Adds particulars
LONDON, Sept 3 (Reuters) – British Airways ICAG.L stated on Friday it was contemplating establishing a brand new unbiased subsidiary for its short-haul operations at London’s Gatwick airport.
The airline, owned by Anglo-Spanish group IAG, stated that the brand new unit would even be branded British Airways and would supply the identical customary of service.
BA stated final month it was evaluating operations on the airport, London’s second largest after Heathrow, which is its most important hub.
“We imagine that our proposals for an unbiased subsidiary will allow us to each keep the British Airways buyer expertise and be aggressive on this atmosphere,” it stated.
BA stated its operations at Gatwick had not been worthwhile for a decade, together with in 2019 earlier than the pandemic hit.
It has struggled to compete with low-cost carriers resembling EasyJet on the airport. Making a unbiased subsidiary would allow BA to decrease its value base, resembling staffing payments.
It’s not at the moment working any short-haul flights from Gatwick due to COVID-19 journey restrictions.
“While we need to restart flying short-haul from Gatwick, we are going to solely do that if now we have a aggressive and sustainable working value base,” it stated.
BA, which is discussing the proposals with its unions, stated it was additionally evaluating alternate options for its Gatwick slots.
Rival Ryanair RYA.I delivered a downbeat evaluation of the proposals, with Chief Government Michael O’Leary questioning BA’s alternative of Gatwick as a hub.
“If you happen to have been going to open up a low-cost provider, the one airport in London you would not go to could be Gatwick,” he stated, including it was London’s second most costly.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle, Modifying by Kylie MacLellan and Alexander Smith)
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