  Rooms222 Member Username: Rooms222 Post Number: 42 Registered: 04-2005 |
British Airways to suspend Detroit-London flights Wed Sep 19, 2007 12:26 PM NEW YORK (Reuters) - British Airways said on Wednesday it would suspend its daily flight between Detroit and London's Heathrow Airport in March, citing the changing nature of the U.S. auto industry. The aircraft will be used on other, more profitable routes, the airline said. British Airways has operated the route for more than 50 years, but was not able to make a reasonable level of profit and sees no possible upswing, the carrier said. "Detroit was a route very dependent on the auto industry, and the changing nature of this sector made it a very challenging market to be in," Robin Hayes, British Airways executive vice president Americas, said in a statement. ------------------------------ One of the longest serving airlines to Detroit will stop service on March 30. Over time, the planes on this route had shrunk from a 747 to a 777 to a 767 that continues to and originates from Houston (Houston-Detroit-London). This had led to inconvenient flight times (You had to leave London at 9 AM coming back to Detroit and did not get into London until noon because the plane left Detroit at around 11 PM). Also, BA's prices from Detroit were fairly high. NW may raise prices now due to the lack of nonstop competition. | ||
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus Post Number: 2150 Registered: 06-2006 |
"British Airways has operated the route for more than 50 years, but was not able to make a reasonable level of profit and sees no possible upswing, the carrier said." Ouch...very discouraging | ||
1953 Member Username: 1953 Post Number: 1458 Registered: 12-2004 |
Have they forgotten already how we saved their butts in WWII? | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 1652 Registered: 04-2006 |
You aren't important anymore. | ||
Buyamerican Member Username: Buyamerican Post Number: 177 Registered: 02-2007 |
WHAT YOU DRIVE, DRIVES AMERICA! OUT OF A JOB YET? KEEP BUYING FOREIGN. Americans who continuously purchase foreign automobiles have no one to blame but themselves for the poor economic situation here in Michigan and throughout the U.S. Here is just one example of poor leadership: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs .dll/article?AID=/20070919/BUS INESS01/709190346&imw=Y | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 3980 Registered: 10-2004 |
SE Michigan with its UAW workforce being priced at $30 per hour higher relative to the non-unionized US workforce for the domestically built Hondas and Toyotas just a few hundred miles away has driven the foreign models (and their parts by Tiers) from here or ever being here in the first place. Detroit will eventually (and sooner compared to later) resemble the US consumer-electronics industry (none since the 1970s). It is not difficult for anybody with a memory of what's been occurring the past three/four years to notice this. Comerica, moving its headquarters, Pfizer downsizing to Groton back East, the Big Three now selling fewer than a majority of cars sold in the US, bankruptcies of the Tiers in Oakland and Macomb Counties and the ripple effects to their communities, Volkswagen going to VA, the former 51st-largest US firm--Delphi now bankrupt with its US plants being replaced by mostly Asian plants, Lear's downsizing and paralleling Delphi, etc. Notice the impasses with the new four-year UAW labor pacts with the Big Three being bogged down. No way will any of those three ever be drawn into yet another such labor agreements that will force all of them in bankruptcies themselves. Does anybody wonder why there are fewer and fewer passengers from DTW to London so that flying there anymore doesn't make economic sense? Even former Eastpointe's own-headquartered Spirit Airlines also left Detroit a month ago and transferred all its locally based pilots from Metro Detroit to Florida. (Message edited by LivernoisYard on September 19, 2007) | ||
Thejesus Member Username: Thejesus Post Number: 2154 Registered: 06-2006 |
"Have they forgotten already how we saved their butts in WWII?" "You aren't important anymore." You know, I was going to preempt any possible "they should provide this service even if they lose money on it" comments, but then I thought, nah, even the dumbest posters here aren't that clueless... I stand corrected. | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 1653 Registered: 04-2006 |
You know, I was going to preempt any possible "they should provide this service even if they lose money on it" comments, but then I thought, nah, even the dumbest posters here aren't that clueless... Starting with you? Who said I didn't support their decision, or had any opinion on it at all from a business standpoint? By "you aren't important anymore" I was referring to Detroit. Sorry if you misinterpreted, but nice try. | ||
Rooms222 Member Username: Rooms222 Post Number: 43 Registered: 04-2005 |
