It was Virgin that launched Islamabad in response to COVID-19. BA returned to Islamabad in 2019. There was a government press release when the route was announced so there was evidently a lot of conversations at high levels about BA returning to Pakistan.

One branch of my family got caught by serious delays MAD-LHR on Friday 1st July.

• They arrived at MAD 3.5hrs in advance but the queues were such that they had no time to get to the lounge.
• At T5,they waited by the baggage belt for 2 hrs before being told that their two bags were lost. The bags arrived a few days later in two separate deliveries.

All this with their 7mth daughter. Fortunately, their daughter did not scream the place down (in either airport) but the wait for baggage was really tedious. Eventually Mum came out to where we were waiting in order to get to the car to feed her. BA agreed to pay the extra time the car was in the parking but - is there any redress?

Will BA just say, "The airport facilities are beyond our control?"
Any suggestions? Thanks.

So BA suspends ticket sales for domestic and European flights for a week.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62386909

i need to fly to Dublin, do I change to IAG partner EI, just load shifting? In July dumped by BA used Italair? Another flight from Barcelona BA use Iberia aircraft. Not a flag carrier anymore.

London City is rolling along fine.

Albeit now swamped with all those needing short notice London trips.. good luck

BA domestic woes
 

BA domestic woes London Airport....

Apart from using LCY why not try SOU - they are offering a good and increasing choice of UK Domestic flights and to Eire and the C.I.
(and a great choice of BACF sunshine and leisure routes choice at weekends to France, Faro, Mykonos and Spain/Balearics. (also a BACF Edinburgh)

Only an hour on the train or less to SOU Parkway station from WATERLOO, Clapham Jctn and WOK.
3 minute walk to check-in or security - Check-in times no more than 1 hour or less.
Car Park is also superb and across the road from Terminal - Just off the M3 and M27.

Not my current experience.

Peak surely still to come…

Has BA Euroflyer started flying pax commercially yet, or is there a date when this is expected to start ? Late March 2023 ?
AFAIK, BA Euroflyer hasn't started yet and there seems to be no clear date as to when it will start in a substantive way

Aircraft are still on the mainline AOC and FD crews are using the BA/BAW "Speedbird" callsigns and IATA codes. Are the wheels in motion to even have a separate AOC or was it just a play to trash working conditions at BA LGW for 327th consecutive time to remain "competitive" whilst still tied to Waterworld's accounting procedures? Cabin Crew who have joined seem to be leaving in droves for greener grass elsewhere.

Schedule updates are currently being run for the winter season at Gatwick. GVA, LYS and SZG returning for the winter. AGP, AMS, DBV, NCE, RAK and VRN are extended into the winter as well.

And who can blame them. Lots of good friends there, operating upwards of 26 sectors a month for £1400, with a non existent management team who promote only their pals from Norwegian and are only heard from when they are dishing out overtime emails.

While I was moaning, a lot, EF, for flight crew at least, had stabilised significantly, my roster going forward doesn’t contain half as many consecutive 12+ hour duty duties. I feel like we are pushing in the right direction. Although with a new DFO joining from our wonderful pink and purple competitors I can only hope it doesn’t change, friends of mine over there don’t speak too highly.
I have to agree with the Cabin Crew however, they are where I believe the problem will lie, they are flocking out of the door, many just quitting flying all together, and they are being replaced by inexperienced crew who in turn leave when they realise there is no glamorous layover in Santorini and they have to clean the aircraft and come back. The salary is abysmal and isn’t exactly doing much in terms of retention. Things will have to change sharpish. But that’s just my two cents.

Please see my schedule updates for BA Gatwick Long Haul and BA Euroflyer Gatwick Short Haul that I have posted on the Gatwick Thread. Information was gained from online timetable, analysts and airline sources.

Regarding BA Euroflyer, I do hope they can sort the cabin crew issues soon. In terms of flight operations the short haul operation from Gatwick has been very stable in recent weeks with no unplanned cancellations.

To be fair to BA recruitment it does say clearly in the job adverts that I have seen that BA Euroflyer is a point to point airline with crew returning to base each day, late evening, early morning etc... I totally agree the salary is a sticking point. However again that is clearly stated in the adverts. I am not defending just saying!
This is the same for Easyjet Gatwick based Cabin Crew (apart from a handful of overnight stays)

One possible solution could be to recreate the Gatwick Fleet again for Cabin crew. However, I doubt this is possible with two brands (Mainline and Euroflyer) operating from Gatwick. Just a thought. At least the crew would then have a wider range of destinations and possible stopovers.

