British Airways may cut number of India-bound flights

Mumbai: British Airways (BA), UK’s largest international airline, is reviewing some of its routes and flight frequencies to India, it is learnt. Routes having lesser loads may be trimmed. India is the second-largest market in terms of volume for British Airways, after the US. BA covers metros such as Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.
BA’s commercial development and deputy commercial manager (South Asia) Sriram Narayan told ET: “We constantly review different cost-cutting measures, including frequencies and routes rationalisation. We take appropriate measures on loss-making routes.” BA operates 43 flights a week from Heathrow to five cities in India.
BA has two direct flights connecting both Mumbai and New Delhi, while maintaining three and five flights to Kolkata and Chennai in a given week. It has a daily flight to Bangalore. From December 6, British Airways will introduce five direct flights a week from Hyderabad to Heathrow.
The airline is banking on fuel-efficient planes to reduce expenses and has ordered two Boeing 777-300ER jetliners.
28/08/08 Mithun Roy/Economic Times

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Categories: Foreign Aug 2008