British Airways announces summer 2018 schedule at Gatwick
LONDON, UK, 2018-Jan-08 — /Travel PR News/ — As the back to work blues set in, British Airways is turning up the heat at Gatwick as summer 2018 is set to be the airline’s biggest schedule in almost a decade.
In summer 2017 the airline operated around 1000 flights a week at its peak. More than 150 additional weekly flights will take to the skies this summer* following the airline’s successful acquisition of Monarch’s take-off and landing slots.
Weekly flights to Malaga will be boosted from 27 to 35, Alicante from 14 to 22 and Faro from 17 to 21, while the airline’s summer flights to Tenerife will increase from six per week to 13, Madeira will be bolstered from six to nine per week and Lanzarote will rise from three to five flights per week at the Sussex based hub.
Alex Cruz, British Airways’ chairman and CEO, said: “We are delighted to be able to further grow our presence at Gatwick by adding extra frequencies and improving our timetable. We are also introducing several new destinations to the Gatwick programme, including Palma (Majorca), Mahon (Menorca) and Gibraltar. These exciting new routes give our customers even more choice of destinations at competitively low prices.
“Over the last five years our operation at Gatwick has seen 40 per cent more customers travelling, with passenger numbers increasing from 4.4 million to 6.2 million. According to CAA figures we are the most punctual of the three big short-haul carriers flying from London: at the 15-minute level and at Gatwick we outperformed easyJet’s punctuality by 13 percentage points and Ryanair’s by nine percentage points in 2017.
“We’ve also increased the number of routes we serve by more than 50 per cent; in 2012 we flew to 48 different destinations, whereas now we serve 74. This undoubtedly highlights our commitment and focus to growing our Gatwick operation.”
Those looking to beat the back to work blues sooner and hit the slopes or chase the sun this winter will now have even more choice, as over the Christmas period the airline added more than 40,000 further seats to the schedule for February and March. An additional 400 flights will operate between February 9 and March 24 meaning more low fares are available, even around peak periods.
Return fares from as low as £69 to ski hubs such as Geneva, Turin and Grenoble are available. A family of four could jet off to some of Europe’s top ski resorts for just £250 ** based on return fares. Lead in return fares to Malaga start from £76 and Tenerife and Lanzarote from £106 for travel dates up to March 19.
As well as the extension to the short-haul network, British Airways has already introduced more long-haul destinations to Gatwick next summer with the arrival of Toronto and Las Vegas, joining Oakland and Fort Lauderdale which commenced last summer.
British Airways’ January Sale is currently running until midnight on January 30, with the airline dropping prices by up to 20 per cent in World Traveller, World Traveller Plus, Club World and Club Europe. Return fares to Oakland in San Francisco Bay from Gatwick are available for £378 per person. Tickets can be booked now on ba.com.
Customers can also enjoy some of the most generous holiday packages available this winter from three-night sunshine breaks to long-haul beach destinations. British Airways Holidays has the following deals on sale:
· Family holidays from £179 pp – British Airways Holidays offers seven nights at the 3* Vilanova Resort, from £179 per person based on 2 adults and 2 children, travelling February 2 – March 31. Includes Euro Traveller return flights from London Gatwick to Faro and accommodation. Book by January 30. For reservations visit ba.com/family or call 0344 493 0125.
· Winter sun holidays from £169 pp – British Airways Holidays offers seven nights at the 3* Porto Azzurro Aparthotel, from £169 per person, travelling January 7 – March 20. Includes Euro Traveller return flights from London Gatwick to Malta and accommodation. Book by January 30. For reservations visit ba.com/wintersun or call 0344 493 0125.
· Lanzarote – British Airways Holidays offers seven nights at the 3* Oasis Lanz Beach Mate from £259 per person, travelling on selected dates between February 16 – March 13. Selected dates are 16th, 20th, 23rd, 27th February and 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 13th March for seven nights. Includes Euro Traveller return flights from London Gatwick and accommodation with breakfast. Book by January 30. For reservations visit ba.com/lanzarote or call 0344 493 0125.
· Orlando – British Airways Holidays offers seven nights at the 3* Ramada Hotel Gateway, from £489 per person, travelling November 5 – November 28. Includes World Traveller return flights from London Gatwick and accommodation. Book by January 30. For reservations visit ba.com/orlando or call 0344 493 0124.
· Caribbean – British Airways Holidays offers seven nights at the 3* Rostrevor Hotel, from £529 per person, travelling September 1 – October 11. Includes World Traveller return flights from London Gatwick to Barbados and accommodation. Book by January 30. For reservations visit ba.com/barbados or call 0344 493 0120.
· Cancun – British Airways Holidays offers seven nights at the 4* Allegro Playacar, from £799 per person, travelling June 1 – June 30. Includes World Traveller return flights from London Gatwick and accommodation with All Inclusive. Book by January 30. For reservations visit ba.com or call 0344 493 0120.
· Indian Ocean – British Airways Holidays offers seven nights at the 3* Coin de Mire, from £779 per person, travelling June 1 – June 30. Includes World Traveller return flights from London Gatwick to Mauritius and accommodation with breakfast. Book by January 30. For reservations visit ba.com/mauritius or call 0344 493 0778.
Customers also benefit from a generous two-bag hand baggage allowance of up to 23kg*** per bag and the convenience of flying to the most centrally located airports. Skiers flying with British Airways can pack their skis and ski poles as part of their generous checked baggage (with the exception of hand-baggage only fares), and bags can be up to 190cm in length without incurring any additional charges.
Customers travelling in Euro Traveller can also purchase food from the M&S On Board menu and Executive Club Members can collect Tier Points and Avios. Those with a silver or gold card can make use of Gatwick’s new BA lounge, which opened in the South Terminal in 2017.
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Notes to editors:
· A small number of flights will be operated by Titan Airways on behalf of British Airways, which is a provider of chartered aircraft to many UK airlines and which we have worked with for many years.
· *British Airways’ summer schedule runs between March 25 and October 27, 2018. The 150 additional flights will be released for sale on BA.com gradually.
· **This fare is based on a family of four with two adults and two children between the ages of two and 11.
· Since 2012, British Airways has started Gatwick services to Cape Town, Fort Lauderdale, New York, Oakland, Lima, San Jose (Costa Rica), Lanzarote, Alicante, Barcelona, Cagliari, Dalaman, Friedrichschafen, Funchal, Fuerteventura, Grenoble, Heraklion, Larnaca, Limoges, Malta, Nuremburg, Porto, Rhodes, Seville, Tenerife, Vienna and Valencia.
SOURCE: British Airways
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