British Airways to increase frequency from Hyd, Chennai

Move will translate into additional 200 seats per week each from Hyderabad, Chennai

British Airways is planning to add one more flight each from Hyderabad and Chennai to London from March. It currently operates five flights a week each from these two cities.

The expansion in the route network will translate into an additional 200 seats per week each from Hyderabad and Chennai, said Christopher Fordyce, regional commercial manager (South Asia), British Airways, while addressing the media here.

With this, the total number of flights being operated by the airline from India will go up to 47 per week. Currently, BA operates from Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

"We are looking at expanding our operation in the growth markets with major focus on giving better customer experience, increasing technology and adopting new menus in the flight," he said. 

'India an expensive market'

According to him, India is a significantly costly place to run an airline. "Major factors include increase in fuel cost, rise in airport fee and other related costs in the aviation sector," he said.

Stating that high aviation costs in the country had impacted the airline's profitability, he, however, said they were less impacted than the competitors due to the company's plane structure. 

The airline though sees India as a growth market. India was the second largest market for the British Airways after the United States. "Globally, there is a slowdown in the aviation industry, while India, being a large market, was somehow protected from the macro scenario," he said.

http://business-standard.com/india/news/british-airways-to-increase-frequencyhyd-chennai-/196770/on