British Airways (BA) has revealed the initial destinations for its new Gatwick subsidiary, which will start flying from March 2022.
The airline announced its intention to create a short-haul standalone business at Gatwick in August, similar to its operation from London City Airport, which operates under the British Airways name but exists as an entirely separate entity. The offshoot will launch later in 2022, with short-haul services at Gatwick being operated by mainline BA until the new entities’ Air Operators Certificate is issued. BA short-haul flights will start operating from Gatwick at the end of March, with three Airbus short-haul aircraft initially, ramping ramp up to 18 aircraft by the end of May.
BA states that this subsidiary heralds its return to short-haul flying from Gatwick, which had been suspended as a result of Covid-19 in Spring 2020. During the pandemic, several routes were moved to Heathrow airport, some of which will return to Gatwick, as well as being maintained at Heathrow to give customers choice, including Faro, Ibiza, Malaga, Marrakech and Tenerife. In addition, other new routes will be added at Gatwick including Athens, Berlin, Madrid, Milan Malpensa and Santorini.
The new services will be branded and known as British Airways. The new services will initially be operated by British Airways, but by Autumn 2022 the organisation will be managed separately under the company trading name ‘BA Euroflyer’, consistent with its sister subsidiary ‘BA CityFlyer’
Tickets start from £39 each way with fares “competitive with those of Gatwick no-frills carriers” with British Airways Holidays also offering a number of packages to the same destinations.
“Today is a landmark moment for British Airways,” said Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO. “The creation of a new British Airways short-haul organisation means Gatwick customers will benefit from access to a premium service from the UK’s flag carrier at competitive prices. We are looking forward to bringing a short-haul network back to Gatwick, with a fantastic flying team in place, to serve our customers from London’s second hub airport, which we feel sure will be a success.”
Stewart Wingate, CEO, Gatwick Airport, said: “This significant news will be very welcome for many people connected to the airport. Despite the ongoing public health situation, today’s announcement is a positive signal that consumer confidence is returning as people start thinking about making travel plans for next summer.”
BA has said that it has launched a “significant recruitment campaign” for the new subsidiary.