For some cabin crew, especially those with families the idea of returning to base at the end of each shift appeals. I also believe part-time and seasonal patterns are offered which also suits some people. I spoke to a cabin crew member when flying to Cyprus earlier this summer with BA Euroflyer and it was for family reasons (the return to base) she returned to Gatwick to work for Euroflyer. Cabin crew are also entitled to discounted travel over the whole BA network. EEK! I am sounding like an apologist, sorry! I just think that people need to do their research and make sure they fully appreciate what is involved before applying. I still agree though that the salary needs to be looked at.

BA are absolutely struggling with the new operation from LGW with cabin crew I am afraid to say !!

Most of the operation is being operated by LHR crew being bussed down to LGW , night in a hotel then operating 2/3 days of flights from LGW staying in a hotel at LGW then back up to LHR at the end of the trip

Are you talking about Cabin Crew here?

BA brought in mixed short haul and long haul flying for cabin crew at Gatwick back in 2006, which was a precursor to Mixed Fleet at Heathrow. Now Gatwick has gone back to separate short and long haul cabin crew fleets...

Yes absolutely. Personally I feel a return to something similar may be beneficial but difficult with the new set up.

Interesting that BA CityFlyer at London City is the opposite, they make extensive use of night stops, because that's what a significant part of their market is, business travel to London early morning, returning evening. The one hour time difference between UK and mainland Europe exacerbates this.

It wouldn’t be beneficial for anybody, because then they’d lose many of the hundreds of new recruits joining this Autumn who signed up to do long haul only out of LGW, many of whom were ex Norwegian long haul and applied for the trips to Antigua, Costa Rica and Orlando, not night Alicante or early Dalaman.

If they’re struggling to retain crew, they need to pay them more, not change the working agreement of another fleet.

I am not disputing what you say at all. I was just saying that previously the mixed fleet idea worked at Gatwick for years. That is why I said it would be difficult with the new set up.

The mixed flying didn't work well according to management who recently claimed it made short haul loss making and only a new even cheaper and poorer contract was essential to drag the loss making operation into profitability......bottom line is BA have decades of losses at short haul LGW and every time all they do is cut and cut and cut.

Financial reporting is an art form but highly political, you can choose to make some parts look bad by adding ridiculous overheads to them, something Waterworld has form for doing when it suits their cost cutting agenda. Who remembers the new fleet renewal that ended up being used end of lease Wizz Air A320s? Maybe the B737-MAX will change all of that.... 🤣

On paper it should be easier. The majority of crew are suited to either long haul or short haul based on their personal circumstances and would choose a fleet accordingly. If BA choose to pay their short haul cabin crew less than the competition in a post-Covid world of staff shortages across the industry, it's no wonder they're struggling to recruit and retain. BA think they can entice anyone with their brand name and staff travel, but the easyJet staff travel system is streets ahead for short haul travel, and the brand name's trashing was complete when they decided to throw the majority of their staff under the bus in one way or another during Covid.

Unfortunately, there's ample supply of Vueling, Iberia Express and Finnair aircraft and crew to plug the gap for the foreseeable future. No doubt they'll jump on the Smartlynx bandwagon if that supply ever runs dry. Anything but paying their own staff a fair wage.

The mixed flying worked in terms of crew retention. The problem was the seasonality of the Gatwick short haul operation. Correct staffing during the summer season but more than required
during the winter season.
I doubt short haul made losses for decades. There were some good years and some bad years. As we know BA changed the story according to what they wanted to do at Gatwick.
I personally do not think the 737 max is intended for BA Euroflyer. I think we shall see A321 and A320 arrive from Heathrow as more A321 or A320neos are delivered to Heathrow. Always fine about being wrong.
From my contacts the AOC for Euroflyer should be fully in place later this year.
From November the airline will only be using its own metal from then on. To be honest setting up the 'new' base within 6 months was always going to be a tall order.
From the cabin crew of view I agree something needs to be done. The overall package needs to be more attractive.