As I noted a little bit, their service was pretty uncompetitive at the end as well. I found out about this at www.airliners.net , a discussion board about airlines. They say Detroit actually has more service to Europe now than before, but the alliance of airlines that British Airways is in called One World (American, BA, and smaller carriers) has pulled out of Detroit for direct international flights. Lufthansa and NW both have two flights a day to Frankfurt. NW and Air France are also still here. Still, a sad thing. P.S. The airliners.net people were a little off. Royal Jordanian is a member of One World and flies nonstop from Detroit to Amman Jordan. (Message edited by rooms222 on September 19, 2007) (Message edited by rooms222 on September 19, 2007) | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 1654 Registered: 04-2006 |
^Does NWA or KLM have any direct flights to London? | ||
Rooms222 Member Username: Rooms222 Post Number: 44 Registered: 04-2005 |
Yes, NWA flies to Gatwick. They are expected to change to Heathrow because of a new "open skies" agreement between UK and US, a kind of free trade agreement that allowed the routes to be reallocated away from Detroit. The airline folks were commenting how NW was much more competitively priced than BA, had better departure times than BA, and people from Detroit found Gatwick a decent airport more so than certain other markets......There is the worry non-stop prices will now go up with only one flying the market. Many people already change planes to get lower fares on this route. Discussion and history here: http://airliners.net/discussions/general_aviation/read.main/3613911/ (Message edited by rooms222 on September 19, 2007) | ||
Leland_palmer Member Username: Leland_palmer Post Number: 376 Registered: 08-2004 |
Grrr! Guess I'm going to have to burn my miles pretty soon. | ||
Goat Member Username: Goat Post Number: 9830 Registered: 10-2003 |
It seems that T.O. to Detroit is also either reducing or removing direct flights as well. Flights now are diverted to Chicago and then to Detroit. Nothing like a 2 hour flight turning into a 5+ hour ordeal. I thought the expansion of the airport was supposed to be better for the region? I thought wrong. | ||
Rooms222 Member Username: Rooms222 Post Number: 45 Registered: 04-2005 |
who is T.O.? | ||
Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 1656 Registered: 04-2006 |
Terrell Owens? | ||
Leland_palmer Member Username: Leland_palmer Post Number: 377 Registered: 08-2004 |
Isn't it now just T. ? | ||
Citylover Member Username: Citylover Post Number: 2633 Registered: 07-2004 |
LY you are full of shit regarding why Pfizer left Ann Arbor.They simply pulled a fast one; especially after being granted breaks and incentives. The work force and intellectual capabilities here in A2 are equal to any. As for ridership being down.............it appears you have that wrong as well as others point out they are(BA) not competitive. | ||
Sailor_rick Member Username: Sailor_rick Post Number: 195 Registered: 02-2004 |
Blimey, what a bummer. Are there any 101'ers out there? As in Pan Am # 101, which was Detroit-JFK-London? When I was shipping out of NY in the early 80's, I'd get an almost always available and spacious (747) standby seat for around $80. It seemed you'd inevitably run into someone in the clubs that was on the cheap too. R.I.P.-BA/DTW. | ||
Rooms222 Member Username: Rooms222 Post Number: 46 Registered: 04-2005 |
Numbers from airliners.net discussion: UK's Civil Aviation Authority reported that DTW-LHR traffic was only 6719 pax in June, down 38% from the year before. BA's flight, the only one from LHR, was apparently a money loser; and, assuming NW gets a few LHR slots for next March, it would continue to lose money unless BA wanted to try a 757. | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 3982 Registered: 10-2004 |
CL's playing his victim self again. Again, the adverse events in AA and Detroit were all done to its victims. Sure! And those 300 big-time Google jobs are simply sales positions and some data entry jobs concerning digitizing the UoM libraries. Google's doing the same at most major colleges that have large and unique college libraries across the nation. Big deal. | ||
Johnlodge Member Username: Johnlodge Post Number: 2570 Registered: 10-2003 |
"Detroit will eventually (and sooner compared to later) resemble the US consumer-electronics industry (none since the 1970s)." I disagree. I think eventually the UAW's back will be broken. Sorry unioners, sad but true. Factories are required for national security. The good ol' days are over. There's more rough days ahead, but the goose that laid the golden eggs is gone, and it's time to start being realistic. In the end, the auto companies will survive, and the workers will make less and have less benefits. | ||
Citylover Member Username: Citylover Post Number: 2635 Registered: 07-2004 |
What in the hell are you talking about LY? | ||
Livernoisyard Member Username: Livernoisyard Post Number: 3983 Registered: 10-2004 |
AA wins one lousy football game against a 0-3 team, and he gets so feisty... LOL |
