Big BA pulling out of Scotland for good?

[Toastal]

All over the Scottish press today announcing BA's MEGA cut-back on flights from Gla and Edi to Gatwick and LHR between Sept 08 through to April 09. Over 300 flights from Abz to LHR going also. There's a total of 740 flights to be axed out of Glasgow alone!!

Who's gonna pick up the slack up there (Ezy/Flybe)?

T

[rubik101]

Well, might it be Ryanair, I wonder?

[hunterboy]

Unintended consequence of Emirates et al I suppose.

[ukdean]

Here we go, I know its bad but this should give some breathing space for the guys at easy jet and possible good news for them. Hold on guys....

[sidtheesexist]

And 5 yrs down the line after we've (BA) withdrawn completely to 'fortress' LHR, a new CEO will come along and say what an inspirational idea it would be to fly the flag in the regions - lets start up the Scottish routes etc...Talk about reinventing the wheel........

[Carnage Matey!]

How many flights per day will BA be operating from EDI, GLA and ABZ after the cutbacks? I'd hazard a guess that EDI and GLA will still be amongst the most frequently served destinations by BA from London. I know the Scots are used to everything being subsidised () but if the schedule isn't making money then some of the rotations are going to have to be axed.

[mustpost]

SLF here - I gather that the selective cuts (6% ? - in total more like 10%) are structured in such a way - as I understand it -that the timetables shift weekly and as such Willie W***** doesn't lose the slots.
Hootsmon has it here
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/late...ed-.4351288.jp
Quote -
"It's worrying that BA appears to be pulling in its horns with a bit of jiggery pokery. These complex proposals seem to guarantee their landing slots without guaranteeing passengers the present level of service."

Quite....

"Concerned Passenger, Morningside, Edinburgh"

Bring it on (Independence that is....)(for Carnage Matey!)

(hat,coat etc etc.)

[Ametyst1]

It sounds like the press are going over the top. BA is basically pulling two flights a day on some days from both Glasgow and Edinburgh to Gatwick. Aberdeen loses one flight a day to Heathrow and Glasgow loses one flight a day to Gatwick. Edinburgh to Gatwick appears to be unchanged.

I think it is 740 flights over the entire winter season (370 in each direction) and probably includes the Lognair flights which are going to be operated under Fly Be Flight numbers

[merlinxx]

Air Jockistan

When will Air Jockistan be starting to replace the filthy English Airways on the colonial routes to the north?

[Skipness One Echo]

Toastal that's an overreaction that The Sun would be proud of. No routes dropped, core London services remain, and off peak frequencies being dropped as the airline tightens it's belt. Get a bloody grip people.
The future of the London bound market from Scotland is being more focussed on London City, with the slots at Heathrow being used for more profitable ong haul routes. This is not an option open to Aberdeen and as oil traffic dries up, who knows....If these routes are soooo amazing then why is bmi not jumping to expand and why did they dump Inverness?

As for independence? To what end as far as London services go? Anyone is free to fly to Heathrow. Continental, NWA and Delta all got slots.......*cough*

[mustpost]

Aha - 'Jock' and 'stan' in 2 posts -PPRuNe never lets one down..
Sorry, I meant Willy Wonka.

[frontcheck]

Any news on what bmi are planning LHR/Scotland , or are they likely to sit back and pick up the revenue?

[Carnage Matey!]

If BA can't find any revenue on the routes what makes you think bmi are going to do any better? This whole thread seems to start from the premise that their are vast hordes of Scots ready and willing to pay viable prices to fly to Heathrow throughout the day. Were that true then less profitable routes would have been cut.

[Richard Taylor]

bmi are going to 7 rotations shortly between ABZ & LHR, probably a further E145 rotation.

[mustpost]

Carnage Matey!

Sorry to be so subtle (and I mean it, honest). The Hootsmon aka Johnston Press has a fiercely Unionist agenda here in Jockland, despite the fact that the Nats have made some serious improvements to our quality of life - and a few mistakes as well it must be said.
The JP agenda is to preserve their UK advertising revenue at all costs -today they even gave us Scots a free larger than life colour map of the UK for cr*ssake. The same ethos applies to News Corporation. (Google is your ..etc.). They're not going to like it up 'em.
The prominence they and others give to this story is two-fold - flag carrier bowing to financial pressures and cutting back internal routes means Old Blighty is in trouble - even more than Northern Rock.
Scottish= Edinburgh financial red-eyes will have less choice (and there are a lot of them, again check Edinburgh-London business flights.) They cannae go to London when they want. The business argument for a connected UK then founders. See? I told you journalism wasn't easy..
Cheers
M

(footsteps off -Mod detecting political rant - dele........................

[Sheep fancier]

"How many flights per day will BA be operating from EDI, GLA and ABZ after the cutbacks? I'd hazard a guess that EDI and GLA will still be amongst the most frequently served destinations by BA from London. I know the Scots are used to everything being subsidised () but if the schedule isn't making money then some of the rotations are going to have to be axed."

"Subsidised?"

"...... Topping the list of course is London and even Manchester is 22. Glasgow or Edinburgh are both conspicuous by their absence.

Scotland has literally and deliberately been cut off from reasonable direct access from the rest of the world.

I also wondered where British Airways is centralized with their top paying HQ jobs - well what a surprise Greater London.

Interesting to see how London in particular is doing out of this Union :

. £30 billion subway upgrade program
see - tinyurl.com/6sxrgv
. £5.9 billion on one London railway station
see - tinyurl.com/6yheht
. £16 billion For another London rail line
see - tinyurl.com/yphdwl
. £1 billion to upgrade an existing railway station
see - tinyurl.com/5sn8mm
. three quarters of a billion on a Dome !
see - tinyurl.com/6h6ezn
. Followed of course by yet another London regeneration project
£5 billion
see tinyurl.com/5l3jp3
. £6 billion Channel Tunnel Rail Link
see - tinyurl.com/4pg53n
. £2.5 billion -Roads just around the Docklands in London
http://tinyurl.com/5
5wh6b
. £3.2 billion For Another Tube line
see - tinyurl.com/5qjoao
. £1 billion improvement to an existing Light Rail Line
see - tinyurl.com/6q2424
. £20 biReport Unsuitable2 Traquir , Alba,03/08/2008 00:54:42
cont.

. £20 billion for a Second Thames flood barrier planned
see - tinyurl.com/5uf79a
. A £4 billion greenhouse tower over Batersea power station
see- tinyurl.com/6ac8hn
. £9.3 billion for the Channel Tunnel -
see tinyurl.com/6s4vsb
. £4.3 billion for a 5th Heathrow Terminal
see - tinyurl.com/2h5hx6
. £5 billion Upgrade other London airport upgrades
see - tinyurl.com/5oe82n
. £10 billion Plans for Heathrow link to Channel tunnel
see - tinyurl.com/568dzq
. £13 billion for a third runway Heathrow runway
see - tinyurl.com/3bgdtt
. £9 billion for Brown's plans to transform Thames Gateway
see - tinyurl.com/4kr3pt

We Scots are being taken for fools by this Union that we are funding, and we do even have a basic level of international airline travel.
We need to end this Union before it completely bankrupts us.

Saor Alba"

[Wingswinger]

We need to end this Union before it completely bankrupts us.

I'm speechless. And I'm Scottish.