Flying cold
The British Mediterranean Airways flights between Heathrow and Cardiff have been taking off six days a week since October despite having no passengers.
They have not appeared on departure or arrival boards, none of the 124 tickets were sold and all passenger seats remained empty […] Industry experts said the incident was rare but illustrative of an airline protecting its highly sought-after landing slots at Heathrow, which have been known to fetch up to £10m each. An airline needs to make at least 80% use of its allocation over a six-month session to preserve the entitlement or it risks seeing rivals take over the slot.
I'm surprised that flying empty could be considered the best option in this situation…
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[…] Original post by Phu […]
I think you’ll find it has less to do with having to fly, with or without passengers, rather it’s the flight path and (particularly) runway usage that’s the problem.
I’m sure they’ll fly the cheapest-to-operate and most efficient craft they have. ;)
It still highlights one of the many oddities airports are generating due to usage requirements.
wait a minute, I just tried to book a ticket, and, guess what, it ba.com says it doesn’t fly from Heathrow to Cardiff…
I’m also sure they’ll fly the cheapest-to-operate!
There is a big competition from the side of cheap airways compains. I think that is the reason