Published on ShanghaiDaily.com (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/)
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200810/20081024/article_378065.htm
BA gears up for additional Shanghai-London flights
Created: 2008-10-24 15:05:54
Author:Winny Wang
BRITISH Airways is looking forward to raising its flight frequency on the Shanghai-London route.
The carrier plans to run six flights per week on the route by the end of this year, up from five now.
"We have submitted our proposal to add one flight per week on the route to the aviation regulator and expect that the new service can kick off by the end of this year," Robert Xia, trade sales manager of BA China, told Shanghai Daily today.
The carrier eventually wants the flight on the profitable route to be daily as it forecasts strong demand during World Expo Shanghai 2010 and in the lead up to the 2012 London Olympics.
The three-year-old route began earning money for the carrier last year and its sales have jumped more than 10 percent so far this year. Xia said the average load factor exceeds 90 percent.
Planes on the route began using Heathrow's new Terminal 5, which BA uses exclusively, on October 22. BA has moved all its flights, except code share ones, to the terminal.
"The Shanghai-London flights ran smoothly after moving to Terminal 5 and all the flights were punctual. Besides, passengers only need one hour when in transit at the terminal, compared with two hours before," Xia said.
Before Terminal 5 opened, flights departed or arrived on schedule only 30 to 40 percent of the time. BA flights at Terminal 5 are punctual more than 80 percent of the time, he said.
Terminal 5 had a disastrous opening in March as flights were canceled, luggage was lost and passengers were stuck waiting in lengthy queues. Xia said the chaos was caused by a software problem that the airport solved within one week after opening.
"According to our statistics, a passenger spends only 8.6 minutes on average from check-in to passing security checks in the new terminal," Xia said.
The carrier plans to run six flights per week on the route by the end of this year, up from five now.
"We have submitted our proposal to add one flight per week on the route to the aviation regulator and expect that the new service can kick off by the end of this year," Robert Xia, trade sales manager of BA China, told Shanghai Daily today.
The carrier eventually wants the flight on the profitable route to be daily as it forecasts strong demand during World Expo Shanghai 2010 and in the lead up to the 2012 London Olympics.
The three-year-old route began earning money for the carrier last year and its sales have jumped more than 10 percent so far this year. Xia said the average load factor exceeds 90 percent.
Planes on the route began using Heathrow's new Terminal 5, which BA uses exclusively, on October 22. BA has moved all its flights, except code share ones, to the terminal.
"The Shanghai-London flights ran smoothly after moving to Terminal 5 and all the flights were punctual. Besides, passengers only need one hour when in transit at the terminal, compared with two hours before," Xia said.
Before Terminal 5 opened, flights departed or arrived on schedule only 30 to 40 percent of the time. BA flights at Terminal 5 are punctual more than 80 percent of the time, he said.
Terminal 5 had a disastrous opening in March as flights were canceled, luggage was lost and passengers were stuck waiting in lengthy queues. Xia said the chaos was caused by a software problem that the airport solved within one week after opening.
"According to our statistics, a passenger spends only 8.6 minutes on average from check-in to passing security checks in the new terminal," Xia said.
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