layz

Someone on HfP is saying that their bookings from LBA have been cancelled for 2021.
I've had a quick look booking singles LBA-LHR for random dates starting in July 2020 (when services were going to resume) up to Feb 2021 and no flights appeared.
The low fare finder is still showing prices for this route so if it is scrapped it must be recent.
NCL is showing, although July seems to be pruned to one flight a day.

KARFA

Yes it’s gone. All flights up to 355 days have been pulled.

layz

I just noticed it was mentioned in the July thread. As it extended beyond July I expected it to be announced somewhere else like the HEL flights.
It's a shame, I thought they would have kept it longer term.

BAeuro

It’s a shame but not surprising. With environmental concerns and Coronavirus, the route was on the edge.

Another BA domestic destination gone but at least we should get a year round Newquay to replace it.

Barnaby100

Just come-on about that- email been going crazy during a conference call with flight after flight being pulled. Since they dropped to 1 or 2 a day flights have been pretty full and in some cases fully booked- particularly on Sunday.

NWIFlyer

I'll be praying for KARFA and the whole of the county of West Yorkshire tonight.

I don't suppose this is particularly surprising news with reasonable travel options to Manchester and, to a lesser extent, Heathrow by car and train. It really was very squeezed by other airports given the metropolitan areas it served, although from the descriptions I've seen (having not used it personally) the link will certainly be badly missed by those who may now have to endure the horrors of MAN security.

@KARFA, what were load figures like on your last flights in normal times, and where do you believe the passengers are most likely to decamp to now?

Worcester

Pity, I did like LBA,

Barnaby100

Honestly?
It can take 4 hours to get from Harrogate to Manchester by Car -certainly wouldn't allow less. The train - no seats so standing for 2+ hours.
Don't get me started on the hell hole that it Manchester airport.

Hawk777

Disappointed when I find this out as I often use it rather than Manchester despite it taking me an extra hour to get there as I just can't stand Manchester airport

Raffles

We know, as the airport released figures, that in 2016 it was doing 165k per year across 20 flights per week, so about 80 pax each way.

The key of course is how many connected to long-haul and had moved across from KLM to do so. Clearly not enough or it wouldn't have been pruned to 10 per week.

BAeuro

It would make sense to give the slots of NQY. Same flight time and 10 weekly at good times.

Who remembers when LBA was launched back in 2012 at 4 daily. That was a crazy time to be alive . Of and its fellow slot sitter Rotterdam.

kanderson1965

May be a little inconvenient routing for those of us in GOC. 😀

NWIFlyer

Well obviously that depends on the time of day and potentially month for weather. From Leeds to Manchester on a good day could equally well be an hour. Bradford a little more. Sheffield maybe 75 minutes through the Peak District. York somewhere around 90 minutes. Those are the main population areas, and nice though Harrogate is I don't suppose it's particularly figuring in BA's thinking.

So from BA's viewpoint those sort of travelling times wouldn't be enough to put anyone off flying with them, in all probability - the other option is, I guess, to switch to KL and keep using LBA. That will, if NWI fares are an indication, come at a very significant cost. A definite case of you pays your money ...

I'm in a very similar position from Norfolk. I can either pay a small fortune to drive 35 minutes to Norwich, or I can save hundreds by taking 4 hours to get to Heathrow or Gatwick on the train. In spite of that journey, on which I'm looking at minimum times in excess of your maximum, I choose to fly out of Heathrow with either oneworld or Star Alliance purely on cost grounds.

Barnaby100

Just spoken to BA about another matter and asked. The official line is suspended not withdrawn (although the outcome is the same)

KARFA

I had been keeping a watch on the passenger numbers on the CAA site over the years and I know the number of flights. I had assumed 5 rows of CE on average for the A319s since domestic CE started in April 2017 - that means 133 seats per flight. Based on that these are my guestimate figures for loads since it started in 2012:

2012 from December - 20,328 -> 27%
2013 - 118,717 -> 44%
2014 - 132,325 -> 54%
2015 - 148,796 -> 60%
2016 - 160,703 -> 60%
2017 - 162,042 -> 64%
2018 - 103,706 -> 76%
2019 - 100,189 -> 76%
2020 to March - 20,328 -> 71%

In terms of where they will go,for those who are connecting many will go to KL who have continued to maintain 3/4 daily flights to LBA over the years. Some who want to stay with BA may go over to MAN or NCL (although capacity has been reduced at both over the last 2/3 years). Train will continue to be an option for point to point - the BA route was never that popular for point to point - and for going to LHR/LGW. There are more options heading east from MAN too on oneworld with QR, CX, and AY. Going west from MAN is not so great going west on AA and I think they only go to PHL now. However, EI have aggressively been pushing as the best choice if going to the US, and they serve LBA and MAN.

Looks like I will be busy for a few days sorting through this!