Some good news as Unite has agreed a new pay deal for staff across a number of workgroups:

https://www.theguardian.com/business...o-get-pay-rise

Another set of cancellations ?
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62637616

I had 2 of 3 flights cancelled by BA...

In other news, IS BA flying the A380 from London Heathrow to Vancouver in 2023 ? I`m planning a trip and would love to fly on the A380 again ( previously flew to YVR in 2018 on the A380 )

I`m thinking mid to late September - returning 2nd week of October 2023 to coincide with a cruise

Thanks

When searching for flights on BA.com you can clearly see what aircraft is being used on any given flight. Just search for the date's that you are planning on flying and the flight information including the aircraft type is available to view.

But in saying that British Airways have been using the A380 from London Heathrow to Vancouver on flight BA84/85 since the 01 June 2022. British Airways are using the A380 from London Heathrow to Vancouver on a seasoned basis with the last flight departing London on the 25 September 2022. Thereafter the BA84/85 will be operated by Boeing 777.

Although your planned flights are not until 02 October 2023 I should imagine that the same schedule for the seasonal A380 flights to Vancouver will remain more or less the same as 2022.

​​​​​​But your best advice is to search under the flight information on BA.com.

​​​​​
​​​​

The CURRENT plan is to drop capacity on LHR-YVR down to a B777 and offer an additional service from LGW on a B777-200ER, so as of today, no A380 planned to YVR for next summer.

BA taking over the Aer Lingus operated Belfast City to Heathrow route. https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2022-10...athrow-service

New route
 

Just read on another forum apparently will launch another route to the US in the next few weeks.

what about routes that were serve before the pandemic

like Kuala lumpar, Seoul, Osaka, Bangkok, Colombo, Seychelles, Durban, Lusaka,
Abu Dhabi, Oman, Bogotá now visa free travel for Colombian has been announced.

Or try new Jakarta, Manila, Cuba

Just think there’s so much potential for expansion…why always just America 🇺🇸

Simples, that’s where the money is!

because America is where they make money. Going East they are up against lots of different carriers and they already have a partnership with Qatar so why waste money on low yielding routes to Manila or Jakarta when you can send them with Qatar.

As you mentioned they tried several of the routes before the pandemic so they obviously have some indication of numbers. Kuala Lumpur and Colombo are served by other Oneworld partners so no point splitting the limited demand and wasting slots and resources. Oman Air will also join Oneworld so that will be covered too.

As for Cuba, demand there is falling. VS announced it was relaunching flights and dropped them before starting. The US now makes anyone who has been to Cuba in the past 5 years ineligible for an ESTA which has apparently affected demand a lot.

Will be one of the old faithfuls often dredged up.. Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Raleigh etc probably something with a strong AA / OW presence. I suspect some underwhelment.
But, better a new route (in US) than a cut service. And no, I do not expect it to be Honolulu (even from LGW).

I used to see the BA internal newspaper. On several occasions there were letters from staff along the lines of

"why don't we fly to XXX? Their national carrier always seems to fly full".

To which the answer was along the lines of "we've analysed that route and we don't believe we can make money from it".

Essentially, BA don't start new routes without an expectation of profit. Amongst other things that means a good "premium" load. It's been interesting to see how they've used 787s to start new routes. For instance Austin went from a 787 to a 777 to a 747 and now A350. Actually, I say "premium" load. They also take into account freight. I don't know if it's still true but at one time it was said that the Houston route didn't need to carry any economy (World Travller) passengers. They made enogh money from the front and belly of the aircraft to make a profit.

It has always been so. Back in the late 1980s on the Tokyo route if F was full then the rest of the aircraft was profit.

I had read a statement on the business travel website a few months ago. It was made by officials from the City of Indianapolis who stated that there were strong intentions that British Airways were looking at serving the City in 2023.

St Louis would be a good addition to British Airways North American portfolio of routes.

St Louis was previously served from London Gatwick by American Airlines and before that Trans World Airlines. (And long before that British Caledonian Airways).

​​​​​​

And St Louis recently secured Lufthansa, which probably means that any funding support in the city's coffers have already been committed.

Indianapolis is the one that keeps rearing its head.

and an announcement from RDU pending this week…

Kansas City is being mentioned. I'll say that's what the new destination will be.