British national carrier British Airways will launch two new destinations to Asia, Seoul and Colombo.
When the EU approved British Airways take-over of the UK carrier Bmi, IAG (International Airlines Group which is the entity for British Airways and Iberia) committed to launching new flights to important trading nations and boosting its long-haul network. BA is now delivering its promise by launching on December 2 six weekly flights from London Heathrow to Seoul Incheon.
British Airways is not a new player in Seoul. The carrier used to fly direct to the Korean Capital between 1996 and 1998. For its return, BA will put in service a Boeing 777 with four classes of service (First class, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller). The outbound flight to Seoul arrives at the beginning of the working day there and the flights have been timed in order to allow convenient connections to British Airways’ extensive domestic and European short haul network to and from Heathrow.
In another development, the carrier also announced launching a new route to Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, out of London Gatwick. The flight will start from March 31 2013 but is already in booking system since August 16. The BA new route will operate three-times-a-week service to capital city Colombo with a Boeing 777 offering three cabins including Club World with fully flat beds, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller. The service operates via Male in the Maldives.
BA new route is seen as a sign of returned confidence into the destination. According to Silla Maizey, British Airways managing director Gatwick, UK has the second largest number of tourists visiting Sri Lanka after India, “so it’s a fantastic opportunity for them to fly there with British Airways from Gatwick. Sri Lanka has so much to offer visitors from beach, spa or adventure holidays, to cultural, wildlife and nature breaks.”
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
