Will frequency on some routes be increased?
 

Not sure if anyone is able to answer this or not, but is it likely that BA will increase the frequency on some routes over the summer as travel (hopefully) picks up or is the summer timetable pretty much set in stone? I'm looking to fly to Tel Aviv in the summer, but at present there's only one flight a day scheduled and I really don't like the idea of the 7am return flight back. There used to be at least 2 if not 3 flights a day, so I'm hoping they'll add more in, but it would be good to know if there's any likelihood. If not, then Virgin will be getting my business.

Crystal ball stuff. If things continue in the current trend, I would say that it is very likely on some routes. Whether yours is one of those or not is a different question and I have no idea. No help at all - I know - it's my middle name!

rb211.

I am trying to get flights to BKK or Kul for the summer with BA - no joy. So off to Lufty and some keen Biz class prices I go. Swiss also offering some bargains. BA seem stuck in limbo.

I wonder if it's because they're still short-staffed that they can't add more flights ATM? Serves them right really, they shouldn't have got rid of their most experienced crew.

Fingers crossed for Malaysia opening up soon! If you're after BKK there are some keen J fares from AMS on Finnair, Qatar and Turkish.

BA cancelled the KUL route completely over a year ago and there has been no mention of a resumption that I’ve heard.

BKK was going winter seasonal even pre COVID and still plenty of restrictions dampening demand to Asia so I can't see KL making a return for a while - it was reportedly quite a low yield route. They can better utilise the 787s over the Atlantic at least over the summer months

Different story for Euro / ME carriers as they can draw a lot more connecting traffic - the UK isn't a good location for a Asia connection !

I very much hope that FRA will increase from the current bare-bones provision (currently early morning rotation from LHR, evening from LCY, and on Monday-Wednesday only, an early afternoon one from LCY). Similarly I hope Basel restarts soon - it is, or was, completely suspended.

I am already seeing an increase on the AMS-LHR route from half Feb and now that from Feb 2 no need to quarantine when entering from very high risk countries like UK and US if boostered I sincerely hope this will 'boost' the number of flights.

I'm kind of doubtful as to whether certain business-heavy routes will increase in frequency in the short term.

I work for a fairly large FTSE company with businesses in Europe and all my clients are there. Right now to go see them I need approvals by senior management and an extra travel insurance. Plus of course I need to stick to the local rules, not just at national but even company level. That's making travel almost impossible, especially as my plans are normally last minute. Then there's Brexit, with all the b*llocks that go with taking a laptop out, or even a phone. It's gotten so stupid that I'm doing a technical review workshop over Teams... less of a hassle.

As for flying back to Asia... I don't see anything opening up in any meaningful way before 2023.

It will be interesting with the 70/30 slot rule as BA have cut back on so many staff they simply don’t have the trained staff to operate them. Indeed on larger aircraft crewing is still below what it was although at or above the legal minimums.

I am sure BA would love to increase frequency on some routes. Whether they can is another question. Retired aircraft, late and deferred deliveries and a shortage of crew and pilots may mean BA are incapable of maximising business on the return to normality as bookings surge in anticipation for the summer. I agree with @13901 that business travel will lag behind leisure travel and that may help, but not benefit BA.

The downside of some financially driven hasty decisions made in 2020 are now coming home to roost. Alex Cruz and Willie Walsh acted with all the enthusiasm of a child in a sweetshop slashing crew numbers rather than putting them on furlough. All that lost experience is affecting current services with crewing levels and abilities well below SOP. This will affect future services where the resource does not exist to service the demand. The substandard product today and lack of capacity in the short term will stunt BA's growth in the medium term. Long Haul, even US carriers outperform BA nowadays.

I think the reality might be a bit more nuanced. Sure, there have been (rather too enthusiastic) cost cuts and not just to crews, but to ground, back-office and engineering too. But I think that the issues BA is experiencing aren't due to not having enough people... but about not having the right people. For instance, right now not every crew member can operate short haul aircrafts, and right now there's an imbalance vs normality in the LH-SH flight schedule. Then there are issues around who's vaccinated, how far ago they were vaccinated and so on - for instance, no one vaccinated more than 6 months ago can nightstop in Italy. Then there are other country-mandated limitations: HKG has been notorious in that, with short-term bans on crews that had previously flown in India, or Nigeria. Last but not list, "pingdemics" and omicron self-isolation had a toll. With this situation BA would've had issues even with a full set of people.