BA adds fourth daily flight on London-Dubai route

BA FLIGHTS: British Airways is adding a fourth daily flight to Dubai from January 2, 2009. (Getty Images)

British Airways will add a fourth daily service, operating five days a week, on its Dubai to London Heathrow route from January 2, 2009 as the service bucks the downturn in global air travel demand.  

The five additional weekly services - to be operated on a four-class British Airways Boeing 777 - will increase the airline's flights between the emirate and the UK's principal airport to 26 per week.

"We are adding a fourth daily Dubai to London flight, five days a week, from January due to the popularity of our existing three daily services," said Paul Starrs, British Airways' commercial manager, Middle East.

"In a year in which commercial aviation has probably faced the harshest trading environment in history, we have nearly doubled our Dubai to London services in the last two months alone - I think that speaks volumes about how important the Dubai and wider Middle East market is to British Airways.

The news comes just days after BA announced it had dropped its fuel surcharge for UAE economy and premium economy customers in response to the recent fall in oil prices.

It said it expected its annual fuel bill to rise 50 percent to 17.83 billion dirhams ($4.85 billion) this year – a daily equivalent of 46 million dirhams.

But the airline said its UAE customers will pay 150 dirhams less for a return World Traveller fare (economy) and 75 dirhams less (£13) for a return World Traveller Plus (premium economy fare) under the reduced surcharge.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Alternatives to LHR for BA
Posted by landobserver, London, UK on Wednesday 19 November 2008 at 12:38 UAE time

ahh! at last BA has realised that there is some money to be made on this sector after treating it like a bad smell for years !!
However it is going to have to do a number of things to really compete on the route to/from UK.
One glaring one is to realise that 'London Airways' needs to realise that the travelling public is not confined to the SE of England and wish to travel from London Heathrow(LHR).
Emirates have been travelling to Glasgow, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham and London Gatwick for many years.
Thus confirming that they have a grip on not only 'direct' payloads to Dubai but also transfer pax to onward destinations.
Perhaps one of the new services could operate from Manchester or Birmingham for a while to establish the load factors?

Even the 'Oneworld' alliance ties ups are not very well promoted by BA and partners for onward destinations e.g. Cathay Pacific to the Far East, Royal Jordanian to certain Middle East destinations.
The lack of strategic vision goes straight back to the office of Willie Walsh, who is obessessed with his American Airlines tie up!

Perhaps WW should look to other local airlines in the GCC for strategic links .......it has passed up the chances to renew it very old relationship with Gulf Air (previously Gulf Aviation the original Gulf air... all the others are upstarts ..i mean start ups! It was a BOAC associated airline until the 1970's). It strikes me that Gulf Air could do with a global strategic partner as much as BA needs a local presence and a link to South Asia and the Far East.

So BA, dig your mindset out of the English Home Counties, establish departure points elswhere in the UK & focus on the servicing the rest of the UK to the Middle East & beyond....... in that way you maybe able claim that you are in 'British Airways', not just 'London Airways'!

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