British Airways, after many rumours, has finally confirmed that it will launch a new London Gatwick Short-haul subsidiary, for which it has revealed the initial destinations. The new subsidiary will start flying in March 2022.
BA Euroflyer
In August 2021, the airline announced its intention to create a short-haul standalone business at Gatwick, similar to its operation from London City Airport, which operates under the British Airways name but exists as an entirely separate entity. The offshoot will launch later in 2022, with short-haul services at Gatwick being operated by mainline BA until the new entities’ Air Operators Certificate is issued. BA Euroflyer, which is the name of this new BA subsidiary, will start operating at the end of March 2022, with 3 Airbus short-haul aircraft initially, ramping ramp up to 18 aircraft by the end of May 2022.
The subsidiary will herald the airline’s return to short-haul flying from the London airport, which had been suspended as a result of COVID-19 in Spring 2020. During the pandemic, several routes were moved to Heathrow airport, some of which will return to Gatwick, as well as being maintained at Heathrow to give customers choice, including Faro, Ibiza, Malaga, Marrakech and Tenerife. In addition, other new routes will be added at Gatwick including Athens, Berlin, Madrid, Milan Malpensa and Santorini.
Note that the new services will initially be operated by British Airways, but by Autumn 2022 the organisation will be managed separately under the company trading name ‘BA Euroflyer’, consistent with its sister subsidiary ‘BA CityFlyer’. The brand name will remain as British Airways.
As for the onboard experience, passengers will receive the same service they receive on British Airways as well as enjoying the benefits of travelling with the UK’s flag carrier including included baggage, complimentary water and snacks, complimentary seat selection at -24 hours and frequent flyer benefits which include lounge access. Passengers travelling on Club Europe will also receive complimentary food and drink and Euro Traveller customers who want to order additional food will benefit from access to the airline’s ‘Speedbird Café’, which features a selection of products from a range of British brands.
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BA Euroflyer’s routes from London Gatwick are:
- Amsterdam, Netherlands – starting 29th March 2022
- Larnaca, Cyprus – starting 29th March 2022
- Paphos, Cyprus – starting 29th March 2022
- Seville, Spain – starting 29th March 2022
- Tenerife, Spain – starting 29th March 2022
- Verona, Italy – starting 29th March 2022
- Arrecife (Lanzarote), Spain – starting 30th March 2022
- Faro, Portugal – starting 30th March 2022
- Malta, Malta – starting 30th March 2022
- Catania (Sicily), Italy – starting 31st March 2022
- Malaga, Spain – starting 31st March 2022
- Marrakesh, Morocco – starting 31st March 2022
- Nice, France – starting 31st March 2022
- Alicante, Spain – starting 1st April 2022
- Antalya, Turkey – starting 2nd April 2022
- Las Palmas (Gran Canaria), Spain – starting 2nd April 2022
- Bari, Italy – starting 3rd April 2022
- Dubrovnik, Croatia – starting 4th April 2022
- Turin, Italy – starting 4th April 2022
- Ibiza, Spain – starting 5th April 2022
- Palma (Mallorca), Spain – starting 7th April 2022
- Berlin, Germany – starting 8th April 2022
- Venice, Italy – starting 8th April 2022
- Mahon (Menorca), Spain – starting 11th April 2022
- Madrid, Spain – starting 14th April 2022
- Thessaloniki, Greece – starting 14th April 2022
- Bordeaux, France – starting 15th April 2022
- Milan Malpensa, Italy – starting 15th April 2022
- Santorini, Greece – starting 15th April 2022
- Cagliari (Sardinia) – starting 17th April 2022
- Dalaman, Turkey – starting 23rd April 2022
- Heraklion (Crete), Greece – starting 24th April 2022
- Kos, Greece – starting 24th April 2022
- Rhodes, Greece – starting 28th April 2022
- Athens, Greece – starting 4th May 2022
Tickets, which will go on sale at ba.com today, will start from £39 each way. BA says that it will offer fares that are competitive to those of low cost carriers that operate flights from Gatwick.
Sean Doyle, Chairman and CEO, British Airways, said:
Today is a landmark moment for British Airways. The creation of a new British Airways short-haul organisation means Gatwick customers will benefit from access to a premium service from the UK’s flag carrier at competitive prices. We are looking forward to bringing a short-haul network back to Gatwick, with a fantastic flying team in place, to serve our customers from London’s second hub airport, which we feel sure will be a success.
Stewart Wingate, CEO, Gatwick Airport, said:
This significant news will be very welcome for many people connected to the airport. Despite the ongoing public health situation, today’s announcement is a positive signal that consumer confidence is returning as people start thinking about making travel plans for next summer. Given the difficult period we have all just been through, we expect BA’s new and extensive network of services from Gatwick to destinations across Europe to be in high demand and our staff, retailers, restaurants, cafes and bars are all looking forward to welcoming BA passengers back in larger numbers from April next year.
Featured image by British Airways
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