Birmingham flights to New York scrapped as United Airlines pulls out … Brexit to blame
Birmingham Airport flights to New York with United Airlines have been scrapped, from 5th October, as they do not make money. United will no longer operate flights from Birmingham to New York. Last year, American Airlines also discontinued its service to John F Kennedy Airport, New York. A spokesperson for United said it was down to poor take up on the flights. But it is also understood that the fall of the pound against the dollar after Brexit has played a part. Talks have begun with 3 United staff working out of Birmingham Airport, on severance payments and opportunities for redeployment. Anyone from the Midlands who wants to fly United to the US would now have to travel to Manchester or London. There still seems to be a flight to New York from Birmingham, with Lufthansa.
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Birmingham flights to New York scrapped as United Airlines pulls out … Brexit to blame…
BY GRAEME BROWN and JAMES RODGER
13 JUL 2017
Birmingham Airport flights to New York with United Airlines have been scrapped after the carrier announced it was pulling out.
United will no longer operate flights from Birmingham to the iconic city in the US after October 5th. Last year, American Airlines discontinued its service to John F Kennedy Airport in New York.
A spokesperson for United said it was down to poor take up on the flights. But it is also understood that the fall of the pound against the dollar after Brexit has played a part. Consultation has begun with three United staff working out of Birmingham Airport.
The spokesperson said: “United will discontinue its service between Birmingham and New York/Newark. “The last service will be on October 5, 2017, westbound. We have regretfully taken this decision because of the route’s poor financial performance. We will contact customers with bookings for flights beyond those dates to provide refunds and re-accommodate where possible. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Talks have begun with the staff about severance payments and opportunities for redeployment.
Anyone from the Midlands who wants to fly United to the US would now have to travel to Manchester or London.
http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/united-airlines-birmingham-new-york-13325376
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see earlier:
American Airlines to launch direct flights to New York from Birmingham
Birmingham Airport says it will have a daily service to JFK New York, by American Airlines, from next spring. It hopes to have nearly 100,000 seats on the route, per year. There is already a route from Birmingham to Newark, by United Airlines. The route is likely to be used by more people on leisure trips, than business, though some American tourists may come to places like Stratford and further afield. But the airport CEO Paul Kehoe said: “Last year, the West Midlands exported £4.5 billion worth of goods to North America and has the largest trade surplus with North America of any UK region… etc etc.” This is seen as the first test of the business model of the runway extension. The route will be operated by a Boeing 757 aircraft with 22 Business Class seats and 160 Main Cabin seats. Whether or not this new service actually needs the new runway extension, or could have managed on the old runway, is a moot point. 757s can use Luton’s runway (2160 metres), and Birmingham’s was 2,650 metres before the recent 400 metre extension, to now be 3,050 metres long. So justifying the extension?
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