nighthawk From UK - Scotland, joined Sep 2001, 4991 posts, RR: 38 Reply 1, posted (1 year 1 week 4 hours ago) and read 9641 times:
Seems a bit strange given that they operate this route from Heathrow as well. Are there any other long-haul routes operated from both?
Mind you the LHR flight seems to be completely full every time i've looked at it, so i'm not surprised to see additional frequencies, but the LGW flight is a little strange....
stlgph From United States of America, joined Oct 2004, 8979 posts, RR: 27 Reply 2, posted (1 year 1 week 4 hours ago) and read 9606 times:
From Webwire -
British Airways is launching another new high rolling route from Gatwick with the start of flights to Las Vegas from October 29 2012.
The three-times-a-week service will be operated by a three-class Boeing 777 offering a premium Club World cabin with fully flat beds.
The new Gatwick route offers more choice and frequency from London airports. Together with the Heathrow service British Airways will operate 10 flights a week to Las Vegas.
Colm Lacy, British Airways’ head of commercial Gatwick, said: "Las Vegas has proved to be an incredibly popular year-round destination from Heathrow so we are delighted to now be able to offer the route from Gatwick as well.
"This is the kind of destination our leisure customers at Gatwick are looking for and it will complement our existing USA and longhaul leisure network"
Eternal darkness we all should dread. It's hard to party when you're dead.
yellowtail From United States of America, joined Jun 2005, 5164 posts, RR: 2 Reply 4, posted (1 year 1 week 3 hours ago) and read 9427 times:
This is more like the need the capacity to serve their tour operator contracts but those contracts are now eating into the growing LAS yields out of LHR....so lets move the BAHolidays etc traffic to LGW and leave LHR to make more money.
No point in adding a flight from LHR that eats up a valuable slot for holiday traffic.
When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No-one has ever collided with the sky.
EI912 From Ireland, joined May 2012, 20 posts, RR: 0 Reply 9, posted (1 year 1 week 2 hours ago) and read 8929 times:
Quoting SRT75 (Reply 8): Maybe they just didn't have the slots at LHR to increase existing capacity and could onyl expand service by adding LGW?
They just obtained ~44 odd slots from the BD purchase, so there would be no problems adding frequency from LHR if needed. It's a yield related issue for sure like yellowtail said
VV701 From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2005, 6628 posts, RR: 17 Reply 10, posted (1 year 1 week 1 hour ago) and read 8830 times:
Quoting SRT75 (Reply 8): Then why the 3-class aircraft? Doesn't seem like a good fit for a mostly holiday crowd.
BA only have long haul aircraft configured with four (F/J/W/Y) or three classes. Even their three purely-holiday-destination 772s that are dedicated to Carribean and Florida routes from LGW are configured J40 / W24 / Y219. Their more conventioinal three-class 772s based at both LGW and LHR are configured J48 / W24 / Y203. The 744s operating the LHR-LAS route are 'Mid J' configured - that is F14 / J52 / W36 / Y235.
There are several different configurations for four-class 772s. But the most common is F14 / J48 / W40 / Y122.
Bongodog1964 From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2006, 3019 posts, RR: 2 Reply 11, posted (1 year 1 week 1 hour ago) and read 8686 times:
Quoting SRT75 (Reply 8): Quoting yellowtail (Reply 4):This is more like the need the capacity to serve their tour operator contracts
Then why the 3-class aircraft? Doesn't seem like a good fit for a mostly holiday crowd.
Maybe they just didn't have the slots at LHR to increase existing capacity and could onyl expand service by adding LGW?
3 class is as low as it gets on BA !
I recall that the aircraft rrquirements for long haul at LGW didn't used to be particularly well balanced, some days 7 aircraft required, sometimes 8, infrequently 9. These 4 flights may well be using up spare capacity.
jet72uk From UK - England, joined Oct 2011, 102 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (1 year 1 week ago) and read 8497 times:
I too think it a little odd to start this service but agree with skipness that it probably should have been launched from LGW in the first place. I guess this proves they are committing to LGW.
