British Airways

[dmrodgers]

What is amazing is the size of the jump in pax in September compared to all other months. Only one previously, in September 15 has the route broken 15K, so to get nearly 17K is exceptional. I wonder what it is about September that brings a spike in passenger numbers?

Have a friend who works for Sentinal Parking at the airport who informs me that September is their busiest month for parking, primarily due to the retired population taking holidays after the school holidays have finished, taking advantage of the lower prices.

 

[Tarn Spotter]

Think there may be something in the oldies going on holiday.
We stop traveelling in June and start again in September as flight costs rise so much.
Just returned from Torremolinos and local bar owners always say September the best month of the year and July and August the worst, as us oldie spend money in the resort whilst families stay in their A I hotels.

 

[ChurchFenton]

I don't think it's just an oldie thing, there are many, many people of all ages who actively holiday outside of school holiday weeks to avoid the little noise generators and higher prices. Weather is still great in June, early July and September.

 

[leedslad]

Also many business meetings held off in August due to holidays then all fall in Sept

 

[lbaspotter]

Think BA also offer free child places during September and October on its domestic routes. Something along the lines of eg: up to 2x kids travel free for every adult ticket booked between Heathow and Leeds which also included free train travel on the Heathrow Express and discounted rates on hotels in London.

 

[White Heather]

Well the September passenger figures work out at an average of around 102 pax per rotation across the entire month. Considering there are likely to have been one or two cancelled for whatever reason plus the evening Southbound which is usually not so well loaded, it is a reasonable assumption that quite a few of the flights must have been almost fully loaded.

 

[whoshotjimmi]

And yet, I still feel that BA is doing everything it can to sabotage the route. I was on the late Northbound yesterday and it was the fullest I have ever seen it. Why then is the late Sunday rotation so often not available to book?

Even then, the passengers had to be bussed to a remote stand to board the flight at Heathrow. Ok, I appreciate that Heathrow is a busy place and there is going to be an element of this at some point, I couldn't help but feel the irony as we walked past the Manchester flight that left at roughly the same time parked up against the gate. A Manchester flight, by the way - to my mind at least, that had less passengers waiting to board than our own. I somehow get the feeling that, in a choice between the two, the Manchester flight would not be put on a remote stand.

Then there are the number of cancellations to the LBA rotation due to pre-empting the weather when, again, the majority of other domestic operations survive relatively unscathed. Quite frankly, people are getting behind this service as we all said they needed to do and it is BA themselves that is proving to be the weak link.

NB I would also like to point out that the figures quoted above are incorrect. With the monthly totals the way they are, the overall total at the end of September is 118,991.

 

[a300boy]

I thought it was odd as the last three months would have had to be very good to beat last years figures.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

And yet, I still feel that BA is doing everything it can to sabotage the route. I was on the late Northbound yesterday and it was the fullest I have ever seen it. Why then is the late Sunday rotation so often not available to book?

Even then, the passengers had to be bussed to a remote stand to board the flight at Heathrow. Ok, I appreciate that Heathrow is a busy place and there is going to be an element of this at some point, I couldn't help but feel the irony as we walked past the Manchester flight that left at roughly the same time parked up against the gate. A Manchester flight, by the way - to my mind at least, that had less passengers waiting to board than our own. I somehow get the feeling that, in a choice between the two, the Manchester flight would not be put on a remote stand.

Then there are the number of cancellations to the LBA rotation due to pre-empting the weather when, again, the majority of other domestic operations survive relatively unscathed. Quite frankly, people are getting behind this service as we all said they needed to do and it is BA themselves that is proving to be the weak link.

NB I would also like to point out that the figures quoted above are incorrect. With the monthly totals the way they are, the overall total at the end of September is 118,991.

Your point on stands and been bussed. I do think that is, in my opinion, more of a conspiracy in your mindset simply because of your will & want of the LHR route to succeed from LBA which i do admire however you need to understand that it is LHR operations & NATS who probably control where an aircraft goes and NOT BA (although they do have some influence). It could well be that the crew on the MAN flight are starting their day - a rotation & back into MAN and then onto somewhere else - easier to have the crew walk out of the crew report centre straight onto the aircraft then delay the start of their trip which could then have a knock on effect for their complete trip. It could well be that the aircraft came in off a rotation in the mid afternoon and had a problem. A different aircraft picked up it's schedule whilst that one was parked on a remote for this to be fixed - then picked up the LBA rotation. Could it not be that the aircraft had scheduled maintenance on a quiet Sunday afternoon which is why it was parked up on remote. Easier to then bus customers to the aircraft then wait for appropriate slots/time to push that aircraft, taxi and then pull it onto a stand at T5A. I'm not defending the company at all, i'm simply laying out the facts as i know from working in aviation that this happens - more often then you will want to believe.

