BA slashing services to Heathrow

British Airways is slashing its Aberdeen-Heathrow flights by one-third, but most of the loss will be made up for by a planned service to London City Airport.

Announcing its 2012-13 winter schedule yesterday, BA said it would fly eight times a day in both directions on the Aberdeen-Heathrow route from October 28. This is two more than it ran last winter but four fewer than the number operated separately by the UK flag-carrier and BMI, whose mainline arm, including the Aberdeen-Heathrow service, was snapped up by BA parent International Airlines Group (IAG) earlier this year.

The net impact of the takeover is a four flights per day cut on the route, but BA starts a thrice-daily service between Aberdeen and London City on September 24.

There have been wide-spread fears IAG's takeover of the BMI business and reduced competition could mean higher fares and fewer flights from Aberdeen to London, but a spokesman for BA said yesterday: "We have no plans to increase fares."