I would like to see BA fly to ...
 

TPE -- I have an irrational disdain for TPE-based carriers, and the short hop on CX/UL/MH isn't exactly fun after the long haul.

KHI, CMB -- the rest of the subcontinent is so well catered for, it'd be nice to include these two.


Business case/traffic loads/common sense aside, what new routes would you like to see BA pick up? @:-)

MSP - the place I usually have to get to at some point on every business trip to the US.

Did BA use to fly to Taipei via Hong Kong before? Also CMB was served together with MLE as well? Those routes must be not profitable enough for BA to keep flying there.

I think with the 787, BA can fly to some market with less demand like Indonesia. LHR-DPS will be a good route to go on holiday.

Being pedantic I believe it was BAA (British Asia Airways) that flew the LHR-HKG-TPE route.

Doctor Copper

KIX - Love Osaka and it'd make a change from flying to Tokyo all the time

and one that will definitely never happen however much I wish it:

KTM - whilst Qatar might serve Kathmandu so there is at least one OW option, I'd love BA to put a 787 on that route. Never ever going to happen though however much I dream!

Indeed, there used to be some TPE end sectors beyond Hong Kong (also used to be some Manila's too). But the cost of doing this eventually outweighed the benefit and they stopped about 14 years ago. Plus the TPE service always used to annoy the authorities in Beijing...

Well, in theory it was - that was something for BA and the UK to point at to try to keep Beijing happy at the time. There were a couple of BAA liveried 747s, but in practice any aircraft could be allocated to go there, and while the services would appear in the timetable as BAA, that was just a sign in the foyer of Speedbird House and Waterside. Nothing different onboard.

I believe Swiss and KLM may have done a similar thing back in the day, but maybe I'm imagining it...

There is still a LHR-CMB service via UL so OW options are possible, and UL hospitality is hard to beat. Perhaps BA can't compete with that kind of route/product/nationalism?

I think it still annoys them ;) That would definitely explain why BR goes through BKK and CI goes through AMS -and- BKK...

Africa!
 

Places I'd like to see BA going (back) to on a no-logic basis are all those destinations in Africa that they pulled off years ago, for losing money hand over fist.

Dar, Gaborone, Harare, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Abidjan...

Kigali would be nice as well, as would going back to the Seychelles.

And purely for the spirit of adventure, Antananarivo - I've always had a hankering to go to Madagascar ;-)

LHR-HAV! :)

1) Calcutta: the largest city in the Commonwealth no longer served by BA. It ticks all BA's boxes so it's a mystery to me why it hasn't happened, at least at the 787-8 level.
2) Taipei, for the reasons mentioned, though I think the route is potentially expensive to staff and the competition keeps fares low.
3) Portland OR: This will happen when someone finds a pot of money or a guarantee of some sort. Ditto Salt Lake City, St Louis, maybe Louisiana.
4) Osaka/Kyoto: the largest city area not served by BA.
5) Belgrade - quite tricky to get there at the moment. Case for Minsk and the Baltic republics too, maybe Ljubljana ex LGW, but I bet Zakynthos will get added soon.
6) Perth WA: just to show off, so unfortunately it won't happen.

Now: bear in mind BA are recruiting like never before: every single day a new flight crew member is recruited (350 in 2016). Cabin crew recruitment is running at twice the level from 3 years ago, 1,600 in 2016, and will bring the total flying crew number to 20,000 by year end, the highest in the company's 96 year history. These figures don't include BACF, SUN-AIR or Comair, who I think are all also recruiting. They aren't all going on standby surely?

The Balkans! Poorly served from the UK. In particular, LJU would be great (last time I did it I took a train from ZAG - pleasant but hardly fast). SJJ and BEG too.

Further afield, east coast Canada - YHZ.

Even further afield - AKL.

Oh, and if they could put Tblisi back on the map just for a few weeks I'd love to go :)

Havana, Cuba


http://havanatourcompany.com/wp-cont...na-Home-12.jpg

Fort Lauderdale, Florida!

http://doubletree3.hilton.com/resour...ion_Center.jpg

nthing Havana and Osaka.

Feel like there's a coverage hole in the mid-south US. One of Nashville, Memphis, St Louis or Cincinatti will get BA service within the next 12 months is my (completely uneducated) guess.

Wild guess here, but I suspect this has to do with the infrastructure, politics and/or travel patterns of the populace in the area -- the airport is only served by ME3 and regional carriers, and is not served by any long hauls.

It's a shame as the city seems to have seen better times (e.g., around the time of Around the World in 80 Days) but seems to have fallen to the wayside in the last century or so.

would this (and other Japanese cities) have to do with the excellent rail options in Japan?

This is all very insightful, thanks. ^^