British Airways is extending its route network from London City Airport this winter with a new route to Chambery, the gateway to the French Alps.

The service, by BACityFlyer, the wholly subsidiary of British Airways, will operate four times a week from 18th December until the end of March 2011, using the airline’s fleet of brand new Embraer 190 aircraft.

Luke Hayhoe, BA CityFlyer commercial manager said: “Our schedule is ideally set up to give our customers the opportunity to spend a long weekend, a full week, or even longer, skiing on some of the world’s best slopes and resorts.

“Only a few short hours after taking off from London’s Docklands, our customers can be in a winter wonderland of 120 ski resorts, all set amidst the majesty and splendour of the French and Swiss Alps.”

Fares starting from £59 one way (including taxes, fees and charges) can be booked on ba.com.

London City Airport press release 17/08/2010

NEW DENMARK FLIGHTS DIRECT FROM THE DOCKLANDS

British Airways is opening up its route network from London City Airport with the launch of its first route to Scandinavia.

The airline has announced plans to start a new double daily weekday service from the Docklands Airport to Copenhagen in Denmark, providing a direct air link between the two capital cities.

There will also be one flight a day from London City on Sundays and one flight from Copenhagen on Saturdays.

The new flights will start on September 12, and will be operated by British Airways wholly owned subsidiary BA CityFlyer with their fleet of brand new Embraer 190 aircraft.

Luke Hayhoe, BA CityFlyer commercial manager said: “This has been a year of firsts for us at London City Airport, with new leisure focused flights to the Balearic Islands launched earlier in the year and now our first ever venture into Scandinavia.

“Once again we are responding to demand from our customers for both business and leisure travel to Denmark and we are delighted to be launching another exciting new route using our new aircraft.”

Fares are available from £65 and are available to book on www.ba.com.

London City Airport press release 28/07/2010

The final British Airways BAe RJ aircraft leaves the fleet today (July 14) after a long and successful history with the airline.

The nine Avro RJ100 and two RJ85 aircraft operated by wholly owned British Airways subsidiary BA CityFlyer have been the backbone of the regional fleet at London City Airport since 2003. For many years before that they operated at Gatwick and other UK regional bases.

The London City operated RJs have been replaced by 11 brand new Embraer 170 and 190SR aircraft and BA CityFlyer now officially operates the youngest fleet of aircraft in the UK. The first one was delivered 10 months ago and a final Embraer 190SR will be delivered in November this year.

The last RJ aircraft, registration GLCY-B, operated its final commercial flight for British Airways from Glasgow to London City today.

Peter Simpson, managing director BA CityFlyer, said: “The RJs have given us long and valuable service but it’s time to move onto the next generation and we are delighted with our new fleet of E-jets that are operating all our domestic and European services from London City Airport. Passenger feedback on the new fleet has been fantastic, with the two by two seating configuration and the additional space a particular hit over the RJs they have replaced.”

London City Airport news release 16/07/2010

The European Commission has cleared under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed merger between British Airways of the UK and Iberia of Spain, both active in air passenger and cargo transport and related services. The Commission concluded that the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition in the European Economic Area (EEA) or any substantial part of it.

British Airways provides scheduled air passenger and cargo transport as well as related services (groundhandling and maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services). It serves some 150 cities in about 75 countries with an additional 215 cities served under various code-sharing relationships. It has several subsidiaries (CityFlyer, OpenSkies) and franchisees (Comair and Sunair). British Airways has its main hub at London Heathrow airport and also operates bases at London Gatwick and London City.

Iberia provides scheduled air passenger and cargo transport and related services (groundhandling and MRO services). It serves more than 106 destinations in over 43 countries with an additional 110 cities served under various code-sharing relationships. Its main hubs are in Madrid and Barcelona. IB's operations in Barcelona are carried out mainly through its subsidiary Vueling. IB's franchisee Air Nostrum operates mostly on Spanish domestic routes.

Both British Airways and Iberia are members of the oneworld alliance. Their activities overlap in the areas of passenger transport by air, cargo transport by air, groundhandling and MRO services.

Regarding passenger transport, the Commission examined notably the impact of the proposed transaction on the short-haul routes London-Madrid and London-Barcelona. The Commission's investigation showed that the merged entity will continue to face sufficient competition from other carriers active on these routes, and therefore that passengers will have adequate alternatives to fly on these routes after the merger.

The Commission also examined the effects of the proposed merger on a number of short- and long-haul routes on which one party offers a non-stop connection while the other party offers a one-stop connection, or on which both parties offer one-stop connections. Also on these routes, the Commission's investigation showed that the merged entity will continue to face enough competition after the merger.

Finally, the Commission's investigation confirmed that the merged entity will also continue to be subject to competition from a number of competitors on the markets for air cargo transport and groundhandling services, and that the proposed merger will not have a significant impact on the market for MRO services.

The Commission therefore concluded that the transaction will not significantly impede effective competition on any of the markets concerned by the proposed merger.

Further information will be available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/elojade ... e=2_M_5747

EU press release, Brussels, 14 July 2010

British Airways launched ‘Flying Start’ its new global charity partnership with Comic Relief UK, which aims to raise up to £8 million by 2013 for vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the UK and around the world.

An aircraft with ‘Flying Start’ emblazoned on its fuselage was unveiled to mark the beginning of this exciting fund-raising venture.

Actors Bill Nighy and Nick Frost flew to Kenya to visit some projects that Comic Relief UK supports. They visited KICOSHEP - a community self-help project supporting orphaned children affected by HIV and AIDS, Pendekezo Letu - an organisation that assists street children escape poverty, and Pamoja Trust - which helps poor urban slum dwellers in Kenya.

Bill Nighy said: “Meeting some of the most impoverished and vulnerable children in the world has been a humbling experience. Yet, despite the adversity these children face, optimism and hope is strong. Just seeing how Comic Relief UK has already made a difference has been incredibly inspiring and with the support from Flying Start, we can enrich the lives of even more children.”

Comic Relief UK is a UK wide charity, which aims to create a just world, free from poverty. It launched in 1985 and is perhaps best known for two major fundraising campaigns in the UK that take place in alternate years – Red Nose Day and Sport Relief. Thanks to the incredible generosity of the British public, Comic Relief UK has raised over £620million to help change lives.

Willie Walsh, British Airways’ chief executive, said: “Our partnership with Comic Relief UK will bring new help and support to underprivileged children in the UK and around the world through funds we raise in the air, on the ground and online. We have a great tradition of giving and, with our customers and our people, we will raise much needed funds.”

Kevin Cahill, chief executive of Comic Relief UK said: “We’re delighted to have been chosen as a long term partner of British Airways, which offers us the chance to reach out to staff and customers worldwide, all year round. Working with BA will help us stay connected to our beneficiaries across the world and will help us raise crucial funds to increase the numbers of individuals and countries we are able to support.”

Flying Start will strengthen the airline’s long tradition of support for disadvantaged people and communities around the world. The airline has a long-standing history in corporate responsibility and supports over 80 community and conservation charities worldwide.

Last year the airline gave over £5 million to charitable causes, through customer and other donations.

British Airways and Comic Relief believe that every child deserves a happy and secure childhood and that’s why every penny, cent or Euro raised through the programme will go to help turn children’s lives around.

For more information on Flying Start and British Airways corporate responsibility programme or to make a donation, please visit; ba.com/communityrelations

Footage from the Kenya trip, including commentary from Bill and Nick can be viewed at British Airways’ official YouTube page - youtube.com/FlyBritishAirways