I've been to LHR T5 and do know that there are some remote stands (524 to 527 i'm lead to believe from looking at NATS) and they are as you looking east out of T5. Where you on one of those?

 

[lbaspotter]

Ah well I must have miss calculated somewhere. Thanks for pointing it out for me whoshotjimmi. Now fully revised and edited see below.



I'm actually surprised it's took so long for anyone to even notice, as i posted them figures on here nearly a week ago !

 

[lbaspotter]

Last time I flew British Airways from Leeds into London Heathrow our aircraft was parked onto an international gate. We were left sat on the aircraft for about 25 mins until someone made decision as how to get us to the domestic arrivals even the flight/cabin crew didn't understand why we had be parked where we was.
Eventually we disembarked the the front door and up the air bridge and then walked down some stairs onto the apron to be then picked up by awaiting busses to take us around to domestic arrivals in T5.

Over the years since BA restarted the service I've only ever seen there aircraft been parked on stands 7 or 8. Know bmi's Airbus before was sometimes put on stand 6.

 

[KARFA]

On the point about stands at LHR T5 for arrivals, I don't think LBA is in any way targeted compared ot the other domestic routes. The issue is there are not enough domestic arrivals stands with airbridges. Only those stands at teh northern end of T5A can be used for domestic arrivals as only those gates have a path through to domestic baggage claim and arrivals. If those stands are not available then you have a remote stand and bus, or park on non-domestic gate and bus. I have done 60+ arrivals at T5 from LBA and I would say the number of bussed arrivals is less than 10.

Also as mentioned up thread, kids fly for free was going for a while over the summer and covers LBA as well as a few other BA domestic routes. It was very good since I think it really was for free, you didn't even pay taxes or fees. I think the kids even earned avios & tier points. Hopefully it will come back.

For those travelling regularly on the route have a look at this https://britishairways.optiontown.com/ it is basically a flight pass for the route, you can customise the number of flights and flexibility. Price is pretty good and you generally are booked in to a higher booking class than if you just booked on ba.com so more avios and tier points. I have bought one pass already and will be buying another soon.

 

[LBAYORKIE]

On the BA1344 up to Leeds tonight, crew tell me it's completely full and booked southbound on the 1345 are 65 pax. Both extremely encouraging figures. Southbound could even be a record I suspect.

 

[lbaspotter]

British Airways are today celebrating 4 years of operating the Leeds/Bradford - London Heathrow route along with carrying over half a Million passengers on the service.

Source: http://www.leedsbradfordairport.co.uk/media/2427/09122016.pdf

PRESS RELEASE Issued: Friday 9th December 2016
Four years and half a million customers British Airways is celebrating four years at Leeds Bradford Airport with news that more than half a million customers have flown to London and beyond from the heart of Yorkshire.

The three-a-day direct service to London Heathrow was launched on December 9 2012, opening up the world to Yorkshire with connections to British Airways’ global network from its flagship Terminal 5 home.

In four years more than 500,000 leisure and business customers have flown with British Airways from Leeds Bradford Airport to many countries worldwide, but the most popular onward destination for Yorkshire travellers is the USA. Other top destinations include Hong Kong, Canada, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates.

Simon Lea, British Airways’ airport manager at Leeds Bradford Airport, said:
“We remain fully committed to Leeds Bradford Airport and the fact that we have reached this milestone figure in four years is due to the loyalty and commitment of our customers in Yorkshire.

“We work closely with the airport to ensure that we provide the high quality service our customers want and this year particularly we have concentrated on inbound customers and promoting Yorkshire as a destination for visitors from the south of England and even further afield.”

Tony Hallwood, Aviation Development Director at Leeds Bradford Airport, said:
“What a fabulous four years it has been with British Airways, connecting passengers worldwide through the prestigious hub of Heathrow Terminal 5. The fact that we have now carried more than 500,000 passengers is a fantastic milestone to celebrate and we look forward to continuing this successful and popular service.

“We are very proud to have BA as an airline partner here at LBA, this up to three times daily service is well used by business and leisure passengers from across our region. It also enables businesses to attract inward investment through the great connectivity offered.

John Holland-Kaye, Chief Executive of Heathrow Airport, said: “The Leeds city region is the largest economic centre outside London, boosted by its access via Heathrow to markets from Hong Kong to Mexico City and from Delhi to Houston. We're delighted to have worked with Leeds Bradford Airport over the last four years to support the region's prosperity, and look forward helping deliver more growth and an even stronger economy through the new trade links expansion will provide.”

- ENDS -

Image caption Tony Hallwood, Aviation Development Director at Leeds Bradford Airport, celebrates the anniversary.

Who said it was just a slot sitter for BA at LHR, and that the service would only last about 18 months!!!

