BA long-haul – where to next & with what? Winter 2015/16+

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Viewing 15 posts - 331 through 345 (of 645 total)

  • AndrewinHK
    Participant

    Yes 787 heading to Baltimore. I never understood rumors surrounding the routes future. It has been profitable since its inaugural year and the route is also underwritten essentially by the State of Maryland to cover any losses if any were ever to occur.


    FCTraveller
    Participant

    @MrMichael, I think this is a typical beancounter view, we’re making money, passengers are increasing, so we don’t really need to spend more? This may be an extreme example but let’s not forget Blackberry. The writing was on the wall for a number of years that iOS and Android were serious competitors and indeed they continued to increase market share and profits for some time. But eventually the penny dropped with the customers and they lost their dominant position almost overnight. In the airline industry, passengers’ horizons are quite short, anyone travelling on a premium fare can switch to another, better carrier right up to the last minute. The airlines cannot react quickly, their horizon is over many years. BA is now running with an old outdated product in CW and they are far surpassed by many other airlines. For example, to name but one, AA’s business class product is far superior to BA’s. In the rest of the world, they are bettered by many other airlines in J and F. There is still no sign of a new CW product and even if they unveiled one today, it will be years before it’s rolled out. You may be able to improve on the nuts and cheese relatively quickly but it takes years to install things like new seats and WIFI, the stuff that really counts. So it may be good times for the bean counters at BA at the moment but the worry for shareholders is that they are not in a position to compete effectively and the risk is that they start losing premium passengers in droves without the means to get them back.


    MrMichael
    Participant

    I agree with that FCTraveller. I think BA and to some degree IB are lagging behind the competition on hard product. It is a worry, and I think they will get there with a new product in the next few years, I think that is why IAG is having a go with Veuling, a LoCo insurance policy.


    AndrewinHK
    Participant

    BA has changed its plans to send a 777-300 to San Diego instead it will from March 26 roster a 747.


    BA744fan
    Participant

    Looks like the 747 has been taken off SFO which will now get a 777 instead.


    DerekVH
    Participant

    Given BA took delivery of another A380 yesterday will SFO not now become a totally A380 route?


    Speedbird189
    Participant

    Kalamata and Chania now being launched – 319 twice weekly summer seasonal service. Not making much of a case for LHR’s expansion.


    Speedbird189
    Participant

    Narita downgrading to 3-class and Haneda upgrading to 77W.


    sparkyflier
    Participant

    IMO BA can find far more lucrative use for their slots than Kalamata and Chania.

    Re Narita,as mentioned before I would not have been surprosed about this before, however I flew NRT-LHR in September, and know this flight on a 77W was fully booked in all classes back in July, so there is still demand for all products from this far out of town airport.

    But with Sierra Leone and Liberia officially and thankfully Ebola-free, these routes are now ready for re-opening. BA can provide much support for them to grow again, and at the same time demand was growing steadily and BA had increased frequencies before Ebola became such an awful crisis.

    However as mentioned on earlier pages, BA are missing a trick on not serving Abidjan, so this could be part of any routing. Much of the A380 that Air France sends to Abidjan every day contains passengers travelling between UK and Cote d’Ivoire, and they would rather avoid the “delights” of CDG.


    dutchyankee
    Participant

    @sparkyflyer – 19/11/2015 10:01 GMT

    Hi Sparkyflyer, on our favourite topic of Africa again! Just curious though why you say ‘Much of the A380 that Air France sends to Abidjan every day contains passengers travelling between UK and Cote d’Ivoire?’ I am surprised that so much traffic to Abidjan is derived from the UK. I lived in Abidjan in the 70’s and hearing English spoken let alone seeing an anglophile was exceptionally rare outside of school (yes, I was quite young, and in an international school). The business has certainly changed I guess.


    sparkyflier
    Participant

    Hi dutchyankee good to see you post as always. My sources were ministers who I met a while back. There are many UK businesses investing there as well as a substantial diaspora. I am not saying BA should send an A380, but a 777/787/767 offering combined with Monrovia/Freetown etc would be an ideal way to start.


    dutchyankee
    Participant

    Fully agree with you. Africa is full of opportunity right now, and the sooner BA get a jump on some of the less traditional destinations, the better. Why not a Triangle route that have been so successful for SN? Dakar could also be considered as a tag.


    sparkyflier
    Participant

    + 1 on Dakar and as you say Triangles can be great – especially as they could enable BA to serve 2 destinations with one slot pair, keep fuel costs down, and the crew rest can be in a more suitable location.

    I wonder if a LHR-Dakar-Freetown – LHR and a LHR – Monrovia-Abidjan -LHR could work, with 3 and 4 times per week. Initial aircraft being 767, until either 787/777 which they can use knowing which would be most appropriate.


    Speedbird189
    Participant

    I agree with you all. Why Monrovia/Freetown haven’t been restarted is beyond me – the situation there has been stable for some months now I believe. BA really have given up on the African routes recently, what with Nairobi and Cape Town moving to T3. Do Freetown and Monrovia tend to be filled with direct rather than connecting passengers?


    rferguson
    Participant

    NAS confirmed as switching from 767 to 3 class 777 from 1JUL ’16.

Viewing 15 posts - 331 through 345 (of 645 total)
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