Regional subsidiary of British Airways
British Airways CityFlyer
(
BA CityFlyer
) is a British
regional airline
, and a wholly owned
subsidiary
of
British Airways
with its head office based in
Didsbury
,
Manchester
, England.
[2]
It operates a network of domestic and
European
services from its base at
London City Airport
. All services operate with BA's full colours, titles and flight numbers.
[3]
BA Cityflyer Limited holds a
United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority
Type A Operating Licence, meaning that it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.
[4]
History
[
edit
]
A former BA CityFlyer
Avro RJ100
in 2005 wearing one of the
British Airways ethnic liveries
.
British Airways' sale of
BA Connect
to
Flybe
in 2007 did not include the
London City Airport
operations and its associated fleet of ten
Avro RJ100
regional jet aircraft.
[5]
This led to British Airways' decision to resurrect erstwhile
Gatwick
-based
CityFlyer Express
(which BA had integrated into its Gatwick mainline short-haul operation in
2001
, following the acquisition of CityFlyer Express in 1999) as a new wholly owned subsidiary to take over this operation, as of March 2007
[update]
. BA Cityflyer was awarded an Air Operators Certificate on 8 February 2007, and started operations on 25 March 2007.
[6]
In summer 2008, two
Avro RJ85
aircraft were added to the fleet for performance and economic reasons - this included overcoming payload restrictions in the summer that could limit existing aircraft to 60 passengers on some days.
[5]
In the second half of 2008, BA CityFlyer announced an order for 11 aircraft from the
Embraer E-Jet family
compromising of six 76 seat
Embraer 170
and five 98 seat
Embraer 190SR
aircraft, plus options for three additional 190SRs with the first aircraft due in the second half of 2009.
[7]
The first Embraer 190SR was received in 2010.
[8]
In February 2016, BA CityFlyer announced that it would commence operating flights from
London-Stansted
in May 2016. In January and February 2017, it announced that it would commence summer seasonal services from
Manchester
,
Bristol
,
Edinburgh
,
Dublin
and
Birmingham
to a variety of destinations in Spain, Italy, Greece and France. This marks the return of BA to the regions after an absence of nearly 10 years. Flights will also operate in the summer between
London City
and Manchester, operating with
Embraer 190SR
aircraft.
In 2018, the airline reported nearly doubled profits,
[9]
with profits increasing 28% and revenue up by 18%. Recently, the airline has pulled out from operating at both Birmingham and Bristol on weekends and has made several changes to its schedule increasing frequency and adding new services to
Rome
.
[
citation needed
]
In July 2020, in light of the
COVID-19 pandemic
it was announced that the crew base at Edinburgh Airport would close on 31 October 2020, with the loss of several ground based office jobs and the option for cabin crew and pilots to relocate to London City Airport.
[10]
On 9 December 2020, it was announced that BA Cityflyer would operate from
Southampton Airport
starting in May 2021 with flights to 14 European destinations mostly operating on weekends.
[11]
Destinations
[
edit
]
In addition to their scheduled flights from
London City
, the airline also operates a number of scheduled and charter flights from
Edinburgh
,
[12]
Glasgow
,
[13]
London-Stansted
[14]
and
Belfast City
[15]
airports primarily to leisure destinations. The airline focuses on serving the financial market, though it has recently expanded into the leisure market, offering routes to Ibiza, Palma and Venice.
[16]
In 2021, BA Cityflyer started operating 14 weekend flights from
Southampton
.
[11]
As of November 2023
[update]
, BA CityFlyer operates scheduled and charter flights to the following destinations:
[17]
Fleet
[
edit
]
BA CityFlyer
Embraer 190
A former BA CityFlyer
Embraer 170
which was retired in 2021.
Current fleet
[
edit
]
As of February 2023
[update]
, BA CityFlyer operates the following aircraft:
[24]
BA CityFlyer fleet
Aircraft
|
In service
|
Orders
|
Passengers
|
Notes
|
Embraer 190
|
20
|
—
|
98
|
|
Total
|
20
|
—
|
|
|
Former fleet
[
edit
]
In the past, BA CityFlyer has operated the following aircraft:
[24]
Statistics
[
edit
]
BA CityFlyer carried over 2.8 million passengers in 2019, a 4.8% increase from 2018.
[26]
Year
|
Total passengers
|
Total flights
|
Load factor
|
Passenger change YoY
|
2008
|
713,670
|
15,687
|
43.9%
|
|
2009
|
699,670
|
14,197
|
49.0%
|
0
0
2.0%
|
2010
|
798,523
|
14,330
|
66.0%
|
0
14.1%
|
2011
|
1,125,758
|
19,099
|
68.0%
|
0
41.0%
|
2012
|
1,184,810
|
21,745
|
65.2%
|
0
0
5.2%
|
2013
|
1,371,993
|
23,893
|
69.3%
|
0
15.8%
|
2014
|
1,710,920
|
29,326
|
71.0%
|
0
24.7%
|
2015
|
1,933,155
|
32,805
|
72.0%
|
0
13.0%
|
2016
|
2,192,847
|
36,351
|
72.8%
|
0
13.4%
|
2017
|
2,379,942
|
37,143
|
73.5%
|
0
8.5%
|
2018
|
2,697,956
|
41,068
|
75.3%
|
0
13.4%
|
2019
|
2,827,616
|
42,406
|
73.9%
|
0
4.8%
|
2020
|
500,001
|
8,929
|
61.2%
|
0
0
82.3%
|
Source:
UK Civil Aviation Authority
[26]
|
Accidents and incidents
[
edit
]
The BA CityFlyer Avro RJ100 involved in the February 2009 incident
On 13 February 2009, BA CityFlyer Flight 8456 (an
Avro RJ100
, registered G-BXAR, flying from
Amsterdam
) suffered a nose-gear collapse whilst landing at
London City Airport
. None of the 67 passengers or five crew members were seriously injured in the incident, but three passengers suffered minor injuries, two of whom were kept in hospital overnight. After a normal approach the nose landing-gear fractured as it was lowered onto the runway, due to the presence of a fatigue-crack in the upper internal bore of the landing-gear main fitting.
[
citation needed
]
It was found that the crack had formed as a result of poor surface finish during manufacture, and the incomplete embodiment of a manufacturer's service bulletin, which the landing-gear maintenance records showed as being implemented at its last overhaul in June 2006.
[27]
[28]
The aircraft was damaged beyond economic repair, and was written off by insurers in May 2009.
[29]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
BA CityFlyer
at Wikimedia Commons
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Operations
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subsidiaries
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Franchisees
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Investments
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Destinations
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History
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and acquisitions
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Former
subsidiaries
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Former
franchisees
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Incidents
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British Airways
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Aer Lingus
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Others
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People
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Other
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Current members
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Full members
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Oneworld Connect members
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Future members
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Former members
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Suspended members
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