[sparkyflier]

I wonder if BA actually know how to “move fast”. In my opinion they could start a route to Tehran in October/November 2015 and the demand would be there…

[TheLion]

@MarkivJ – 27/08/2015 01:47 BST
And that’s why these inept politicians of all stripes need to get a move on and liberalise our visa regime for transits and short stays. Too busy pandering to a braying mob-like media and immigration fear mongering and not enough putting our country and people’s interests at heart.

You got your double daily Seattle wish too. Almost!

@amc1234 – 27/08/2015 11:05 BST
A good move increasing SEA & LAS, but having more A380s in the fleet and using these 5 weekly slots to launch a business & tourism (5 per week would be fine for this) US route like Portland, New Orleans or Nashville would be better.

@AMcWhirter – 27/08/2015 12:06 BST
Tehran is a no-brainer and BA should be making preparations now ready for when the political climate allows this route resumption. With their world-leading one-hub US network, they are ideally placed to act as the carrier of choice between the two countries once liberalisation occurs.

@sparkyflyer – 27/08/2015 12:20 BST
Based on the recent slightly-out-of-the-box route launches, BA are seemingly starting to learn how to move fast. I get a nagging feeling the San Jose CA route may have been launched ahead of schedule. It’s conceivable they were going to launch a different route first however I have a hunch another airline was also planning to launch the SJC route so they had to move. I might be wrong.

[sparkyflier]

TheLion + 1 re braying media, inept politicians & immigratio fear-mongering.
Re amc1234 I agree.

Re Seattle and more frequencies this is another example of BA really going after DL & VS. I notice that BA pretty much put the A380 on routes in which VS was a major competitor.

However BA also need to learn to be a bit less tight and stingy. A friend of mine flew 787 recently from Montreal in Y, and hated the tight seats, furthermore, when he got back he could not believe how little avios he had earned as he was on a non flexible fare. as not happy.

So guess what, he booked DL & VS for his next business trip to Seattle and SFO..

Re SJC – who do you think had that route in mind – LH? EK?

[TheLion]

Not EK. It wouldn’t work for them at this time. Their aim at this time is to plant a dot in every region of the globe. They already have their dot in the Bay Area. Plus I believe there would be bilateral issues.

More likely to be LH or KL at a stretch. Also DL or UA might consider it worthwhile, even though they have no hub there. It’s conceivable they could build a small one though, especially DL.

Part of the reason why I put this out there was because of the unusual step of launching both San Joses at the same time. That’s likely to confuse all but the most worldly of people, business travellers included.

I will be honest and say this theory was put forward partly based on the above and partly on the fact that SJC is a route that has been crying out for non-stop Europe service, especially with the tech and big business angle, plus the connections it would provide. And being first mover would hoover up much if not all of the direct, high end traffic.

[AndrewinHK]

@sparkyflyer the additional LAS frequency will be operated on Thursday, Friday and Sunday and using a 747. The days don’t match up to the Gatwick service but I would guess this could be a straight switch, which would explain the additional 777 available to operate to San Jose Costa Rica. If not this a big capacity increase for a destination I always viewed as a leisure route, but has come through as a strong performer worthy of even more Heathrow slots.

[DJ_jay_smith]

Details on the Seattle and Las Vegas expansions are here: http://airlineroute.net/2015/08/27/ba-lassea-s16/

Tehran is difficult, Lufthansa group pulled out citing difficulties in getting money out of the country due to the embargo. The Middle East airlines seem to have ways around this!

But with the restrictions eased then this should be better and open up more opportunities. Austrian of course resumed service already a while ago.

