efincomputer

Followed swiftly, no doubt, but the withdrawl of all remaining domestic routes if that were the case!

Efin

Jenbel

I'd have to agree with that (and I used to be a frequent user of the service). At the same time, with such good service into MAN from AF, KLM and LH BA would risk losing a large amount of market share from pax in the MAN area. They don't really want to run a MAN-LON service, but the MAN-rest of world service is one I would have thought they couldn't afford to lose. Yes, London is important, but not all pax flying through LON from the UK are O&D passengers, and as garaps has already pointed out, they have lost market share throughout the UK to the fact that airlines like KLM have realised that the UK is a target market for them. You only have to look at how many UK based flyers post onto the Flying Blue boards and hold elite status in Flying Blue! Before I moved back up to Scotland, I had 5 airports within a 2 hour drive... BA served two of them, BD served 4 of them and KLM served all 5 of them...

On the other hand, since those considerations haven't stopped London Airways before, I'm sure they will at some point go ahead and axe the MAN-LON routes

BAg Lady

I do hope BA does not cut the MAN route. I would not be able to through check luggage and would have to change terminals at LHR. It would be very hard to justify staying with BA if that were to happen.

It might make perfect commercial sense as a way to increase the bottom line in the coming year (cut, cut, cut - bonuses anyone?) but the long-term effect would be very damaging to BA, IMO.

MAN Pax

Since BA pulled out of the MAN regional routes, I've been welcomed with open arms by Star Alliance and Skyteam. Do I miss BA? Only as much as I miss LHR.

I hope they do drop the shuttles, leave the route to bmi and concentrate on running London Airways.

It's a shame the airline was so badly run/structured that they couldn't make any money in their home market, but life goes on and those that can make money continue to provide me with a better service. (With the exception of FlyBE, who I avoid like the plague).

graraps

Exactly. ^

traveller5

KLM serve Cardiff, for example, far better than any home grown airline!

Roger

I can understand all this talk about 'London Airways', but that's wrong - it's really Heathrow Airways, or T5/3-wait-a-minute-T4 Airways.

Look at LGW - handed over to easyJet in large part.

Look at LCY - never taken seriously, so it's now an AFKL hub.

Look at STN - I think BA had a flight once.

Look at LTN - nothing since IOM went the way of all flesh.

So it's not just the other domestic airports BA has abandoned.

Jenbel

And yet this flight is moving from MAN - LGW. So it certainly shows regional airports are well below London in the pecking order.

London still has BA ground handling. Regional airports do not.

Mancunian

Good riddance!

I'm surprised it's taken them so long.

I suspect they will keep the LHR-MAN feeder route though ('Shuttle' my arse!). It was always pretty busy when I used to use it (until they banned windsurfing kit last year, the final straw in their cunning campaign of enraging me). It's no longer the 'bus' to London for us Mancs, as the dreadful timekeeping, plus security and airport nuisance made it an option of last resort. However my bet is it still carries a lot of transfer passengers.

I'll be transferring through somewhere other than LHR though and with a carrier other than BA.

bazzatel

Maybe AFKL (with their new transatpartners DL/NW) should set up a hub at MAN? AF, KL, DL already fly there, as do CO and VLM.

Roger

Is that London as in London, or is it LHR? STN and LTN have the same BA handling as other domestic airports (of course). I'm not sure what handling arrangements are for BA at LCY, though I noted that AFKL people were around my LX last week so perhaps that's another contracted out service for BA as well.

PUCCI GALORE

Do they - or are still they using Brit Air or some other charter ( I rather think that Brit Air has gone like AOM, and Air Liberte. Air France have done that for years. I bet the bulk of the flights are to Algeria. Morrocco, or Tunisia.

AF were higly predatory when those two opened up in competition on domestic services with reasonably cheap fares. AF were brutal with Travel Agents if they handled them, and drove them both out of Orly Ouest.

Beany

Both BA and Qantas have to serve the UK and Australia with their own metal.
If Qantas pulls out of the UK or BA pulls out of Australia then the JSA becomes void.

efincomputer

With the irony of CWL having a large BA maintenance facility, and its a regular occurance to see BA flights coming in and out.

Efin

HIDDY

Can't see them ever stopping the shuttles to MAN,GLA or EDI. The "national" airline whose hub doesn't even serve the rest of the country with a domestic service - surely not? Wait a minute.............