British Airways will fly high again ....... one day soon

January 02, 2003

Airline to cut many domestic routes
By Malcolm Ginsberg



THE biggest change in business flight schedules in a decade will soon hit travellers in the UK. At the end of March, when the airlines bring in summer schedules (on the same day the clocks go forward), British Airways will pull out of Cardiff and Leeds Bradford airports.
Over the subsequent three months, BA will dump 21 internal UK routes, less than two years after expanding its domestic network in buying British Regional Airlines from Sir Michael Bishop for £78 million. While regular BA passengers find most of the flights replaced by other carriers, the benefits in kind of flying with BA will be lost.

The biggest winner is Eastern Airways, which on Monday takes over the BA CitiExpress routes linking Aberdeen to Belfast International. Leeds/Bradford-Aberdeen and the Isle of Man-Southampton will follow, as will Newcastle to Aberdeen, Southampton and Birmingham.

Speaking at the recent introduction of a three-times-a-day service between Manchester and Inverness, Eastern managing director Richard Lake said: “We offer a businessman’s product. The Jetstream has proved to be an ideal aircraft for us. It is fast and pressurised, enabling it to fly above the weather.”

Created from air taxi company Air Kilroe in 1997 by Lake, a former sea captain, and business partner, aviation entrepreneur Brian Huxford, Eastern is based at Humberside airport.

Says Lake: “Even on short sector, passengers deserve comfort. We offer a full bar service, sandwiches and snacks. Champagne if you want it too.”

The airline is expected to announce a deal soon with flybe (formerly British European) to harmonise routes and schedules out of Southampton.


Malcolm Ginsberg is editor of Air & Business Travel News