British Airways said it will resume short-haul flights from London Gatwick Airport next year Plan subsidiary, BA Euroflyer.
BA, where Stop flying Shortly after the start of the Covid pandemic, starting from West Sussex Airport, it will restart its short-distance leisure network in late March 2022, ending the nearly two-year interruption.
The flight will initially be operated by BA itself, but the airline intends to transfer the business to the subsidiary later next year after obtaining regulatory approval. Its parent company IAG stated that a new independent business is needed to make the recovery financially feasible, on the grounds that Gatwick’s BA had been losing money for many years even before the Covid attack.
Tickets to 35 short-haul destinations have been on sale on Tuesday. Three Airbus short-haul aircraft will begin operations in March, and by the end of May, the active fleet will increase to 18.
BA Euroflyer will-just like the BA CityFlyer operation in the City of London-maintain the BA brand.It was launched after the union Initially rejected It is understood that these plans require pilots and crews to have greater flexibility in seasonal work than normal BA scheduling allows. During the pandemic, thousands of employees were laid off, and many can now be rehired under poor conditions.
The pilot union Balpa stated that the final agreement will “create up to 160 much-needed pilot jobs in 2022” and has been tailored to the point-to-point flight mode used by other major airlines.
BA stated that the fare will start from £39 per way to compete with the low-cost airlines at Gatwick Airport led by easyJet, but will come with the airline’s usual baggage allowance and basic snacks on board.
BA CEO Sean Doyle said this is a “milestone moment” for airlines, adding: “Create a new British Airways The short-haul organization means that customers at Gatwick Airport will benefit from high-quality service from the British flagship airline at a competitive price. “
Stewart Wingate, CEO of Gatwick Airport, said: “Despite the continuing deterioration in public health, today’s announcement is a positive The confidence of the readers is recovering.”
Although Gatwick Airport and British Airways are optimistic about the launch, the aviation and tourism industries are again frustrated after the government chose not to cancel the testing system in its travel announcement on Tuesday.
Health Minister Sajid Javid confirmed Remove the last 11 countries from the red list However, it did not implement the recently renewed recommendation that expensive PCR testing requirements will be cancelled.
British Airways CEO Tim Alderslade (Tim Alderslade) said: “If the red list is not necessary, [the Covid variant] Omicron was established in China, so even fully vaccinated travelers will not take expensive emergency testing and quarantine measures, which again makes us completely inconsistent with others Europe. “
The travel association Abta reported that bookings for the fall were less than 30% of the normal level, stating that the government needs to explain why it kept testing during the Christmas period, adding that it should provide financial support to the industry. Abta CEO Mark Tanzer said: “As the industry quickly approaches the peak booking season for the summer of 2022, travel companies are facing a very severe situation. Consumer confidence in travel has suffered a major setback, which will last longer than these restrictions.”
Tourism agency UKinbound stated that the testing of vaccinated international immigrants “killed the entire inbound tourism business”.
Eurostar said that since the resumption of PCR testing, the booking rate has been halved, and more trips have been cancelled or rescheduled during Christmas than new bookings. Its chief executive, Jacques Damas, stated that these restrictions “have a heavy price on the industry”.
