London City Airport Blog

BA makes ‘worst ever loss’ - again

Fri, 21 May 2010 16:23:08 BST

Embattled airline British Airways has suffered another setback to its business plans, after posting an annual loss of £531m – the biggest profit slump in its 36-year history. Current boss Willie Walsh insinuated that BA needs ‘permanent change across the company’ if the flag-carrier is to return to profit.

The Court of Appeals has also overturned a ban on fresh strikes by BA’s cabin crew team, guaranteeing up to 15 days of disruption throughout May and June. The airline lost £43m in March, as 12,000 members of the Unite union voted in favour of industrial action. BA could now face cancellations throughout the summer, including during the 2010 World Cup.

It’s hard not to feel bad for Willie Walsh, but his mulish attitude has not helped diffuse the row with Unite, regardless of how many politicians wade into the melee. The recent £531m profit dive, which was announced on May 21, was immediately blamed on the union, an odd move given the scale of disruption caused by Eyjafjoll’s smog.

Derek Simpson, joint chief at Unite, urged BA to stop acting ‘macho’ and ‘silly’, whilst a BBC newsreader insinuated that there was too much ‘bad blood’ between BA and Unite for there ever to be an amicable conclusion. BA’s resilience is admirable, but ultimately self-defeating, and a deal with Unite will have to be brokered soon if Willie Walsh wants to prevent further damage to the airline.

With a strike pencilled in for Monday, BA has begun arranging its contingency plans. The carrier plans to sacrifice Heathrow Airport to spare Gatwick and London City from cancellations, but the airline’s debt could still balloon by the end of June, regardless of how well BA prepares its hubs for another Unite siege.

A video interview with Willie Walsh is available for viewing at the British Airways website. Mr Walsh intimates that the cabin crew branch of Unite, the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA), is refusing BA's offerings of peace.

Airline to leave City Airport

Mon, 17 May 2010 14:34:06 BST

Disruptions caused by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjoll, have contributed to the loss of flights out of London City Airport. Domestic routes to Plymouth and Newquay will be axed by Air Southwest from the 21st May, after the airline lost £300,000 to six days of delays in April.

Air Southwest called the decision a ‘surprise’ and a ‘disappointment,’ and cited flagging demand for the route as the impetus for the cull. The airline will continue to operate a daily route from Gatwick to Devon and Cornwall, but there will soon be no air link between central London and the southwest.

The cut has caused much upset in Plymouth, the airline’s home, with local businesses and even the Chambers of Commerce expressing dismay at the news. Peter Davis, director of Air Southwest, explained that the airline needed to ‘review its network’ of flights in order to make the ‘very best use of company resources.’

Devon and Cornwall have been linked to central London for barely a year, but the route had enjoyed some success in the capital, due largely to an advertising campaign that targeted harried Tube travellers. The flight ultimately became a popular business service, albeit one that never ballooned as expected.

Air Southwest has maintained bases at Plymouth and Newquay airports for a number of years, flying direct to the Channel Islands, the Irish Republic, and Manchester, among other destinations. The airline operates small turboprop aircraft such as the Bombardier Dash, a favourite of budget airline, Flybe.

‘Reject BA offer,’ staff told

Fri, 07 May 2010 14:19:58 BST

British Airways (BA) has slammed Unite’s ‘callous disregard’ for air travellers, after the union urged its members to reject a new pay deal from BA boss, Willie Walsh. The move could result in industrial action from the 14th May onwards, with walkouts lasting between ten and twelve days.

Willie Walsh once claimed that Unite is trying to ‘ruin’ British Airways. Despite the union’s protestations, the longer that BA is held to ransom by its own staff, the more likely it is that the airline will be toppled by debts and tribunals. Unite clearly have the upper hand, but that hasn’t stopped the union launching a fresh attack on Britain’s flag-carrier.

Unite was responsible for strikes totalling seven days during March, costing BA around £45m. Not to be outdone, the airline retaliated, and revoked all travel perks for striking staff, including free travel. The move was seen as an act of desperation at the time, but BA’s revenge struck an unexpected chord with staff members.

Yesterday, Unite demanded that BA reinstate all employee benefits, in addition to the demands that it has made in previous months. The request directly precipitated Unite’s call for its members to reject BA’s latest pay deal, and could result in further strikes throughout May and June. BA cannot afford any more setbacks, however.

The recent eruption of the Eyjafjoll volcano stripped an estimated £100m from BA’s bank balance, and £2.15bn from the European aviation industry as a whole. Unite remains unsympathetic. Casual observers could be forgiven for thinking that Unite is trying to punish BA’s hubris, rather than protecting the interests of its members.

