NEWS: Which airlines are the cleanest? BA picks up 12 new slots – new routes? BA European route cuts in detail – are there more cuts to come?

To try to allay people’s fear about travelling during Coronavirus, some airlines are pulling out all the stops with their cleaning. So which airlines are showing off about how clean their planes are? You can probably guess who is and isn’t on the list!

I am taking aboard anti-bacterial wipes and having a good clean which can be quite telling. On my recent BA Club Europe flight, there was no visible dirt on the cloth although it was most likely the first flight of the day for the aircraft. 

Emirates

Emirates have made the claim that their aircraft are the cleanest in the sky. I have no idea how you can possibly prove this but I’m happy to see any airline taking such pride in its cleaning at the moment!

Qatar Airways

I have always found Qatar planes extremely clean with crew often visiting the toilets after every customer to clean them when it’s quiet. They recently released a video showing what steps they are taking to clean their aircraft.

Delta

Delta uses a high-grade, EPA-registered disinfectant on all flights, which is rated to combat many communicable diseases.

In light of global health concerns related to coronavirus, Delta is taking additional measures throughout our business. As of Feb. 2, we suspended all flights to China, where the vast majority of coronavirus cases have occurred, through April 30. 

Trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic flights

Delta has been very specific about what they are doing, although a lot of it is route dependant.

For all trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic flights, cleaning crews are required to complete a rigorous 19-point checklist for cabin cleanliness including disinfecting cabin surfaces and customer contact areas such as seats, seatback pockets, tray tables and floors. Common area surfaces in galleys and lavatories are also disinfected using the same high-grade, EPA-registered disinfectant used in all aircraft cleaning procedures.

Many Delta aircraft, including all of international widebodies, plus many narrowbodies including 737s, 757s, A220s, A319s, A320s and A321s, are equipped with state-of-the-art air circulation systems, blending fresh outside air that is sterilized with a high-temperature compressor and ozone purifier with existing cabin air that has been recirculated through an industrial-grade HEPA filter. HEPA air filters extract more than 99.999% of even the tiniest viruses, as small as 0.01 micrometers. Coronaviruses, which range from 0.08 to 0.16 micrometers in size, are filtered by the HEPA filter. 

Pre-packaged lavatory cleaning supplies called Tidy Kits are available for use on many international and transcontinental flights. These kits include gloves, disinfectant wipes, a mini-mop with handle, a trash bag and a device for trash pickup.

In February, they began deploying a fogging technique with a highly-effective, EPA-registered disinfectant, on flights arriving in U.S. gateways from Asia – Atlanta, Detroit, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Portland and Seattle. Fogging procedures are currently being performed on all trans-Pacific arrivals into the U.S. 

They have now sourced additional machines to expand fogging to inbound international flights prioritizing trans-Atlantic inbound flights from markets with reported cases of coronavirus. Fogging procedures on all inbound Italy flights to New York-JFK and Atlanta began on Feb 29.

Additional measures for U.S.-bound flights from Asia

All catering equipment on inbound Asia flights are undergoing additional sanitation and disinfectant procedures:

• All tableware, dishes, cutlery and glassware are being sanitized / disinfected before washing.
• All unused inbound supplies are being discarded.
• Inbound linen and headphones are being segregated and washed/sanitized/disinfected separately from other linen, headphones.
• All galley equipment including carts and carriers are being segregated, sanitized/disinfected and washed. 
• We are also increasing our supply of wellness items such as hand sanitizer, gloves and surgical masks for customers and crews on all flights in and out of Asia.
• All customers on long-haul international flights are provided with amenity kits, which contain hand sanitizer or cleansing towelette.

American Airlines

AA have given a comprehensive response which includes removing some inflight snacks on certain routes. This seems like a sensible idea in terms of a fruit basket for example. 

Aircraft

• Cleaning practices have always met or exceeded all CDC guidelines with aircraft cleaned each day at key touchpoints on their journeys with an EPA-approved disinfectant.
• International flights and aircraft with additional time on the ground receive a detailed 30-point cleaning package each day. All of  aircraft also undergo a deep cleaning procedure on a regularly scheduled basis.
• They are enhancing our cleaning procedures on international flights and aircraft that remain overnight at an airport. This move, which will touch the majority of aircraft each day, includes a more thorough cleaning of all hard surfaces, including tray tables and armrests.
• Most of the aircraft are equipped with High-Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters that provide a complete air change approximately 15 to 30 times per hour, or once every two to four minutes. A HEPA filter’s complete air change is better than most other forms of transportation and office buildings’ and similar to the standard for hospitals.
• They are providing hand sanitizer and sanitizing wipes for crew members on all international flights across the Pacific Ocean and to Italy. We are working to expand this measure to all flights in the near future.

