ROE100

Very sad news - i'm just 15/20 mins away so a drop off at the 1 hour free parking was great and easy. I have once done the LHR-MAN route when our LBA was cancelled due to fog and instead of being at home within and hour it took 3 hours - (get to train station - wait for next train (very full) push on to get a seat get off train and either get a taxi or walk to bus is not great if you are doing a long connecting flight). But i have be struggling to get good connections when the number of flights were reduced at LBA so meant some hotel stays at heathrow. Down to London on the train is not bad so this may be my future option as the Manchester is not for me or change to KLM.

Oh well life still goes on.

LBA_flyer

Just spoke to the call centre regarding a different matter but she mentioned the LBA route being cancelled, saying she had dealt with a lot of calls from people needing to re booked/refunded since it was announced.
I'm disappointed they have cancelled the route and hold out hope that one day they may be reinstated as I have a similar disdain for MAN as those noted above but we'll see.

escape2sun

I've used the route a few times to visit family, and the flights were always virtually full. I'll be driving or taking the train as neither Manchester or York are any good

My 2-sisters, one in Leeds the other in York used to fly with KLM for their annual long haul holidays, but switched to BA when the route opened. I suspect they will be moving back to KLM now.

Barnaby100

I am just sitting on mine at the moment and not rushing to rebook. I assume the change makes any avios booking cancellable without any fee which may be helpful if we cant fly for any reason but the BA flights are still going.

The only one that is pressing is 27th December- last year the flight from LBA were completely booked on those days just after Christmas and so I assume a fair few will be re-routing.

Our local taxi firm is only Ł99 to Manchester which is reasonable, however the airport itself is not.

If flights start late summer I will have a MAN (instead of LBA) to LHR to MAN to USA.

What is NCL like? Only been when diverted from LBA and once when realised child's passport had expired and had to pop via Durham then NCL on route to family in Spain.

corporate-wage-slave

As a totally neutral observer, being balanced at all times, I would say NCL is on a different planet to MAN. Mind you, so was LBA despite having a lot of once-a-year passengers and other similarities with Manchester. From a BA point of view the fast track, and good access to the best airline lounge anywhere on the planet makes it a good way to get into the network.

Geordie405

I think that's a very balanced and neutral observation. I'd only add that it's not just the lounge itself but the lounge staff that make it the best. The high calibre of the guests is also a defining factor here too of course

ECR

This is very disappointing to see this (or indeed any) domestic route dropped. I did think this this might survive as I would expect demand for domestic travel to pick up first and it could have capitalised on domestic tourism as there are certainly plenly of nice places to visit with easy reach of Leeds, and for those travelling in the opposite direction, London is of course a tourist destination as well.

It is a shame BA are so London centric and not interested in non London routes as there may have been potential to fly on from Leeds to another domestic route. Flybe for example flew several times a day between Leeds and Belfast so perhaps with Flybe gone there might have been a gap. (Assuming of course that Flybe did have some routes that made money).

I do wonder if the rumoured PSO for Newquay has helped to kill this route, as I suppose it is a similar flight time and distance as Leeds, but one attracts a subsidy or underwriting and the other doesn't. I would not be surprised if the Leeds slots are used for Newquay although I'm sure BA/IAG will be awash with Heathrow slots for some time.

BAeuro

I don’t think NQY killed LBA (as it was a bit of an under-performer anyway) but it probably had an effect.

As you say, they’re similar flight times and would be good slots to give to NQY. I wonder if we get any news on it soon.

kdhurst380

This is disappointing. Being based in Sheffield, it's as near as makes no difference the same journey time to either MAN or LBA so whilst not the end of the world, it did mean avoiding the utter hovel that is MAN (how they manage to make security the ordeal that it is, is quite impressive). I've also taken advantage of the Ł5 upgrade to the 1432 Runway Club lounge at LBA when flying in CE, which is a very pleasant experience.

Misco60

For anyone who is simply travelling between Leeds and London, and not connecting to an onward flight, the train must surely be a more convenient, more frequent, more comfortable and more environmentally-friendly option.

ECR

If travelling from the centre of Leeds to the Kings Cross area of London then the train would certainly be more convenient, and you are of course right for many people it is more convenient and that is demonstrated by there being a lot more seats for sale per day on the train as opposed to a single return A319 flight a day.

I'm not sure the train is necessarily more comfortable as you will spend over two hours on it as opposed to around 35 minutes on the plane. On the train you could well find yourself standing for much of that journey as opposed to having a guaranteed seat on a plane, and if in business class a guarantee of nobody sitting next to you.

The train is certainly more frequent, and would generally be accepted to be more environmentally friendly, although you could argue that with British Airways committed to carbon offsetting on all domestic flights from January 2020 that flying is the more environmentally friendly option.

I was thinking it could have survived largely due to domestic tourism as many people will not be willing or perhaps even able to travel abroad in the same way that they used to for holidays. For many people going to an airport and getting on a plane is as much a part of the holiday experience as the destination itself and travelling by train doesn't have quite the same appeal.

Johnny Rocket

It's extremely sad to see this route go.

I find it bizarre than MAN can command 6 flights a day and NCL 5. And yet nothing for LBA whatsoever.

tuonopepper

If BA are winding back in the regions then I guess those of us living there will likely be looking to change allegiances to *A, Blue or just flying with the most convenient option.

I guess BA can survive on its London based and connecting travellers.

Sad to see that, yet again, that British Airways doesn't seem to bothered about parts of Britain outside the M25.

lost_in_translation

LBA is hampered by very poor transport links, it's easier for a lot of people in Yorkshire to get the TransPennine Express to MAN (or M62 across the Pennines) than it is to get to LBA, when LBA really should be their local airport. As a result, MAN serves a catchment area with a much larger population and so people continue to use it despite the almost developing country experience that is taking a flight from T3 at MAN.

NCL is just that bit further away from London which helps swing things towards flying vs. taking the train and so probably has a bit of O&D traffic that LBA just doesn't have. However, I agree it is indeed a sad indictment of LBA that NCL can support 5 flights a day whilst LBA gets none.

Confus

Scaremongering helps no one. Anyone who flies between Leeds and London is already and unquestionably willing to commit to reserving space in advance as walk-on fares are simply not sold available, so can just as easily reserve a seat on the train. Plus in any case all UK trains must offer unreserved accommodation unless marked ‘reservation compulsory’ in the timetable (which few if any are). Boarding later might see these full, true, but Leeds-London expresses mostly start in Leeds, so will be available.

And there are solo seats in First Class on the train too, which by definition have no one next to you.

Sure this is FT, and it’s perfectly ok to prefer flying to trains. Many here would admit to that. But hyperbole is unnecessary and unhelpful.