Unite recently founded the specialist cabin crew branch, BASSA, otherwise known as the British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association. Despite its name, the department exists solely for the protection of BA cabin crew, and is currently polling its members for opinions on the length of future strikes.

London City wins magazine award

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:32:44 GMT

London City is the UK’s top airport, according to Wanderlust magazine. The airport garnered an 85% approval rating, 2.6% more than its closest rival, Southampton, and 3% more than Newcastle in third place.

Founded in 1993, Wanderlust is a publication aimed at ‘independent and adventurous travellers'. The firm routinely hands out awards to leaders of the travel and tourism industry, focussing on airports, airlines and guidebook publishers.

The poll highlighted the growing importance of smaller airports, with both Robin Hood and Exeter making the top 10, with 77% and 74% respectively. Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh also proved popular with British travellers.

None of the UK’s airports made it into the global top 10. Top of the list was Singapore Changi with an impressive 92.5% score. Britain’s most famous airports, Heathrow and Stansted, absconded from the rankings altogether.

Perhaps the most interesting of the Wanderlust accolades is the Disservice to Travel award, which is handed to companies and individuals with diabolical customer service skills, or to technologies that have upset hundreds of travellers.

Unsurprisingly, the full-body scanner was a firm favourite of the editors, but the Met Office and workers' union Unite was the ungrateful recipient of the award.

London City has held the Gold Award in the Top UK Airport category for four years now. Wanderlust praised the airport’s commitment to customer service, citing its central location and ease of access as a boon to travellers.

You can view the results of the 2010 Travel Awards on the official Wanderlust website.

Swiss boost for City Airport

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:34:33 GMT

On Sunday morning, Swiss airline, Baboo, began taking orders for a new twice-daily service from London City Airport to Geneva, Switzerland, offering one-way flights from £51 per person.

The carrier, which has just five planes in its fleet, is hoping to boost business links between England and the Italian cities of Florence and Venice, opening up central Europe to rich executives and shoestring travellers alike.

Founded in 2003, Baboo maintains a base at Geneva Airport, and a vision to unite quality with affordable prices. The airline carries the red and white of the Swiss cross, painting their aeroplanes with nice flowery patterns.

Baboo will operate under a code share agreement with Irish airline, CityJet, whereby both companies can sell seats on their partner’s planes. Air France has also begun offering flights to Switzerland.

Richard Gooding, chief executive at London City, was pleased with the airport’s latest acquisition: “Baboo’s on-board product is excellent and we know it will be well-received by our passengers who demand a high level of service."

The airline has marketed the London City flights at Swiss executives, but a spokesperson for the company was keen to provide Brits with an alternative to the autumnal weather, citing London’s swirling fog as a reason to pack up and fly away.

Intrepid travellers will be able to extend their route from Geneva to a number of Swiss and Italian cities, and to Ireland and Scotland on the return trip. The first flight of the day departs at 9AM from London City, arriving in Geneva three hours later.

Terminal investment will keep passengers moving

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:52:40 BST

London City Airport is set for a multi-million pound makeover in 2010. Despite the global meltdown, officials at London's biggest business airport clearly believe there's a future in air travel from the heart of the English capital.

The terminal reconfiguration will be managed by Atkins Global, an engineering and design consultancy which has been responsible for several major infrastructure projects at City Airport.

The planned changes to the terminal building are partly in response to the shift towards online check-in. With business and leisure passengers now frequently checking in from their office PC or even their web-enabled mobile phone en-route to the airport, London City's management team have identified the need for a new style of airport.

When the airport opened in 1987, e-tickets were still over a decade away. But these days there simply isn't the need for the more traditional, girl-behind-a-counter approach!

Online check-in makes the whole experience of flying easier and more streamlined and the modifications at City Airport are in the same vein. The new terminal design will help to avoid bottlenecks and keep passengers moving through an airport keen to hold on to its reputation as one of London's fastest.

Melanie Burnley, Director of Terminal Services, explained that they were "introducing additional security lanes to respond to the change in passenger behaviour". This involved more online check-ins and less need for traditional check-in desks. All in all she said that this would enable more passengers to go straight through to security upon arrival.

The facility already boasts of its "no-queues" policy, and claims that the average transit time for passengers going through security is just two minutes. It's an impressive statistic compared with many of the London airports and customer satisfaction is clearly high on London City's list of priorities.