[NewBAexec]

I must say though I am very shocked that BA is dropping the Montego Bay. I do wonder why!

Very disappointing for BA, having dropped the New York as well as Sharm El Sheik from LGW, and now the Montego Bay. I thought the idea was to expand the longhaul at LGW and not reduce it.

If only they would bring back the New York flights to Gatwick, at least then they will not be flying an empty plane since these flights were always full.

[Potakas]

My understanding was that BA was flying to NYC only because they wanted to keep the slots for the LCY service.

IAG stated many times that they want BA to expand further to Asia, as they believe that they have a very strong North America network. Colombo sound to be a more possible destination for BA.

[Hippocampus]

I guess it’s possible that expansion was planned but capacity growth has been revised in light of gloomy economic news and uncertainty.

[VintageKrug]

Things have certainly shifted considerably, even in the past month.

What about that plan for kulula/comair to fly to Durban?

[BGIWorldTraveller]

Since BA has shafted MBJ, it must be with good reason. One of those reasons I presume is that the will sell MBJ as LHR-MIA-MBJ and MBJ-MIA-LHR. The direct flight was 10hrs 15mins and the MIA connection takes it to 13hrs. Whoever wants to go to MBJ would just fly via MIA, or take Virgin.

The good news is since VS is dropping the KIN route, it’ll be BA to KIN and VS to MBJ.

[VintageKrug]

I wonder if today’s report will presage new North American destinations, or just an increase in frequency to existing hubs?

[sparkyflier]

Well we both think there is mileage for BA to go to Fort Lauderdale.

Interesting to note that Cancun is doing well for both BA & VS, I wonder if at the expense of other Caribbean countries.

I personally see more shareholder reward from destinations in Asia, Africa & South America, but in the context of North America, if there are to be new destinations, then I wonder if Portland would be a contender.And could there be a LCY-DCA (Washington Reagan national) service like the LCY-JFK?

[JordanD]

sparkyflyer – under current rules, BA can’t operate into DCA under the “Perimeter Rule”, which precludes flights over 1250miles, except by specific exception. You can read more at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan_Washington_National_Airport#Perimeter_restrictions

[sparkyflier]

Thank you JordanD for the link. The link also sais there are “limited exceptions” and lists them. Do you know of any reason why London could not have an exception?

[Hippocampus]

Did Business Traveller ever try to get an interview with the MD of BA at Gatwick?

[AnthonyDunn]

@ Hippocampus – 12/11/2012 22:37 GMT

Well Hippocampus, she presumably is giving interviews at the moment because Bloomberg quote her directly:

ww.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-30/british-airways-reviews-makeup-of-london-gatwick-fleet.html

[JordanD]

sparkyflyer – You are right, there is nothing to stop BA lobbying the US Congress to include London in the list of Perimeter rule destinations, but the chances of that happening are slim to none. The last time there was a rule change, US Senators lobbied hard for their home states to have links to DCA, whilst campaigners stood firm against more flights.

I can’t imagine LON would hold out much hope in that environment.

[dutchyankee]

@JordanD, while I agree with you completely that the chances of a successful BA bid for DCA are very slim to say the least, the main argument the residents in the DCA area was that the perimeter rule really was intended to avoid larger aircraft operating into DCA for long haul/Trans Con routes. One of the runways at DCA can handle larger equipment such as DC10/767/A330, and in fact a number of 767’s have been flown into DCA before. But with an LCY-DCA route, again replcating the Concorde’s old service to IAD, would use BA’s A318, which are of course perfectly sized for DCA and are very environmentally friendly. It would be a great addition to DCA!

[BigDog.]

With Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) within 15 miles of Washington suburbs IMO there really isn’t a need to split traffic or utilize a slot.

[sparkyflier]

Well BA and AA are a joint business, so AA can also try and get this route approved. BWI is that bit too far away, Dulles is ghastly, and the convenience of DCA, right near downtown (great landings and take offs looking at Pentagon, Lincoln etc), with pre-clearance at Shannon, would I am sure be hugely succesful.Only 30-40 seats to fill to/from LCY.

[Author]

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