BA, Virgin all change for winter 

With the official start of the winter flying season was Sunday 27th October, and alterations to airline timetables and schedules, British Airways has switched seven flights between Heathrow terminals.

Also on the 27th Oct, BA made its first flight into Beijing’s new state-of-the-art Daxing International Airport, becoming the first international carrier to do so since Daxing was officially opened last month.

On the terminal front, BA flights to Billund, Hanover, San Diego and Zagreb are switching from Terminal 3 to Terminal 5 while services to Luxembourg, Lyon and Phoenix are moving the other way from Terminal 5 to Terminal 3.

The change in seasons also marks the start of Virgin Atlantic’s year-round flights between Heathrow and Mumbai (see BTN 3 June). The airline is returning to the route, complementing its long-standing operation between London and Delhi, after four years.

Virgin says the Mumbai service will provide seamless connections via Heathrow between India and the US for itself and partner airline Delta. Flights will depart from and arrive at Heathrow in the morning to align with connections to and from the US.

Virgin is putting the Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner on the route with 31 seats in Upper Class, 35 in Premium and 192 in Economy, divided between Economy Light, Classic and Delight cabins.

Sharm El-Sheikh restrictions lifted 

Restrictions imposed four years ago on flights to Sharm El-Sheikh were lifted by the government last week.

Officials said improvements in security procedures at Sharm El-Sheikh Airport and close co-operation between the UK and Egypt on aviation security meant commercial airlines could now be allowed to operate.

The government said it would work with carriers that had expressed an interest in operating flights as they develop their plans.

Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “The safety and security of British nationals remains our top priority and this decision follows close co-operation between our aviation security experts and their Egyptian counterparts, and improvements in security procedures at the airport."

The ban was imposed after a Metrojet Airbus A320 charter flight with 224 passengers and crew was brought down in the Sinai on 31 October 2015 after take-off from Sharm El-Sheikh by what was believed to be a bomb placed on board at the airport.

An easyJet spokesperson: “We are aware of the lifting of the restriction on UK airlines flying into Sharm el Sheikh Airport and will look at any opportunities for easyJet and easyJet holidays as a result

Air New Zealand abandons London

Nearly 40 years of aviation history will end next year after Air New Zealand said last week it was withdrawing from its daily London – Los Angeles service from October 2020 and installing a New York – Auckland link instead.

Acting CEO Jeff McDowall said while it was hard to say farewell to such an iconic route, the airline had to remain focused on markets with the greatest opportunity for long-term profitable growth.

“Air New Zealand is strongest when operating direct flights to and from our home base in Auckland and this reset will put us in the best possible position to take advantage of increasing demand across the Pacific Rim,” he added.

“Visitor growth to New Zealand is strongest from North America and performance of our new service between Chicago and Auckland is exceeding expectations.”

McDowall said London – Los Angeles had been a flagship route for Air New Zealand and an important link connecting Europe to New Zealand since its launch in 1982, but market dynamics had changed.

“The number of ways to fly between London and Auckland has more than doubled in the past decade, changing customer preferences. Less than 7% of all airline travellers between London and Auckland chose to fly via Los Angeles last year.”
Air NZ will post Oct 2020 still service the London market, in partnership with it’s airline partners.

Winter caution from Air France KLM

A modest average increase in capacity of 2.5% for winter 2019-2020, most of it on the long-haul network, was announced by Air France KLM last week. Long-haul is increasing by 4% while medium- and short-haul operations will be cut by 2%.

The period from 27 October, to 28 March 2020 will see the group concentrating on the Americas and Asia with Air France and India with KLM.

The Air France line-up includes one new flight from Paris CDG with Air France to Quito while KLM will operate four new flights from Amsterdam Schiphol to Boston, Las Vegas, Liberia (Costa Rica) and Bangalore.

Boston services will be operated by a 292-seat Airbus A330-300 and the three weekly flights to Las Vegas with a 294-seat Boeing B787-9, continuing services from the summer season.

Air France is also operating four additional weekly flights to Washington DC from Paris CDG for a total of 11 weekly flights, while in Canada, Air France's Airbus A350-900 (below), which joined the fleet last month, is flying to Toronto throughout the winter.

Among other changes, Air France is increasing the number of services to Cancun with two additional flights from Paris CDG by 468-seat Boeing B777-300ER and in Costa Rica, KLM is starting service to Liberia with four weekly B787-9 flights.