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British Airways has “indefinitely” cancelled all flights to the Pakistani capital Islamabad amid security concerns after the bombing of the Marriott hotel, the airline said Tuesday.BA issued a statement confirming the cancellation of its six weekly services to Islamabad, the only destination it flies to in Pakistan, a day after saying that it was only temporarily suspending flights.

“In light of the security situation in Pakistan, British Airways has cancelled its flights from Islamabad to Heathrow indefinitely,” a British Airways statement said.

source: AFP

British Airways PLC said its planned business-class only flight from London’s City Airport — which is just a 14-minute train ride from the city’s financial district of Canary Wharf — to New York will allow passengers to complete U.S. arrival checks in Ireland.

The airline said that the route’s refueling stop at Shannon airport, in western Ireland, will double as the port where passengers will go through U.S. immigration checks, meaning they’ll be able to skip them when they land in New York, and speed straight into the city.

source: Business week

The airlines, along with Iberia, a prospective partner of British Airways, said on Thursday that they planned to apply for antitrust approval from the Transportation Department to form a marketing alliance to link their global flight networks.

American and British Airways tried twice before to bring about such an arrangement, only to face stiff requirements from regulators. But the aviation landscape has changed significantly since they first proposed the deal in 1996. Then, flights between the United States and Heathrow Airport near London were strictly controlled, and deals between big airlines were routinely viewed as anticompetitive.

source: New York Times

The airlines, along with Iberia, a prospective partner of British Airways, said on Thursday that they planned to apply for antitrust approval from the Transportation Department to form a marketing alliance to link their global flight networks.

American and British Airways tried twice before to bring about such an arrangement, only to face stiff requirements from regulators. But the aviation landscape has changed significantly since they first proposed the deal in 1996. Then, flights between the United States and Heathrow Airport near London were strictly controlled, and deals between big airlines were routinely viewed as anticompetitive.

source: New York Times

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic is set to launch a major advertising campaign to challenge British Airways’ (BA) plans for a tie-up with American Airlines (AA). Branson claims that the proposed deal would damage transatlantic competition.

BA is expected to make an application in the US this week to enact the joint venture with AA. The pact between the two airlines would mean they would have dominant shares of transatlantic flights from Heathrow on six routes including New York JFK, Chicago and Los Angeles.

source: marketingweek.co.uk

British Airways will make a third attempt to seal an alliance with its US partner American Airlines within weeks.

Willie Walsh, BA’s chief executive, said he expected final preparations for the deal to be complete within a fortnight, with an application to US regulators to follow shortly afterwards. “We want to move on this as soon as possible,” he said.

BA, which revealed sharply reduced profits last week, has tried to consummate its marriage with American Airlines for more than a decade. It first sought the permission of US regulators in 1997, then again in 2002.

source: Times Online

If the proposed merger between British Airways and Iberia is given the go-ahead, it will create the world’s third largest revenue carrier and give the two carriers a combined 13.5% share of the transatlantic market based on capacity.

The oneworld alliance partners announced on 29 July that they are in talks with a view to carrying out an all-share merger, which would see both airlines retaining their brands as part of a combined group.

source: flightglobal.com

The national carrier said increasingly tough economic conditions - with oil prices nudging £150 a barrel - made price hikes of up to four per cent “absolutely inevitable“.

The warning came as both BA and Ryanair announced unprecedented cutbacks in their flight schedules to save on fuel costs.

BA has scrapped hundreds of flights over the summer, merging half empty flights to popular destinations to reduce its consumption of fuel.

source: telegraph.co.uk

Passengers who flew across the Atlantic between August 2004 and March 2006 with British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic are entitled to a refund as part of a £100 million settlement pending in California.

The deal was struck by American lawyers in US courts but the lion’s share - £73.5million - has been reserved for British passengers.

That equates to a refund of between £4 and £20 for each return ticket and up to £10 for a one-way ticket. Frequent flyers and corporate customers could pick up hundreds of pounds.

The refund applies not only to transatlantic flights but to any long haul journey operated by the airline between the specified period.

source: telegraph.co.uk

Faced with growing financial problems, U.S. air carriers could start seeking foreign investments and pushing for a relaxation of U.S. airline-ownership laws, British Airways PLC Chairman Martin Broughton said in an interview.BA, which flies more passengers to and from the U.S. than any other overseas airline, doesn’t envision being able to make a major investment in a U.S. carrier anytime soon, said Mr. Broughton.

source: The World Street Journal