Explore Business Standard
British Airways
With the "incredible potential" in the Indian aviation market, British Airways will look to expand its services to cater to the growing travel demand as well as continue to create employment opportunities in the country, according to a senior airline executive. Operating in India for more than 100 years, the airline, currently has 56 weekly flights from the country to London. There are three flights a day from Mumbai, two daily flights from Delhi and one flight daily from Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. The airline plans to have a third daily flight from the national capital to London from next year, subject to regulatory approvals. "We are always looking to continue to expand our services as demand grows stronger. We continue to keep our network schedule under constant review to ensure we provide connectivity and choice for our customers. "As demand strengthens, we remain focused on expanding our services and elevating the travel experience," British Airways Chief Operating Offi
British Airways plans to start an additional flight connecting London and Delhi in 2026 as the airline looks to increase air connectivity between India and the UK, with the free trade agreement set to boost economic activities. The airline, which has been flying into India for more than 100 years, made the announcement on Wednesday as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is leading the 'Britain Means Business' trade mission to the country. The trip to Mumbai follows the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries in July. "The airline will introduce a third daily flight between London Heathrow and Delhi in 2026, subject to regulatory and capacity approval. "The popular First cabin will return on flights from London to Mumbai this month with the latest business class Club Suite on select flights across all five Indian routes by the end of 2026," the airline said in a release on Wednesday. Currently, British Airways operates 56 weekly flights connecting London with f
British Airways, which has been flying to India for more than 100 years, will look to further expand routes and frequency of flights as well as tap the cargo opportunities from the India-UK free trade agreement, the airline's Chairman and CEO, Sean Doyle has said. Currently, the airline operates 56 flights a week from five Indian cities, including three-weekly flights from Mumbai, double daily services from Delhi. It also has daily flight from Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. In an exclusive interview to PTI, Doyle said India is a "very, very important" market for British Airways and hopes to continue with expansion in the future in terms of both routes and flight frequencies. From October this year, the airline is set to re-introduce first class seats in one of the flights in the Mumbai-London Heathrow route, after a gap of nearly five years. "I think we want to be part of the growth of aviation in India. We have been part of it for 100 years... about 2,500 people work for Britis
Expanding its services to India, British Airways will start a new daily flight between the national capital and London Heathrow from April 20, 2025. "This will increase the airline's schedule across India to 63 flights a week across five cities," the airline said in a release. Currently, the carrier operates 56 weekly flights to India. These include daily services from Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The new flight, starting from April 20, will be operated with a Boeing 787-8 aircraft. Neil Chernoff, British Airways' Chief Planning and Strategy Officer said the airline is celebrating 100 years of flying to India. "We eagerly anticipate welcoming passengers on board our new flights and continuing our legacy of excellence in the skies," Moran Birger, Head of Sales Asia Pacific and Middle East at British Airways, said.
British police are working with their Indian counterparts to trace a British Airways supervisor believed to be on the run in India after his role in an alleged GBP 3 million visa scam from over five years came to light, according to a UK media report on Tuesday. The Sun' newspaper reports that the unnamed 24-year-old suspect worked at Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport and is said to have charged customers GBP 25,000 per trip to abuse a loophole and fly them across the British Airways (BA) network without crucial visa documents. British police are now said to be working with their Indian counterparts to try to trace the man, who reportedly vanished with his partner a BA ground services staffer after he was arrested on January 6 and released on bail. He is believed to have flown out to India where he has reportedly bought several properties. As part of his fiddle, he got clients, most from India, to fly to the UK on a temporary visitor visa where he arranged for them to jet elsewhere,
British Airways is seeing a more balanced growth in India and has increased its weekly flights to 56 compared to the pre-pandemic level, the airline's chief Sean Doyle said on Friday. Speaking at a media roundtable here, Doyle, who is the Chairman and CEO, also said there is a growth in air travel demand in India and the airline is looking for expansion. Currently, the airline has 56 weekly frequencies connecting five Indian cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the airline had 49 weekly flights. "We are rebuilding and modernising," the airline after the pandemic and India is an important part, Doyle said. British Airways, which started flying into India in 1924, has more than 2,000 employees in the country, the airline's Chief Customer Officer Calum Laming said. It has a total global workforce of more than 35,000 people.
British Airways cancelled dozens of flights on Friday due to computer problems, disrupting the plans of thousands of travellers at the start of a busy holiday weekend. Most of the 42 affected flights were on short-haul routes to and from Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport. Computer issues on Thursday caused planes and crew to be out of position Friday, which was expected to be the busiest day for UK air travel since before the coronavirus pandemic. Other flights were delayed, as some passengers were unable to check in online. We're aware of a technical issue, which we have been working hard to fix, the airline said on its website. Travel is expected to be especially busy over the next few days as a three-day weekend coincides with the start of a weeklong holiday for most schools in Britain.
Mixed signals are emerging about travel in Europe heading into the winter season. British Airways is cutting more than 10,000 short-haul flights in and out of London's Heathrow Airport through March, while nearby Gatwick Airport is ending its limits on the number of daily flights. Major European airports have been chaotic this summer as people eager to travel after two years of COVID-19 restrictions ran up against staffing shortages, leading to long lines, baggage delays and flight cancellations. Airports like Heathrow, Amsterdam's Schiphol and Gatwick capped how many passengers could fly each day or the number of flights to ease the travel mayhem over the past few months. Gatwick said Monday that it wasn't renewing its daily flight limits, while Heathrow, Britain's largest airport, decided last week to extend its daily cap of 100,000 passengers through the end of October. Heathrow's extension led British Airways to cancel 629 round-trip short-haul flights over the next two ...