British Airways increases flights from London City

British Airways is expanding its aircraft fleet and route network at London City Airport where it is now officially the largest operator with the highest number of routes and customers.

The airline is to take delivery of another Embraer 190 in the late summer, bringing the total fleet size to 14 aircraft.

It will be used for new year-round flights to Venice and to increase frequency to the key business destinations of Frankfurt from March and Glasgow from September.

The new route means even more choice for customers wanting to take holidays in Venice, the gateway to Northern Italy, when the flights launch in September and there will be one extra flight a day to Frankfurt and Glasgow.

The news comes as British Airways is about to start brand new services from the Docklands airport to Mahon in Menorca, Quimper in Britanny and Angers in the Loire Valley in France from May.

As the airline continues to grow its network, passengers now have more choices of leisure destinations when they fly from London City on one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the business. A total of 22 destinations in the UK, Europe and the USA will be served by British Airways from London City Airport.

Peter Simpson, managing director British Airways wholly owned subsidiary airline BA CityFlyer, said: "We are very excited about the arrival of our 14th aircraft which will add frequency to existing business destinations and has opened up new flying possibilities to popular leisure destinations. Our customers love the quick and easy service at London City, just 15 minutes from curbside to airside, making the most of their valuable time.

"We have some very competitive all inclusive fares to all our destinations, which include a generous free 23kg luggage allowance, free on-line check-in and seat selection 24 hours before departure and complimentary food and drink on board."

City Hotel Brand Mint Hotel Encouraged By Scottish Hotels Performance In Recent Report

Recently, temperatures in Scotland ranked as the highest in the UK, with Aberdeen reaching 23 degrees Celsius on the mercury. It seems however Scotland not only tops the climatic charts, but also the hospitality performance rankings, too.

In a survey undertaken by a top UK accountancy firm, figures show Scottish hotels recorded the most consistent room yield levels of the UK hotel industry over the past five years.

Whilst falls of over 2% have dogged the British hotel industry over the past five years, Scottish room yields fell by only an average of 0.2%.

City hotel brand Mint Hotel welcomed news some areas actually experienced improved revenue, with rooms in Aberdeen and Glasgow recording yield increases of 2.4% and 0.5% respectively. A spokesperson for Mint Hotel is quoted as having said: “The figures come as an encouraging sign for hoteliers in Scotland, including ourselves. The knowledge that the country's popularity as a tourist destination has not faltered under the stretched economic conditions will encourage further investment throughout Scotland, which can only be good news for the country's tourism industry as a whole.”

Edinburgh was an exception to these figures with a 1.2% drop. But even so, room yield in the Scottish capital was consistently higher than both Aberdeen's and Glasgow's for the duration of the five year period.

However, such positive performance is not expected to remain an exclusive aspect of the Scottish hotel industry for longer, with the nearing of the Olympic Games in London.

For Mint Hotel, whose portfolio of city centre hotels stretches from Glasgow to London (and now into the continent with the recently opened Amsterdam hotel), such an exciting programme of events herald sure signs of growth, with thousands of additional visitors flocking to various locations throughout Britain. The spokesman added: “With the upcoming series of global events taking place in London and throughout the UK, including the Royal Wedding, the Olympic Games, and the Champion's League Final, it is hoped such encouraging industry figures will not be confined to north of the border.”

The report, Hotel Britain 2011, surveyed 549 hotels, with data referring to the period between 2006 – 2010. 133 of these hotels are located in London, with the remaining 416 situated throughout the rest of the UK. The total number of rooms accounted for by the 549 hotels was 92,117.

FACTFILE:

Mint Hotel, previously known as City Inn, is an established, award-winning independent hotel brand with city centre hotels in London Westminster, Bristol, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Leeds.