INSIDE AIR TRAVEL
British Airways and the Franchises
British Airways has now launched BA Connect. It is a fully 100% owned part of British Airways and essentially the remnants of the purchase of the franchise operations run by independent companies City Flyer Express and British Regional Airlines Ltd. The deals were completed by Rod Eddington. Combined together as British Airways CitiExpress they have not been a runaway success, City Flyer relocating to Manchester (and dropping any ideas of adding/re-equipping with the Avro RJX, signaling the death of that aircraft) and the former BRAL disposing of its Jetstream operation to Eastern Airways. Whilst never using the term 'low cost' both City Flyer and BRAL were run under strict budgetary control. Integrated into British Airways costs inevitably rose.
BA Connect has a limited time scale to succeed. It has embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign designed to compete with the no frills carriers including a two-tier booking system. New routes are on offer. Birmingham &endash; Belfast City, Birmingham &endash; Berlin, London City &endash; Milan Malpensa. Dropped are London City &endash; Geneva and Manchester &endash; Oslo.
If it all works fine, but if not what then? Will Captain Walsh dispose of the operation? Who might purchase/invest? Would it become a franchise? Certainly the possibility of buying an airline with the British Airways name attached will appeal to some.
There are two important precedents (and some minor ones too). BMED, born as British Mediterranean in 1994, has not always been profitable, but is today a very efficient expanding airline, virtually seamless as BA (but more anon) currently with eight Airbus A320 series and six more to follow. What was once Gibraltar Airways is now British registered GB Airways, also an A320 series operator with again six A320 series machines on order.
Under the franchise system the public is led to believe that they are booking BA and that there is no difference with the main line operations. All have their own sales and marketing organizations but under the British Airways banner. BMED for instance has a far superior business class operation than Club Europe (or you could argue it does not offer the flat bed of Club World), and in most respects GB is geared up for leisure travel. However the tickets are not completely interchangeable and can lead to conflicts of interest. When British Airways made a blanket announcement of new routes for the summer it included Izmir in Turkey but forgot Ankara (BMED) and Dalaman (GB Airways). One country, three BA operations.
The BA franchise system seems to be working for everyone, the independent airlines buying into it having their own philosophy and cost structures. Clearly they contribute to the British Airways bottom line without risk or investment. What happens for the future we shall see? Something else for Willie to ponder over.
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