Bmi Purchase Boosts British Airways Domestic Services From Winter 2012

HARMONDSWORTH, England, June 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

British Airways' winter 2012 schedule, beginning on October 28, 2012, has been unveiled, with UK regions set to benefit thanks to parent company IAG's purchase of bmi.

The airline will add extra frequencies and use bigger aircraft on flights to Scotland enabling it to offer nearly 27,000 more seats a week between London and Scotland. This includes two extra flights a day between London Heathrow and Edinburgh and two extra flights per day between Heathrow and Aberdeen.

In addition British Airways is also starting a three-per-day service between London City and Aberdeen on September 24 to connect the two business hubs.

From December 9, British Airways will start four flights per day between Heathrow and Leeds Bradford, connecting Yorkshire with the airline's extensive global route network at Heathrow and increasing consumer choice in the North of England. The airline has already taken over bmi's six daily flights to Belfast, and will be launching a new timetable of seven flights a day between London and the Northern Irish capital on October 28.

A new London City to Isle of Man route has also recently launched.

At the time of EU approval for the bmi deal, IAG committed to launching new flights to important trading nations and delivering on that, British Airways is to begin flying six times a week to Seoul in South Korea from December 2, 2012.

Brand new, three times a week Las Vegas flights from London Gatwick start on October 29.

In Europe, Zagreb in Croatia will benefit from new daily flights to Heathrow from December 9 and six flights a week to Venice will be added to the London City route network on September 17. Customers looking for holidays in Barcelona will benefit from more choice with a new three-per-week service from London Gatwick to Barcelona will launch on February 23, 2013.

From October 28, former bmi routes from London Heathrow to Agadir, Bergen and Stavanger will become new British Airways routes from Terminal 5, while former bmi routes to Belfast and Hanover will become new British Airways Terminal 1 routes.

British Airways aircraft and crew will operate these routes, and customers will receive the full-service airline's on-board experience.

A number of existing British Airways routes including Basel, Dusseldorf, Luxembourg, Lyon and Toulouse will move from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1 on October 28.

There will be an increase in frequencies in winter 2012 (versus winter 2011) from Heathrow to Aberdeen (from six to eight flights per day), Edinburgh (from 10 to 12 flights a day), Manchester (from 10 to 11 flights a day), Oslo (from four to five flights per day), Zurich (from six to seven per day) and Phoenix (from six to seven flights per week). Flights to Bologna will be consolidated at Heathrow, with an increase in frequency on the existing Heathrow service from seven per week to 21 per week.

At Gatwick, services will increase to Faro (from four to five flights per week), Malaga (from seven to ten flights per week) and Marrakech (three to seven flights per week) from October 28, and extra services will be added to Salzburg and Turin for the winter ski season. Flights to Marseille will move from Gatwick to Heathrow on October 28.

About British Airways:

British Airways plc offers a wide range of worldwide destinations, including holidays in Maldives and Paphos holidays, as well as hotels, car rental with Avis and experiences. Customers can save time and money with ba.com when booking ATOL protected holiday packages, ATOL number is 5985. Passengers are offered added peace of mind to their holiday plans and the security of travelling with British Airways. British Airways plc constantly seeks to exceed customers' expectations, both in terms of the value for money and quality of the service provided.

Press Contact:
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SOURCE British Airways