BA Cutbacks or not?

[toontartcart]

An announcement will be made in the next few days that BA will stop flying UK provincial services from NCL, ABZ, GLA and EDI and pass on the work to BA Citiexpress/BAR? Is this the start of BA quitting the shorthaul market, with the aim of having BA Longhaul and Citiexpress?

Aircraft such as the A319 and A320 will be transferred to BACE and the aircraft will be crewed using BACE staff from the respective bases. If this is to happen then more crew wll be needed in the likes of NCL,ABZ and GLA/EDI, in addition to training these staff who are at present, only licensed to work on ERJ, ATP, Dash 8 and J41 aircraft!

Good news for staff in the regions but bad luck for the LHR based crew, who I suspect will be redundant. <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> <img src="frown.gif" border="0">

[Hand Solo]

Bollo* they will! There's not a hope in hell of the Airbus being transferred to BACE, not a chance! Too big, too expensive to maintain and totally unsuitable aircraft for a low cost operator like BACE. Nor is there any hope of GLA or EDI going your way, those flights to LHR are chock full of business pax and make a tidy profit, not to mention providing lots of lucrative transfer pax. BACE will stick to what it does succesfully - running small aircraft on lean routes. They may pick up some Gatwick flights if they're lucky, but Heathrow? Airbusses? Dream on!

[eeper]

toontartcart,

What's your source? I think I'm with Hand on this one.

[Roobarb]

If you give your feeder network to a ‘no frills’ subsidiary, you run the risk that your mostly valued customers will go with the opposition or worse still not travel via LHR at all.

Cutting routes and aircraft, outsourcing and franchising in our current state would be utter madness. BA’s huge costs are not aeroplanes related. The same costs over less routes will quickly lead to bankruptcy.

So we’ll be expecting to see it happen as soon as possible.

http://www.80scartoons.8k.com/roobarb6wee.gif

[raitfaiter]

perhaps a catchy name would help....ummmm...how about GO? <img src="tongue.gif" border="0"> :) <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">

[bertieb]

Toontartcart I know this is a rumour network but that don't give you permission to talk sh*te <img src="tongue.gif" border="0"> <img src="rolleyes.gif" border="0"> <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">

[ 23 January 2002: Message edited by: bertieb ]</p>

[towser]

Who says BACE is a 'no frills' subsiduary. We provide the same service as you would recieve on an BA domestic flight.

[fruitbat]

'no thrills'...

[Uplinker]

Spoke to some 75/76 drivers two days ago, who told me that the 75/76 fleet was being sold off soon....

[ 23 January 2002: Message edited by: Uplinker ]</p>

[Soup Dragon]

towser: "We provide the same service as you would recieve on an BA domestic flight."

Except of course a seat you can sit upright in and somewhere other than the hold to put a briefcase!

[HOVIS]

No Airbuses in BACE eh?. .What about the fleet of 8 A319s at BHX?

I think you will find that if it fits the load it will be utilised.

Correct, BACE is not a low cost operater, yet! It may well be one day but at the moment it is just an excuse to move a lot of relatively expensive staff with all the pension/T&C baggage that go with them to a convenient little pile based in MAN.. .Then a sell off like GO?

Just a thought, I have no insider knowledge, just reading between the lines.

[Soup Dragon]

HOVIS

There are 9 A319 at BHX. They are not BACE aeroplanes. Even though BAR is part of BACE, the Airbi are BA aeroplanes, flown by BA mainline crews. See Hand Solo's comments above, they will not become BACE aircraft.

[Outbacker]

Very interesting reading folks, nice to see there is still that mainline/franchise divide and that no one really knows what is going to happen, even myself. One fact is for sure, mainline short haul is loosing money in many areas. All I suggest is that those of us that service the regions from the mainline hubs should look a little closer at ourselves i.e. the lavish lifestyles enjoyed on trips. Hotac/Transport comes to mind!! of course this is one area, and many more I hope will be posted in the future. I do hope though, that all BA Staff will come together as a team, be it Mainline or Franchise, because if we don't we will be Tangoed by the greeks!!!! and that is a fact... <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

[rentaghost]

BAe 146's / Avro Rj's or whatever you want to call them low cost?! I think you'll find that an A319 will compete very nicely thankyou on costs against the 146!