some analysts believe more likely, donate precious landing slots at the London airport to their American partner airlines to allow them to compete head-on with BA.
GB Airways also faces competition from a new wave of low-cost all-business-class airlines. Eos and MAXjet fly from Stansted to New York and other US destinations, while Silverjet flies from Luton to New York. Some airline executives believe that a major European airline could strike a franchise deal with one of the new carriers to mount a frontal assault on BA at Heathrow.
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Europe to USA on an A321???... (even if it is in a sort of all business config)...
I am assuming thats a typo as, even with extra fuel tanks etc, the performance and "per seat" trip/overheads costs on that has got to look dire compared with either the little buses/737NGs or the venerable B757!
I am assuming thats a typo as, even with extra fuel tanks etc, the performance and "per seat" trip/overheads costs on that has got to look dire compared with either the little buses/737NGs or the venerable B757!