BA to expand London City operations by 70%
15.03.07
British Airways has announced that it is expanding its operations at London City Airport by more than 70% at the end of the month. A new subsidiary, BA CityFlyer, will operate 250 flights a week from the Docklands airport to six UK and European destinations from the end of the month, up from the current 144 flights a week.
From March 26, BA CityFlyer will launch new flights to Glasgow and Zurich, each served four times a day, and increase frequencies on its London City to Edinburgh route to eight flights a day. It will also continue to operate flights to Frankfurt, Madrid and Milan.
BA has been operating at London City Airport since 2003. It is reported to be planning a further expansion, with the launch of a further six or seven routes should slots at the capacity-constrained airport become available.
The expansion 'is a bold bid to win the lucrative domestic and Continent-hopping business market serving nearby Canary Wharf and the Square Mile', according to press reports. One newspaper suggests that BA 'plans to dominate the Docklands hub', as they do Heathrow, and even says that BA could launch a takeover bid for the airport's biggest airline, VLM.
BA plans to keep five of the aircraft formerly used by its regional arm BA Connect, sold to Flybe last week, to operate the new services between London City and Edinburgh, Glasgow and Frankfurt. After its expansion, it will account for about 20% of the hub's passenger capacity. VLM currently operates just over 100 flights each weekday from the airport.
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