 

[KARFA]

Yes, also on twitter and tweeted by both LBA and BA. Very pleasing this route seems to be surviving, and again 2016 has seen a record month (September 16,928) and looks on track to post double digit % increase in passenger numbers - this will be the third year in a row we will have seen that.

I think longer term a night stopper, or at least a much earlier timed first rotation is essential. One major issue is that BA1341 gets in to LHR around 1020-1040 so you can't connect to anything departing T5 earlier that 1140. An earlier southbound would allow connections on to many of the morning LHR long haul flights. However, the main issue is the lack of available early morning slots.

Apparently the cake is currently in the lounge and hopefully there will be some left by the time I get there for BA1345 at 1925!

 

[Seasider]

Have a piece for me, enjoy

 

[lbaspotter]

Nice article on the Routes Online website this morning which reviews the British Airways London Heathrow - Leeds/Bradford route after 4 years of operation.

Source: http://www.routesonline.com/news/29...d-route-helps-deliver-yorkshire-connectivity/

BA’s Leeds Bradford route helps deliver Yorkshire connectivity
Richard Maslen Editor, Routesonline

When British Airways first announced its plans to serve Leeds Bradford many observers so the decision as little more than as an avenue to protect the carrier’s pool of slots at the heavily-congested Heathrow Airport. However, the London Heathrow - Leeds Bradford route is currently among its best performing domestic markets with traffic up 18.4 per cent over the first ten months of 2016.

British Airways (BA) has this month celebrated the fourth anniversary of its domestic flight between its London Heathrow hub and Leeds Bradford Airport with the news that more than half a million passengers have travelled on the route since the up to three times daily service was launched on December 9, 2012.

The route is currently among its best performing domestic markets with data from the AirVision Market Intelligence tool from Sabre Airline Solutions showing traffic up 18.4 per cent over the first ten months of 2016 compared to the same period last year. Annual demand is estimated to exceed 165,000 passengers, bringing total passenger numbers since the route launched to more than 570,000.



When BA first announced its plans to serve Leeds Bradford many observers so the decision as little more than as an avenue to protect the carrier’s pool of slots at the heavily-congested Heathrow Airport. However, the route did have a pedigree having been previously flown by UK carrier bmi british midland up until the end of the last decade when increasing competition from an enhanced domestic rail product between London and Yorkshire resulted in its closure from March 2009.

The bmi decision was at the time influenced by its need to use its limited London Heathrow slots to serve more lucrative European and North Africa routes. But, in its last full year of operation (2008), it carried over 125,000 passengers flew on this route, highlighting a strong market that could be stimulated by BA’s stronger connecting network.

The competition with the railways is intense and attracting corporate travellers between Leeds and London away from the train was always going to be difficult for BA, but there has actually been a sizeable market that have used the air service for its local links though this has fallen from a high of 102,000 passengers in its first year of operation in 2013 to 52,000 last year. In the first ten months of 2016 the local traffic accounted for one in three passengers with a 33.2 per cent share of the total leg demand.

The success of this route was always about the connecting traffic with BA particularly targeting Yorkshire-based passengers flying to destinations across the world to destinations not currently available from Leeds Bradford.

“This important new service to Heathrow connects Yorkshire with the world. It provides our businesses with the access they need to emerging and established global markets, and enables those markets to easily come to Yorkshire, bringing their investment and inbound tourism direct into our region,” Tony Hallwood, aviation development director, Leeds Bradford Airport told Routesonline ahead of the launch of the route.

Our analysis shows that North America and in particular the United States of America is the main destination for O&D traffic to and from Leeds Bradford, although other popular destinations include Hong Kong, Canada, India and South Africa.

So what does the future hold for the route given that the Heathrow capacity constraints show very little sign of being solved for at least another decade? “We remain fully committed to Leeds Bradford Airport and the fact that we have reached this milestone figure in four years is due to the loyalty and commitment of our customers in Yorkshire,” said Simon Lea, airport manager at Leeds Bradford for British Airways.

“We work closely with the airport to ensure that we provide the high quality service our customers want and this year particularly we have concentrated on inbound customers and promoting Yorkshire as a destination for visitors from the south of England and even further afield,” he added.

 

[lbaspotter]

Just seen this posted on the London Heathrow's and Leeds/Bradford Airports twitter accounts. Hopefully BA have cut costs now its saving in payments.

yourHeathrow ‏@yourHeathrow Jan 1
Heathrow's £10 discount on domestic charges starts today! Great for passengers from #Yorkshire flying @LBIAirport to Heathrow to the world

 

[Aviador]

It's BAA the airport operator not BA the airline who have cut charges. Hopefully this will make the LHR-LBA route more attractive to British Airways increasing the route yield. Better still if they pass on the benefits to customers through reduced fares and potentially increased services.

 

[White Heather]

When to BA go back to 3 a day on the LBA route? (Aside from the fact cabin crew are on strike for 2 days next week so we won't see any flights at all).