Air Freight News

British Airways scraps Gatwick plan, escalating union standoff

British Airways dropped plans to set up a new, lower-cost unit at London Gatwick airport, setting up a high-stakes showdown with its pilots union, which balked at new contract terms.

The airline has insisted on setting up a separate division for the short-haul business even though it would remain branded as BA, the flagship of the IAG SA carrier group. The new unit, announced in August, was set to bring back operations terminated at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, but the airline said it would only move forward with less expensive contracts.

“After many years of losing money on European flights from the airport, we were clear that coming out of the pandemic, we needed a plan to make Gatwick profitable and competitive,” BA said in a statement Thursday. The company said it would find alternative uses for its takeoff and landing slots.

BA’s stance puts pressure on the union while leaving room for compromise ahead of the Sept. 30 end of the U.K.’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, which has helped pay for furloughed staff. The Balpa pilots union said it remains open to negotiations, suggesting a deal was still possible.

“Balpa was unable to reach an agreement with British Airways on revised terms and conditions for London Gatwick short-haul that was acceptable to our members,” Martin Chalk, the union’s acting secretary, said in an email.

Gatwick Pullback?

For now, BA said it will suspend most of its short-haul operations from Gatwick, and offer only a handful of domestic flights that feed longer journeys from the hub. Since the start of the pandemic, the carrier has been focused on its main base at London Heathrow, while it also offers regional flights from London City.

Proceeding with a plan to pull out of Gatwick would cause a major shakeup at the airport. BA had the second-largest presence behind discounter EasyJet Plc, and its exit would leave the hub with no flights to Algiers, Cologne/Bonn in Germany, Genoa in Italy, and Manchester, according to Cirium data.

Rival low-cost carrier Wizz Air Holdings Plc has been eager to snap up Gatwick slots, and made a recent proposal to merge with EasyJet that was rejected, Bloomberg reported this month.

Bloomberg
Bloomberg

{afn_job_title}

© Bloomberg
The author’s opinion are not necessarily the opinions of the American Journal of Transportation (AJOT).

Similar Stories

https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/jet_fuel_1.jpg
Exxon says US jet fuel policy is needed to boost investment
View Article
https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/Port_of_Huntsville_airportjpg.jpg
The Port of Huntsville marks another year of growth in intermodal transportation
View Article
Atlas Air and YunExpress expand strategic partnership with second Boeing 777-200 freighter

Atlas Air Inc., a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc., a leading global provider of outsourced aviation logistics, today announced the expansion of its strategic partnership with YunExpress, a…

View Article
Mexico’s new state airline sued in $800 million contract dispute

Mexico’s new state-owned airline was sued by the company that the government hired to manage plane leases and hire crews, claiming the carrier’s lack of cooperation has put the entire…

View Article
Kenya Airways seeks to raise as much as $1.5 billion capital

Kenya Airways Plc now seeks to raise as much as $1.5 billion in fresh capital in a restructuring process authorities say will revive the carrier and plug a drain on…

View Article
https://www.ajot.com/images/uploads/article/Baltimore_bridge_collapse_1.jpg
Baltimore bridge collapse impacts I-95 shipping, rail, trucking and Port of Baltimore
View Article