British Airways (BA) announced daily non-stop flights between Hyderabad and London starting from October 27 and seamless connections to 500 destinations around the world from there.
They will operate on Boeing 777-200 in a three-class configuration offering flat beds in Club World, Business Class, World Traveller plus and World Traveller seats. Flight No. BA 276 will take passengers from Hyderabad to London, leaving here everyday at 6.55 a.m., while on the return, BA 277 would land here at 4.35 a.m.
Having seen a 20 per cent increase in capacity when they went six flights a week from five, in October last, the premium airline now expected 40 per cent more from here by November, 2013, said Christopher Fordyce, BA’s Regional Commercial Manager at a press conference. After the US, India was the biggest market for BA, he said, adding that Hyderabad was the faster growing market for the airline.
Tracing the operational history, he said BA’s engagement with India went back to 84 years, with 46 flights a week from London Heathrow to Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. “From the City of the Nizams to London Heathrow’s state-of-the-art Terminal 5, since it opened on March 27, 2008, it is exclusive to the airline’s customers, capable of handling 30 million passengers a year,” he said.
Last year, Mr. Fordyce recalled, BA had announced its commitment to the tune of 5 billion pounds to improve its products and services. Accordingly, the airline now had the most advanced and comfortable aircraft including the A 380, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, that landed at Heathrow earlier in the month.