Sadly at the moment, airlines are locked in a vicious cycle of last-minute cancellations and changes which is leading some customers to cancel bookings and putting them off booking more. My flights to Barbados were a prime example. My outbound BA flight in the Club Suite from Heathrow got cancelled and I ended up going from Gatwick on an old B777-200 instead. Then my Virgin flight got cancelled on the way home so I have had to stay an extra night (worse problems to have I know!)
BA have now revealed their November schedule but even then I would not bank on the flights all happening. British Airways will operate 52 long haul routes alongside its short-haul network this November as the airline continues to adapt to changing restrictions around the globe as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Services will continue to operate to US gateways including New York JFK, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco, with Newark added to the schedule in late November. Flights to the Caribbean continue to destinations including Barbados, Antigua and St Lucia, and flights will operate to destinations across Africa, the Middle East and Asia such as Dubai, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Singapore. Flights to Santiago, and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, are also set to return. You can see the full list and frequency here.
British Airways will also continue to serve domestic destinations including Manchester, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Newquay. In continental Europe, cities like Paris, Munich, Geneva and Amsterdam, among others, will be connected to Heathrow by frequent, direct flights. There are also regular flights to beach destinations such as Lanzarote, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. A number of European routes have been cancelled, so if you have anything booked, it’s worth checking it on Manage My Booking. I wrote that several mid-haul destinations would be getting a downgrade to Club Europe catering here, it appears they are also getting a downgrade to Club Europe configurations too with Amman, Moscow Domodedovo, switches to short-haul configured aircraft for the winter. Cairo is still showing as a B787.
Sean Doyle, CEO of British Airways, said: “We continue to connect Britain with a substantial number of destinations across the globe and customers tell us they are reassured by the safety measures we’ve put in place, including personal protection packs, screens, sanitiser stations, adapted meal services and customers and colleagues in masks.
“The risk of contracting Covid-19 during a flight is incredibly low. IATA, the global aviation industry body, suggests that since the start of 2020 there have been as few as 44 cases of Covid-19 linked to flights. Over the same period some 1.2 billion passengers have travelled. This figure amounts to one case for every 27 million travellers.
“We believe the best way to get people flying again is to introduce reliable and affordable testing before flying. When this happens and demand returns, we stand ready to reintroduce even more destinations to our network, and carry on connecting even more families, friends and businesses.”
As always, the operation of any flight is subject to changes, international restrictions and government approval.
