British Airways Announces Continual Growth of its London Gatwick Network

CRAWLEY, England, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- British Airways has opened up its Gatwick gateway with a growing route network that has firmly established it as the airport's leading long haul carrier.

As the airline celebrates the first anniversary of the popular thrice-weekly Sharm el Sheikh service, it is getting ready to launch a new twice-weekly service to Cancun in November.

With other new routes launched in the past year, including Male, in the Maldives, Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and Montego Bay in Jamaica, British Airways will operate flights to 25 domestic and European destinations and 16 long haul destinations from Gatwick this winter.

The most popular long haul destinations for families are Orlando and Tampa in Florida. This follows the recent announcement of the increased frequency of flights to Tampa, starting on March 27, 2011. Other hotspots for holidays include the Dominican Republic, holidays in the Maldives and Cancun. With increased frequency to St Kitts, Grenada, Barbados and Bermuda in summer 2010 and further increases to flights to Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia and Cancun, British Airways officially now offers more seats to the Caribbean from the UK than any other carrier.

With its substantial short haul programme British Airways has established itself as a favourite for city breaks in Europe, offering Euro Traveller, the Economy cabin for short haul flights, and Club Europe, BA's Business Class cabin. Popular choices from Gatwick include flights to Amsterdam, Rome and Faro. For the summer months, holidays in Dubrovnik are also an option.

Flights to Sharm el Sheikh and other new long haul routes are operated by Boeing 777 aircraft with a three-class configuration: World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World.

British Airways continues an excellent punctuality performance at Gatwick Airport with the airport achieving the best monthly punctuality figures British Airways has ever recorded in March.

In June, British Airways was the most punctual major carrier at Gatwick, with 87 per cent of short haul and domestic flights departing on time and 86 per cent of international flights on time. Sharm el Sheikh was the second most punctual route from Gatwick during the summer.

Now Executive Club iPhone users on short haul flights can also use the new Mobile Boarding Passes on their phones - introduced at Gatwick earlier this month - which can be scanned at check-in to speed up and enhance the boarding process.

In addition, customers using Android and Blackberry devices will now be able to benefit from a version of the British Airways App.

The airport experience is further enhanced as British Airways' customers will benefit from the 900 million pounds investment by Gatwick Airport to upgrade and modernise the North and South Terminals.

Alan Peever, British Airways general manager Gatwick said:  "In a year when we have seen record punctuality, even in extreme operating conditions, passengers have more reasons than ever to fly with British Airways from Gatwick.

"Not only do we offer excellent punctuality and customer service, we now have an excellent route network, with plenty of choice and a flexible schedule allowing passengers to connect from many parts of the UK."

About British Airways:

British Airways plc offers a wide range of worldwide destinations - including holidays in Florida, hotels, hotels in Jersey, flights, car rental and experiences. Customers can save time and money with ba.com when booking ATOL protected holiday packages. 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.

SOURCE British Airways