BA Raises Prospect of More Cheap Flights to Madrid
BA revealed this week that its ongoing merger with Spanish flag carrier Iberia could lead to more cheap flights to Madrid from UK regional airports.
During a debate at the Advantage conference in the Spanish capital, the airline's UK and Ireland head of sales and marketing Richard Tams was asked whether he saw the Iberia base of Madrid as an alternative centre of operations to Heathrow, now that there was no chance of an extra runway and additional capacity.
He replied that BA would not move all of its cheap flights to Latin America to Madrid Airport, although the extra capacity available at this hub meant that there was a chance of the carrier increasing the number of routes to South America that it could offer UK and Spanish travellers.
"We know that a lot of competitors feed from the UK to hubs other than Heathrow and it is something we want to look at,"
The BA executive also suggested that its short-haul business class Club Europe would keep operating between London and Madrid and other routes – confounding reports that it is up for the chop.
"We believe there is a lot of demand for Club Europe. We have seen a steady decline in demand for it over the years but it has flattened," Mr Tams insisted. "A lot of big financial clients have come back to it now it is at a price point that is acceptable."
Reports also emerged this week that BA parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) has considered buying up Portugal's flag carrier TAP. The carrier will be sold off by the Portuguese government as part of its IMF bailout. TAP is allegedly part of the IAG list of potential purchases along with carriers BMI and Finnair.
The move could lead to BA customers receiving a wider choice of cheap flights to Portugal and Brazil from the UK and Lisbon.
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on 09 May 2011
cheap flights, cheap flights to Madrid, cheap flights to Spain, cheap flights to Latin America, cheap flights to Portugal
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