Originally Posted by
lost_in_translation
I agree with some of this (e.g. BA fares on DXB are often very competitive, BA F is often priced around EK J for a direct flight these days), but have to imagine DXB is currently only slightly outside the top 10 given the sheer volume of passengers there over the last 12 months vs. other routes (note also this is absolute operating profit, not the highest margin routes). I am pretty shocked how much money BA makes from LOS though and this is surely even more energy industry reliant than DXB? At least I got all the US destinations correct
BA is playing on the fact that the only "proper" pan-African airline is Ethiopian Airlines. They virtually have no competition for flights from Lagos to the rest of the world. These flights can be sold at a huge premium. BA also flies the A350 mainly there, it is a very profitable aircraft (as is the 787 for example).