Originally Posted by
kanderson1965
There is probably more than an element of truth in this, the problem may however lie if the commercial pressure for additional LH slots needs to be satisfied before the third runway is completed. It was mooted on here several times after the BMI takeover that the LBA route was just a slot sitting exercise which seems to be partially true as the LBA rotations have decreased as new LH destinations have been introduced,
Compare BA's UK route network ex LHR with KLM's ex AMS. KLM make a success of getting feed from secondary/tertiary UK airports such as LBA, MME, HUY, NWI, CWL etc as they have a large fleet of Embraer 175/190 planes which hold 92/104 pax each. BA are at a hugely slot constrained airport so operate bigger planes which seemingly cannot be filled at an acceptable yield on UK domestics apart from MAN, EDI, GLA, NCL, BHD, ABZ and JER (plus INV with the lack of APD).
If the 3rd runway ever happens, BA will probably have to buy some more smaller planes if they intend to launch additional domestic routes. However, as the union agreement seems to prevent Cityflyer landing at LHR/LGW (except in certain circumstances), is it ever reasonable to expect a shiny fleet of BA Embraers parked outside Terminal 5?