LHR - MCO Rumour
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: London
Programs: United 1K 2 Million Miles, BA Silver, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
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LHR - MCO Rumour
I heard today from a London based flight attendant that I have personally known for years that United had bought three pairs of slots from British Airways, and one she had been told was going to be used on a direct flight to Florida and Orlando had been mentioned to her? They have never flown to Florida direct and I know it are it is not a international crew base. I cant find anything about slots being sold by BA so wonder if this is just here say...Anyone heard anything?
#2
Join Date: May 2011
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They have a FA base at LHR, but not pilots. Im not an expert, but wouldn't they also need some maintenance crews for the long-haul aircraft? They dont have the crews in MCO or LHR to make this work, so it would be pretty expensive to do it. If they bought the slots, my guess is it would be for their hubs as opposed for a one-off.
#4
Join Date: May 2012
Location: ORF, RIC
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I heard today from a London based flight attendant that I have personally known for years that United had bought three pairs of slots from British Airways, and one she had been told was going to be used on a direct flight to Florida and Orlando had been mentioned to her? They have never flown to Florida direct and I know it are it is not a international crew base. I cant find anything about slots being sold by BA so wonder if this is just here say...Anyone heard anything?
#5
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM; UA 1K; AA 1MM
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I find it impossible to believe that BA willingly sold any LHR slots. They and AA were required by the competition authorities to give up slots for certain routes through 2024 (extended now to 2026) which is how UA got LHR-BOS, but there was nothing about MCO in that.
https://simpleflying.com/british-air...ion-authority/
https://simpleflying.com/british-air...ion-authority/
#7
Join Date: May 2012
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#9
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I've lost count of the stories told to me by flight attendants (and other airline employees) with total, emphatic certitude, mostly about routes, new / abandoned stations, and pending mergers or aircraft acquisitions, that proved to be entirely without basis.
#10
Join Date: Jun 2014
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Posts: 4,103
They have a FA base at LHR, but not pilots. Im not an expert, but wouldn't they also need some maintenance crews for the long-haul aircraft? They dont have the crews in MCO or LHR to make this work, so it would be pretty expensive to do it. If they bought the slots, my guess is it would be for their hubs as opposed for a one-off.
#11
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No disrespect, but this is how many unfounded rumours begin. The only employees who would actually know about somethine like this would be fired for telling anyone about it before an official announcement.
#12
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I agree with this. Not sure how a FA could know unless she was divulging info from a friend and both with face potential displace for doing so.
#13
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#14
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 2,277
They have a FA base at LHR, but not pilots. Im not an expert, but wouldn't they also need some maintenance crews for the long-haul aircraft? They dont have the crews in MCO or LHR to make this work, so it would be pretty expensive to do it. If they bought the slots, my guess is it would be for their hubs as opposed for a one-off.