BA’s London City – New York route ‘in the black’
10.12.09
British Airways said its £1,900-plus business class only service between London City Airport and New York is already profitable, after only 10 weeks of operation, Bloomberg reports. Demand for the flights is greater than anticipated when the flights began on September 29, BA spokesman Michael Johnson said in an interview. The airline had been aiming for profitability within the first year.
London City Airport’s short runway restricts BA to the smallest Airbus model - an A318 - and requires a refueling stop in Ireland because of limits on take-off weights. The twice-daily service from London City seeks to lure senior executives with so-called ‘mix and match’ ticketing that allows people to fly in or out of Heathrow for one leg of the journey if they prefer. That raised concerns that the 32 flat-bed berths might be left empty on outbound flights.
However, Mr Johnson said that the service is profitable in terms of its load factor. He said that some passengers are opting to fly from London City rather than catch a direct service from Heathrow because of the smaller airport’s shorter check-in times and the availability of in-flight text messaging and Blackberry use.
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