British Airways moving Islamabad route back to Gatwick from W24

[rvlhassan]

All my flights post 31 Oct 24 have been moved to Gatwick. New flight number is BA2161.
All flights I have post Feb 25 have been cancelled.
I don't like that BA switches up what they are doing so often; the flights are often 2+ hours delayed from LHR, and every 2 or 3 months they decide Gatwick is better.

[b78709]

So, BA no more interested in transit traffic from ISB any more. How many frequencies BA will be down from current levels?

[Karachi Aviator]

So, BA no more interested in transit traffic from ISB any more. How many frequencies BA will be down from current levels?

London is mainly an O/D Station for Islamabad based passengers so I don't think BA will loose a lot of passengers by switching from LHR to LGW which also makes me think why PIA never opted for LGW when there is a clear shortage of slots at LHR.

Also, Islamabad based passengers transiting onwards to US and Canada would prefer TK's daily or QR's, EK's or EY's multiple daily frequencies over BA's just 3x weekly. On top of that, US green card holders / Pakistani passport holders travelling to US / Canada need a transit visa if they want to transit in London (UK in general) which makes it a less attractive option as compared to Istanbul, Dubai or Doha.

I think BA should totally focus on the O/D traffic rather than trying to get a minor chunk of transiting passengers.

Same for PIA in the future, if the Pk-london sector does well, ISB and LHE can be served from Heathrow whilst Faislabad or even Multan and Karachi can be served from Gatwick.

[faisal-777]

So, BA no more interested in transit traffic from ISB any more. How many frequencies BA will be down from current levels?

London is mainly an O/D Station for Islamabad based passengers so I don't think BA will loose a lot of passengers by switching from LHR to LGW which also makes me think why PIA never opted for LGW when there is a clear shortage of slots at LHR.

Also, Islamabad based passengers transiting onwards to US and Canada would prefer TK's daily or QR's, EK's or EY's multiple daily frequencies over BA's just 3x weekly. On top of that, US green card holders / Pakistani passport holders travelling to US / Canada need a transit visa if they want to transit in London (UK in general) which makes it a less attractive option as compared to Istanbul, Dubai or Doha.

I think BA should totally focus on the O/D traffic rather than trying to get a minor chunk of transiting passengers.

Same for PIA in the future, if the Pk-london sector does well, ISB and LHE can be served from Heathrow whilst Faislabad or even Multan and Karachi can be served from Gatwick.

Is there even traffic enough to operate LYP and MUX to UK? Surely not enough for a widebody operation unless it is 1x or 2x weekly.

[Karachi Aviator]

Is there even traffic enough to operate LYP and MUX to UK? Surely not enough for a widebody operation unless it is 1x or 2x weekly.

MUX never really got any direct flights to Uk/Eu, it's easily PIA's 4th largest station in Pakistan so I think there should be enough demand from the south punjab region for a couple of direct flights to UK and more specifically to London. As for Faislabad, PIA has Sialkot as a benchmark as PIA started the SKT-LHR route in 2019 but on the other hand it reduced flights from Karachi.

As I mentioned above, all this is best when the Pakistan - London sector does perform well, if not, then 10x weekly to LHR it is.

And hopefully PIA does opt for a smaller wide body like the a330 with a decent on board product so that it doesn't face the issue of filling up a 393 seater 777-300er.

[Tuti Fruiti]

MUX has a huge potential for North American and European flights only if the policy makers would look beyond Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi!!.. majority of international passengers going from MUX right now used to go through LHE and Islamabad..

MUX carried 7 lakh 6 thousand passengers in 2022 alone.

[Abdulrahim]

So, BA no more interested in transit traffic from ISB any more. How many frequencies BA will be down from current levels?

London is mainly an O/D Station for Islamabad based passengers so I don't think BA will loose a lot of passengers by switching from LHR to LGW which also makes me think why PIA never opted for LGW when there is a clear shortage of slots at LHR.

Also, Islamabad based passengers transiting onwards to US and Canada would prefer TK's daily or QR's, EK's or EY's multiple daily frequencies over BA's just 3x weekly. On top of that, US green card holders / Pakistani passport holders travelling to US / Canada need a transit visa if they want to transit in London (UK in general) which makes it a less attractive option as compared to Istanbul, Dubai or Doha.

I think BA should totally focus on the O/D traffic rather than trying to get a minor chunk of transiting passengers.

Same for PIA in the future, if the Pk-london sector does well, ISB and LHE can be served from Heathrow whilst Faislabad or even Multan and Karachi can be served from Gatwick.

No transit visa needed with valid USvisa/green card. Also Canada/Australia/NZ

Surely STN would be better for PIA. Gatwick is overcrowded. Plus most Pakistani either live in southhall, Hounslow etc, for whom Heathrow is convenient, or in Barking/Daghenam etc, for whom STN is closer.

A good Idea might be STN-BGW-KHI. Lot of Iraqi population without direct flights. Plus might give iraqi airways competition for Ziyaratfloghts as they charge 400-600USD for a 4 hour flight!

Heathrow is PIA's most potentially lucrative destination. It should not be abandoned.

[Badar42]

Can this be a indication of PIA coming back to UK , because at the moment BA is only direct option and most expensive as well. Saying that BA will be switching back to bigger 777-200 but if it doesn't restart Manchester to Gatwick shuttle then this flight will only suit London based pax.