British Airways Bolsters Domestic and International Network Following BMI Buy

British Airways has unveiled a raft of new domestic and international flights for its winter 2012 schedule, which begins on October 28.

According to British Airways, UK regions will see more BA services as a result of parent company International Airlines Group’s purchase of BMI earlier this year.

Following its takeover of BMI, British Airways is operating more than 110 Airbus A320-family jets. These form the backbone of its short-haul fleet

The airline will add extra frequencies and use bigger aircraft on flights to Scotland, enabling British Airways to offer nearly 27,000 more seats a week between London and Scotland.

This includes two extra flights a day between London Heathrow and Edinburgh and two extra flights a day between London Heathrow Airport and Aberdeen Airport.

In addition, British Airways is launching a three-times-daily service between London City Airport and Aberdeen on September 24 to connect the two business hubs.

From December 9, British Airways will start operating four flights daily between Heathrow and Leeds Bradford International Airport, connecting Yorkshire with the airline’s extensive global route network at Heathrow and increasing consumer choice in the North of England.

A British Airways Boeing 747-400 takes off at London Heathrow Airport

The airline has already taken over BMI’s six daily flights between London Heathrow and Belfast International Airport and will launch a new timetable of seven flights a day between London and the Northern Ireland capital on October 28.

British Airways has also recently launched a new London City Airport-Isle of Man route.

At the time of receiving EU approval for the BMI deal, International Airlines Group (IAG) committed to launch new services to important trading nations. As part of that commitment, British Airways will begin flying six times a week to Seoul in South Korea from December 2.

Additionally, new, three-times-weekly Las Vegas flights from London Gatwick Airport start on October 29.

British Airways operates a fleet of 21 Boeing 767-300ERs on European, medium-haul and transatlantic routes. BA is one of only two carriers to have installed Rolls-Royce engines on its 767-300ERs. The 767-300ERs are likely to be replaced over time by Boeing 787s as BA takes delivery of the 24 Dreamliners it has on order

In Europe, Zagreb in Croatia will see new daily flights to Heathrow from December 9 and BA will add a six-times-weekly schedule to Venice to its London City route network on September 17.

BA will also launch a new three-times-weekly service from London Gatwick to Barcelona on February 23.

From October 28, former BMI routes from London Heathrow to Agadir, Bergen and Stavanger will become new British Airways routes from Terminal 5, while former BMI routes to Belfast and Hannover will become new British Airways Terminal 1 routes. British Airways aircraft and crews will operate these routes.

A number of existing British Airways routes from Heathrow, including services to Basel, Dusseldorf, Luxembourg, Lyon and Toulouse, will move from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1 on October 28.

British Airways is one of very few airlines to operate all four models in the Airbus A320 family. This is one of the carrier's A321-200s

BA will increase its frequencies in winter 2012 (versus winter 2011) from Heathrow to Aberdeen, from six to eight flights per day; to Edinburgh, from 10 to 12 flights a day; to Manchester, from 10 to 11 flights a day; to Oslo, from four to five flights per day; to Zurich, from six to seven flights per day; and to Phoenix, from six to seven flights a week.

Flights to Bologna will be consolidated at Heathrow, with a substantial increase in frequency on the existing service from seven flights per week to 21 per week.

At Gatwick,  from October 28 services will increase to Faro, from four to five flights per week; to Malaga, from seven to 10 flights per week; and to Marrakech, from three to seven flights per week.

Extra services will be added to Salzburg and Turin for the winter ski season. Flights to Marseille will move from Gatwick to Heathrow on October 28.

A BA CityFlyer Embraer 170 lands at London City Airport. The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways and is based at London City Airport, which is in London's Docklands area and is close to the UK capital's financial districts

Additionally, British Airways’ subsidiary BA CityFlyer is extending its currently seasonal services from London City Airport to Palma and Ibiza to year-round service.

At present the two Balearic Island destinations are summer-only, but from October BA CityFlyer will continue operating the routes through the winter. BA CityFlyer will offer two flights a week, on Thursdays and Sundays.

According to British Airways, Ibiza does not currently have a single direct service to the UK during the winter.

The news follows the launch of new flights from London City to Mahon in Menorca for summer 2012, completing the airline’s Balearic Islands portfolio.

British Airways offers all-inclusive fares to all destinations, including a free 23kg luggage allowance, free on-line check-in and seat selection 24 hours before departure and complimentary food and drink on board.