BA charter / operated flights
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at 03:42 by BAtravellad.
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BunnahabhainParticipantI was flying back from Barcelona last Sunday with Vueling to Edinburgh and noticed a BA flight to Glasgow departing at 1035 local time. The passengers boarding all seemed to be holidaymakers from the Glasgow area from their appearance and accents respectively.
There was a BA 319 or 320 parked on a remote stand, and they were boarding a bus, however there was also a scheduled BA flight to Heathrow on the screen so I can’t be sure which aircraft was for Glasgow, and indeed if it was a BA one. The Glasgow flight had a 4-figure number, sorry can’t remember it.
Investigation with my BA semi-specialist Mr N Tarrant of Hampshire has drawn a blank, so I need the fuller inside knowledge of Lord Krug of The Galleries for this one.
Can Joe Business Traveller book this flight and the return, whatever way round it operates, just like Mr & Mrs Jimmy McCutcheon from a G postcode area? Is it operated as part of a package holiday? – my amateur psychology in passenger profiling certainly led to that theory – so only available if you’re prepared to sit in a high street travel agent as a couple, which is a bit like marriage guidance if you ask me.
Do you get the usual BA onboard service, and can you accrue BA miles? What about hold luggage? – do the usual BA rules apply? Club Europe? Is it a BA aircraft in the first place??
How many other such flights are there operating?
I’ve seen holiday charters by bmi but never BA before.
Calmed down now.
4 Sep 2010
at 19:15
RogerVictorParticipantThere was a 4 digit call sign A320 of BA’s that flew in from Venice today. Strangely there was also one that flew in from Gatwick.
I can only assume that these are indeed chartered planes. A Saturday in August will usually see a few planes left lying idle and it makes sense in this time that they charter them out.
Qantas have, in times gone by, flown one of their early arrival B747’s out to pick up cruise line customers during the day before it does the return flight that night. The plane makes money and the company doesn’t incur the cost of leaving a plane at Heathrow for a day
My understanding is that you would receive the full BA service but others may know different.
4 Sep 2010
at 22:25
TominScotlandParticipantJimBannerman1
“The passengers boarding all seemed to be holidaymakers from the Glasgow area from their appearance and accents”
I would be intrigued to know how you can tell Glaswegians by their appearance?
5 Sep 2010
at 06:52
BunnahabhainParticipantTom I’ve added the word “respectively” to that sentence. No doubt some people would say they could though – I’ve certainly heard it said of Celtic fans!
Perhaps we have to accept that BA is operating a flight that we frequent customers can’t access – don’t like it though. I do wonder if there would have been any EC members on board. Would the cabin crew have made the usual announcement welcoming them and those from the Oneworld partners? Just not happy that BA is operating regional flights behind our back so to speak, the very flights which it has abandoned, primarily at Birmingham.
Might it be a consequence of the collapse of Globespan, which flew to BCN from the 3 main Scottish airports and BAA did say at the time that the routes would be picked up by other operators?
Mobile boarding pass?…
5 Sep 2010
at 12:57
speedbird85ParticipantCould it have been a BA Cityflyer E170 or E190 ?
They are doing charter flights from Glasgow Airport for Barrhead Travel to Palma, Majorca and Barcelona.
5 Sep 2010
at 13:47
BunnahabhainParticipantQuite possibly, there was also a E170/190 parked on a remote stand but I assumed it was for a LCY departure.
Interesting to know though – wonder if they can be booked via Barrhead Travel online, I refuse to subject myself to a personal interview – and don’t live anywhere near their shops anyway. Sounds rather like ex Globespan routes.
5 Sep 2010
at 13:54
speedbird85ParticipantAfter a bit of further research, I think it was a BA Cityflyer E190 which was the BA4532, the charter flight for Barrhead Travel.
The flights are weekly until Mid-September. I looked on their website and it didn’t look like it could be booked online.
5 Sep 2010
at 14:31
theworldtravellerParticipantAll Gatwick scheduled BA flights have a 4 digit callsigns and BA still fly to Venice from Gatwick (2 or 3 flights a day when we went last month)
5 Sep 2010
at 16:52
flier74ParticipantBA indeed operates chartered flights, they usually have a 4 digit flight number and a C attached to this. There are several Cruise charters ex LHR this summer I believe and quite possibly form other Airports too. They are crewed by specially selected Crew. I am not sure if you can book them individually but I would assume they would have to be booked through the “Charterer” of the flight. Hope this helps
6 Sep 2010
at 08:26
JordanDParticipantBA are still operating charters, out of T5. Easy to spot on the screens because they are normally a four digit flight number, with a ‘C’ attached and because they nearly always have check-in only in area ‘G’ of LHR T5.
Yesterday (Sunday 5th Sept), there was one to Nice, and even at the peak of busy season in December 2009, there was a charter to Kittilä and Kuusamo (Finnish Lapland).
6 Sep 2010
at 10:48
BunnahabhainParticipantGood refuelling stop for the E190 in Tenerife on the way though…
6 Sep 2010
at 20:08 -
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