British Airways: We’re going to take our time moving to Heathrow’s Terminal 5

by Jeffrey White on

Even as the chaos that was the opening of Heathrow’s much vaunted Terminal 5 this spring seems to have subsided some, British Airways says that it will not make the full move to the new wing until after the busy summer travel season.

“Terminal 5 is working well, and this phased move has been planned in the interests of our passengers and the smooth operation of Heathrow over the busy summer period,” British airways said in a statement, reported by the Associated Press.

Now, a handful of long haul BA flights will be moved from Terminal 4 to 5 early next month. But then no other moves are planned until September, when another 30 or so daily flights — including service to Dallas, Chicago and Washington — will make the move. The full move won’t be completed until October.

BA had wanted to make these switches in a matter of days after the new terminal opened in April. But we all saw how well that went. However, come October the carrier will be have about 500 flights a day using the new wing, it says.

OpenSkies airlines set to take flight June 19th

by Grant Martin on


With availability in the transatlantic sector starting to open up, airlines are starting to take advantage of new slots and flexibility across the pond. OpenSkies, British Airways‘ new niche airline, plans to do just that.

Named after the oft mentioned OpenSkies agreement put into place between the US and European Union earlier this year, the airline of the same moniker plans to offer a new, unique approach to intercontinental travel. With only 82 seats on a Boeing 757 aircraft (for comparison, Continental‘s 757 has over 215 seats), OpenSkies aims to offer a more comfortable, personal experience on air travel at a price barely more than a ticket on a legacy carrier.

Three classes of service will be offered, biz, premium and economy, with prices ranging from the $1,746 one way at the high range to $554 at the low end.

In addition to the space proffered by low seat count, OpenSkies boasts superior in-flight amenities, including leather seats, 50 hours of audio and video on personal entertainment systems, lie-flat seats in biz, a la carte meals and wine service and everything you need to make you fit and prepared for the new morning in the EU.

Sound nice? I thought so too. June 19th marks the first flight for the airline, traveling between New York‘s JFK airport and Orly in Paris. Planned routes include Brussels, Milan, Frankfurt and Amsterdam by the end of 2009.

What’s nice about OpenSkies is that they have strong financial backing from British Airways, a solid management and strong experience in the sector. So you can have confidence in the niche carrier being not only around for a while but also in reasonable financial shape for the near future, even if oil is more expensive than gold.

Competition in the premium transatlantic market has recently dropped off as well, so hopefully this will leave them a larger market share.

You can book tickets and check out the sweet service on flyopenskies.com.

Pilot of British Airways crashed 777 set to resign, humiliated

by Grant Martin on

Peter Burkhill, the captain of the British Airways (BA) 777 that crashed just inside of London‘s Heathrow Airport earlier this years has had some difficult times since the incident. Originally hailed as a hero with co-pilot John Coward, Burkhill has since taken leave for post-traumatic stress, only operating one flight since the incident.

As a result of his leave, BA have reduced his pay to reflect lost flying bonuses and are waiting to circulate him back into the roster after the investigation is complete. Unfortunately, this has taken the airline a substantial amount of time, leaving Burkhill to stand by idly while the bureaucracy plods along. Meanwhile, a few brave souls have questioned his actions in the final seconds of flight 038, saying that he froze during incident and criticizing his methods.

To the contrary, both British Airways and the Air Accident Investigation Board seem to indicate that Burkhill’s actions saved the flight from further disaster, but his efforts to expedite the investigation process, clear his name and get BA to publish his good deeds have so far been in vain.

Distraught, the captain has now started considering positions at other carriers. According to Britain’s Sunday Mirror, Burkhill sent a personal letter to Richard Branson asking for a position at Virgin and is also considering flying with Emirates. Perhaps these sort of threats will get British Airways to clear up the issue faster.

Continental Airlines and United won’t be bed fellows after all

by Jamie Rhein on

Continental Airlines has decided to stay single after all–sort of. United Airlines’ parent company UAL had been wooing Continental looking for a merger hook up, but since United hasn’t had great luck financially as of late, (see Grant’s post), Continental has said, “See ya later, toots,” to the merger deal.

According to this article in today’s New York Time’s, Continental Airlines is still casting its gaze towards American Airlines and British Airways for some sort of alliance deal. In the meantime, United is looking for another bed pal.

U.S. Airways may be it, but that’s not clear either. With all the trying out the beds, it’s hard to keep up. What is clear is that ticket prices are going to keep rising. The economy is not being particularly kind to the airline business, although, since the New York Times article was written, the shares of Continental have gone up. The article said at the end of the week, shares were $15.21. Now a share is at $17.25.

As the airlines are looking to swing deals, I’m hoping someone will look at those old Skybus routes. I’m still recovering from that airline’s shutdown.

Naomi Campbell flips out in Heathrow Terminal 5, gets arrested

by Grant Martin on

I guess even celebrities are not immune to baggage problems and stressing out at Heathrow. Apparently supermodel Naomi Campbell was arrested yesterday after causing a ruckus when she misplaced one of her pieces of luggage. She insisted on the airline finding it immediately and when they offered to forward it along to prevent the plane from leaving late she caused a scene.

When the police were called in to manage the dispute, Campbell flew completely off the handle and assaulted the police officer, which, apparently is against the law. She was thus subdued, handcuffed and removed from the plane along with her entire entourage of Campbellites.

If Google serves me right, this isn’t the first time that Ms. Campbell has been in trouble for violent behavior. Victims include but are not limited to her nanny, her drug counselor and her assistant, with the total number of claims against her now up to eight.

Wouldn’t you know it, attacking people doesn’t seem to help the situation when you’ve lost your bags. Take a lesson from Naomi Campbell and stay calm next time they’re misplaced.