[TimFitzgeraldTC]

My non US thoughts – kind of what I think are more likely at top and then some wishful ones in there as well:

Santiago
Tehran
Jakarta
Phuket (from LGW) if they get more 777’s
Osaka
Bogota / Panama City (maybe as a tag / triangle route if not stand alone)
Casablanca
Seychelles (from LGW)
Ho Chi Minh
Manchester – Gatwick (if they are going to base more 777’s at LGW then they should sort this connection out – even if only 2 flights a day timed to connect with LH traffic).
Guangzhou
Recife / Brasilia

[BEYbrit]

I like the list TimF, but rather than Guangzhou (Skyteam hotbed), why not Shenzen?

Be the first to get in there from Europe.

I understand the ‘Hong Kong is just down the road’ argument, but look at SJC and SFO….

[Nogbad01]

>>Manchester – Gatwick (if they are going to base more 777’s at LGW then they should sort this connection out – even if only 2 flights a day timed to connect with LH traffic).

Yes, please, please bring this connection back. I used this twice a month (either BA or Flybe) and was amazed when both pulled the plug at the same time. It always seemed busy.

I have also decided against at least 4 long haul trips with BA simply because they were from LGW which is simply not an option from MAN anymore.

I know the hardware was getting a bit tired, but surely they could make this work with a 319 going back and forth.

[SimonS1]

I’m not aware Lufthansa have pulled out of Tehran – they have a daily flight from Frankfurt. However there was a fuel issue at one stage which was making life hard.

Having just re-opened the British embassy last weekend this would be an interesting market to look at, however as TheLion says EK already has plenty of capacity and Mahan Airlines has acquired 9 ex Virgin planes to build its own operation.

[MarkivJ]

To an earlier comment made – I too do think that the SJC announcement was made sooner because of another airline, but I doubt it would’ve been EK. My guess is either LH or TK.

[AMcWhirter]

@ TheLion

“BA …they are ideally placed to act as the carrier of choice [between Iran and the USA] once liberalisation occurs.”

Not so sure that is still true today. Isn’t is rather like PAL and Garuda returning to Europe with ambitious expansion plans but then finding that their market has (in the time they were banned from EU airspace) since shifted to other carriers, in particular the Gulfies ?

Yes, BA does have a unique advantage in that it serves US destinations that are not served by its rivals.

But for the volume US destinations like JFK or LAX I can still see the Gulfies offering an advantage.

Also AbuDhabi can provide US pre-clearance and Etihad will be increasing its Tehran flights from seven to 10 a week effective October 01.

[onajetplane]

I think BA could make a real go at Kansas City – huge amount of wealth and businesses in the catchment area, and again would be the only non-stop to Europe. Pittsburg would also be another interesting option.

[LetsFlyNow]

@DJ_Jay_smith
Lufthansa never pulled out of Tehran and operates there with a A340. Get your facts straight.

Off-topic: why does LH operate such a limited number of flights to the US, and esp to NY? Fra-JFk ought to be an attractive business route with many daily flights. Or even to Newark.

I wonder if it’s a political decision that BA doesn’t serve Tehran. There ought to be enough premium volume from there.

[dutchyankee]

@LetsFlyNow, before you chastise others to get their facts straight, perhaps you should do the same. LH serves numerous destinations in the USA, including EWR from FRA and DUS. LH also serves at least one destination in the USA as the only European carrier.

With regard to Tehran, BA of course served Tehran in the past in their own right, and again when they bought BMI. However BA discontinued service to Tehran in Late 2012 due to political situation with the British Embassy being closed after it was attacked in 2011, and due to a tit for tat refueling issue where European airlines could not refuel in IKA just as Europe did to Iran Air. Hopefully BA will return as for sure it will be a boon town if sanctions are lifted.

With regard to SJC it’s a great addition for BA for the obvious high tech industry business and one of the highest median income averages in any city of the U.S., so plenty of disposable income for high end travelers. Imagine if AA still operated their hub there. During the hay day AA even operated flights from SJC to CDG, NRT, YVR, and TPE. Perhaps this route by BA will give AA the impetus to make SJC a focus hub again.

Now BA, bring on MSY, FLL, and HNL (might be a dream).

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