Inflight dining and beverages

• All catering equipment on key international flights is undergoing additional sanitation and disinfection procedures:
  • All tableware, dishes, cutlery and glassware are being sanitized/disinfected before washing.
  • All unused inbound supplies are being discarded.
  • Inbound linen and headphones are being sanitized separately.
  • All galley equipment, including carts and carriers, are being sanitized separately.
• On key international flights, mid-cabin bar service will be adjusted and self-serve snack and fruit baskets will be removed. Flight attendants will provide food and beverage items upon request.

British Airways

A rather short statement which does not suggest many extra measures are taking place in light of the virus.

“We clean every aircraft after each flight. This is a regular clean after every shorter (short-haul) flight with an additional, more thorough clean every evening. On longer flights, our aircraft receive a thorough clean after every flight. This includes the cleaning of seats, seat pockets, tray tables, galleys, toilets, floors and the aircraft interior and surfaces generally. We carry out an even deeper clean of our aircraft on average, every month.”

I am still travelling but I am taking antibacterial wipes and giving everything a good clean. Are you doing the same or have you cancelled your plans? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.

British Airways picks up 12 new slots at Heathrow

As expected the now-defunct airline Flybe’s Heathrow slots have been given to British Airways. This consists of 12 daily return slots at Heathrow and would usually be worth millions of pounds. The reason why BA got given the slots is historical. When British Airways bought British Midland years ago, they were told they had to give up a certain number of slot pairs to stop a monopoly. They then passed to Flybe but since they are no longer in business they will return to the original owner.

In normal circumstances, I would have expected one or two new routes but given the current situation, this could be a curse. As no alleviation on flying the slots (use them 80% of the time or lose them) has been given except for a few specific destinations, there are even more empty planes for BA to fly around to keep the slots!

HT: @SeanM1997

Where would you like to see BA fly to that it doesn’t already? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.

BA make substantial route cuts in Europe – more cuts likely this week?

On Friday last week, British Airways filed major cuts to their European flights. From London City, there are cuts of up to 57 flights per week, Gatwick was up to 67 flights per week lighter and at Heathrow up to 295 flights, per week! So as I said yesterday, keep checking your ‘Manage my booking‘.

Rumour has that there was a big meeting amongst BA management yesterday to look at long haul routes. BA are generally cancelling a minimum of two weeks before departure except when new travel restrictions appear. Given the Lufthansa are talking about grounding all their A380s and reducing capacity by 50% I think we can safely say that more cancellations are likely for BA.

You can find more about their rebooking policy here. 

Here is the full details of the route frequency reductions with a comparison of last weeks flight numbers:

London City – Amsterdam
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 37 > 36
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 37 > 30

London City – Berlin Tegel
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 24 > 23
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 24 > 19

London City – Billund 08MAR20 – 14MAR20 11 > 10
London City – Dublin 22MR20 – 28MAR20 37 > 31
London City – Dusseldorf
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 21 > 20
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 22 > 20
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 22 > 17

London City – Edinburgh
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 56 > 54
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 56 > 50

London City – Florence 22MAR20 – 28MAR20 13 > 12
London City – Frankfurt
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 24 > 21
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 24 > 22
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 24 > 20

London City – Geneva 22MAR20 – 28MAR20 6 > 5
London City – Glasgow
08MAR20 – 21MAR20 39 > 38
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 40 > 34

London City – Milan Linate
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 22 > 8
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 24 > 15
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 24 > 21

London City – Munich
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 18 > 17
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 18 > 14

London City – Nice
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 11 > 10
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 6 > 4
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 6 > 5

London City – Prague
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 7 > 6
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 7 > 5

London City – Rome
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 6 > 4
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 6 > 5

London City – Zurich
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 22 > 21
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 22 > 17

London Gatwick – Bilbao 22MAR20 – 28MAR20 7 > 5
London Gatwick – Bordeaux
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 9 > 6
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 9 > 3

London Gatwick – Cologne
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 4 > 2
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 2 > 1

London Gatwick – Geneva 22MAR20 – 28MAR20 26 > 21
London Gatwick – Genoa
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 3 > 2
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 3 > 0 (cancelled)