LV From United States of America, joined Jun 2001, 1813 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (1 year 6 days 22 hours ago) and read 8159 times:
If it is using up spare capacity for the sake of expanding the holiday package business, great! If it is a way to use a plane to route people from secondary European markets to LAS without taking up valuable seats at Heathrow, great. But, and I really hope it's not this, if it's "VS has had great success with it's LGW-LAS flight, let's go rain on it's parade"... then I worry about what that will do to both BA and VS. As someone who works in the Vegas tourism industry I want anything that will bring more tourists here...and put more money in my pocket... but I worry if this won't harm both flights in the long run.
by738 From US Minor Outlying Islands, joined Sep 2000, 1986 posts, RR: 1 Reply 15, posted (1 year 6 days 21 hours ago) and read 7947 times:
Quoting LV (Reply 13): If it is a way to use a plane to route people from secondary European markets to LAS without taking up valuable seats at Heathrow, great. But, and I really hope it's not this, if it's "VS has had great success with it's LGW-LAS flight, let's go rain on it's parade"... then I worry about what that will do to both BA and VS. As someone who works in the Vegas tourism industry I want anything that will bring more tourists here...and put more money in my pocket... but I worry if this won't harm both flights in the long run.
Its none of that, its just good business sense. The route is one of BA's best performing currently and its simply a method of expanding capacity using the trend data they have no doubt accumulated.
HUYfan From United Kingdom, joined Oct 2001, 1372 posts, RR: 3 Reply 18, posted (1 year 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 7116 times:
Yes, there are. Many Scandinavian, German and French customers connect onto our LAS. BA was indeed correct in launching from LHR. The yield is spectacular and the route is constantly rammed. Why does anyone assume LHR-LAS would be a mediocre performer?
It is BA's most successful long haul route launch of the last twenty years!
skipness1E From United Kingdom, joined Aug 2007, 2381 posts, RR: 0 Reply 19, posted (1 year 6 days 19 hours ago) and read 6996 times:
Quoting HUYfan (Reply 18): It is BA's most successful long haul route launch of the last twenty years!
The reason I thought it would be a good LGW bet was that it seemd to me to be a leisure route, indeed Virgin were the first onto London-Vegas and LGW it was and remains. Not complaining....
kdhurst380 From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2010, 151 posts, RR: 0 Reply 20, posted (1 year 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 6616 times:
It was an inevitability in my opinion, we're one of the only countries in Europe that flies to LAS directly, let LHR take the Euroland transit traffic, and LGW the UK O&D. Quite a nifty operation.
slcdeltarumd11 From United States of America, joined Jan 2004, 2456 posts, RR: 0 Reply 24, posted (1 year 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 6150 times:
I wonder if geography is a factor here as well. Maybe they have seen alot of the customers are closer to gtw. They have all the people's addresses so with some quick gis work they might see lgw for this destination as better for a decent amount of people? Just a though but with gis software and people's addresses its easy to see if alot or enough are coming from the south or burbs anyway. I'm thinking there is a reason to do the unusual split especially for just three more flights. Every time I'm at las near this flights check in it looks packed to the gills and a total hit! Congrats to ba las seems to be a big hit
25 yellowtail: Which means other carriers are taking notice. I would bet we will see LH or AF at LAS soon.
26 lasairlinerenth: Good to see BA adding service from LGW to the city I call home. I took the BA 744 from LAS to LHR in mid-July last summer; that plane was, if I may us
27 mattya9: Anyone have a link they could share on this subject? I looked on Bloomberg and couldn't find anything. Plus, I work at LAS and haven't heard this news
28 mattya9: Disregard. I found a link on British Airways' website... http://press.ba.com/?p=2298 OPS 5
29 by738: you havent been keeping up with news direct from Willie Walsh again... ?
30 readytotaxi: Where is this aircraft coming from to cover this route, are they dropping a Gatwick destination in October?
31 sevenheavy: Its mentioned further up that there is currently some slack in BA's LGW B777 flying programme, which , if correct, means that this flight is a "freeb
32 heebeegb: A very sensible and quite common sense move. LHR-LAS is massively successful, rare to find many empty seats on the aircraft and the F/J/W loads are co
33 eljonno: I love using LGW over LHR (primarily because I can now connect from NQY without travelling up the road). GIP have done a pretty incredible job there
34 1stfl94: I would suspect they may increase frequency on both LGW-LAS and MAN-LAS. Would GLA-LAS also work?
35 mattya9: As much as I enjoy reading about new INTL service to LAS I just wonder where these flights will park since there are only so many international gates
36 jet72uk: The only proposed route to be axed from LGW is MRS - which is moving to LHR. VS will be furious at BA for LGW-LAS
37 planefixer: The BA2039 ends in October, which is where the aircraft will be released from
38 heebeegb: But remember when the 2039 is dropped for the winer the 2153 3xweekly begins for the winter
39 planefixer: Good point, looking at the LGW-BGI flights for the winter, they are mixing GE / RR powered 777's, curious to know what they are going to move about s
40 FlyCaledonian: BA is moving Marseille to LHR? When was that one announced?
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