BA plans major transatlantic push at London City Airport |
Taking flight: Willie Walsh says City is 'a convenient airport where we can put more flights on at peak times' |
British Airways is preparing to expand its transatlantic flight routes from London City airport as part of a host of big investments planned by boss Willie Walsh to capitalise on the airline's recovery from recession. |
The news could lead to a jobs boost at the capital's smallest major airport after Walsh said BA's direct route from London City to New York - which launched last September - had been "hugely successful" and revealed that the flag carrier is looking at ordering more Airbus A318 planes, which have to be specially modified to cater for the short runway. |
When BA first launched its business class-only service from London City to New York at the height of the recession in autumn last year, critics said it would be a failure. Some likened it to Silverjet, the business class airline that went bust in May 2008. But Walsh said the London-New York route had been "even better than we'd expected". He added: "It's a word of mouth success. London City is a convenient airport for business, and we can put more flights on at peak times which we couldn't do at Heathrow because of capacity |
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