London Gatwick – Milan Bergamo
01MAR20 – 07MAR20 7 > 5
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 7 > 3
15MAR20 – 28MAR20 3 > 0 (cancelled)

London Gatwick – Naples
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 9 > 6
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 9 > 7

London Gatwick – Nice
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 13 > 8
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 11 > 5

London Gatwick – Rome
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 7 > 5
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 7 > 3

London Gatwick – Salzburg
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 12 > 10
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 12 > 7

London Gatwick – Tirana
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 9 > 8
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 9 > 6

London Gatwick – Turin
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 18 > 15
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 18 > 12

London Gatwick – Venice
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 19 > 13
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 20 > 10

London Gatwick – Verona
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 7 > 3
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 7 > 2

London Heathrow – Aberdeen
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 44 > 43
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 43 > 40
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 47 > 39

London Heathrow – Amsterdam
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 61 > 60
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 61 > 50

London Heathrow – Basel/Mulhouse
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 27 > 26
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 29 > 24
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 28 > 18

London Heathrow – Belfast City 22MAR20 – 28MAR20 26 > 23
London Heathrow – Berlin Tegel 22MAR20 – 28MAR20 47 > 46
London Heathrow – Billund
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 7 > 6
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 7 > 4

London Heathrow – Bologna
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 21 > 16
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 21 > 17

London Heathrow – Brussels
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 38 > 37
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 38 > 31
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 38 > 25

London Heathrow – Copenhagen
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 42 > 41
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 38 > 36
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 40 > 38

London Heathrow – Dublin
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 53 > 49
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 52 > 39

London Heathrow – Dusseldorf
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 38 > 31
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 36 > 21

London Heathrow – Edinburgh
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 63 > 60
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 64 > 60
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 65 > 52

London Heathrow – Frankfurt
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 36 > 28
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 37 > 22

London Heathrow – Geneva
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 79 > 72
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 78 > 68

London Heathrow – Gibraltar
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 9 > 7
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 9 > 6

London Heathrow – Glasgow
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 69 > 64
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 60 > 53

London Heathrow – Gothenburg
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 18 > 16
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 18 > 14

London Heathrow – Hamburg
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 35 > 34
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 34 > 26
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 33 > 24

London Heathrow – Hannover 22MAR20 – 28MAR20 12 > 8
London Heathrow – Helsinki 22MAR20 – 28MAR20 7 > 6
London Heathrow – Larnaca
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 14 > 13
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 14 > 12

London Heathrow – Leeds/Bradford 15MAR20 – 21MAR20 10 > 9
London Heathrow – Luxembourg 15MAR20 – 21MAR20 20 > 19
London Heathrow – Lyon
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 23 > 22
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 21 > 19

London Heathrow – Manchester
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 46 > 45
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 45 > 40
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 46 > 37

London Heathrow – Marseille
15MR20 – 21MAR20 19 > 18
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 19 > 15

London Heathrow – Milan Linate
01MAR20 – 07MAR20 51 > 48
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 49 > 37
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 46 > 28
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 46 > 25

London Heathrow – Milan Malpensa
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 12 > 7
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 13 > 3
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 12 > 5

London Heathrow – Munich
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 46 > 44
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 40 > 34
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 41 > 22

London Heathrow – Newcastle
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 33 > 32
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 34 > 31

London Heathrow – Nice
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 33 > 27
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 34 > 25

London Heathrow – Oslo
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 23 > 21
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 24 > 18

London Heathrow – Paris CDG 15MAR20 – 28MAR20 53 > 48
London Heathrow – Prague
08MAR20 – 21MAR20 33 > 32
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 32 > 28

London Heathrow – Rome
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 40 > 35
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 35 > 26

London Heathrow – Stockholm Arlanda
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 31 > 29
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 31 > 23

London Heathrow – Stuttgart
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 12 > 11
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 12 > 9

London Heathrow – Toulouse
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 21 > 19
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 20 > 15

London Heathrow – Vienna
08MAR20 – 14MAR20 31 > 30
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 33 > 28
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 34 > 26

London Heathrow – Warsaw 22MAR20 – 28MAR20 14 > 10
London Heathrow – Zagreb
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 8 > 6
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 8 > 4

London Heathrow – Zurich
15MAR20 – 21MAR20 46 > 36
22MAR20 – 28MAR20 46 > 33

HT: Routes online