British Airways Cancels Beijing Flights
Intro
Wow, British Airways has just announced that it will be "suspending" its 4x weekly flights from London Heathrow to Beijing starting in late October 2024. From a consumer perspective, we can certainly see that coming from a mile away.
What Happened?
Starting in late October, British Airways has opted to tarnish the flight to Beijing until the end of the schedule. However, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't bring this route back once the schedule is finished.
Demand to China just simply hasn't been what it was ever since the pandemic. Even in the likes of the business world, Hong Kong seems to be going downhill (inside source), so I sort of understand why British Airways is doing this.
For what it's worth, here is a look at a load factor for business class on BA88 departing Beijing in three days...
Take it with a grain of salt since, of course, the airline often auto-assign seats at check-in.
The Route
Back in the day, the route from London to Beijing used to take significantly less time. Nowadays, with Russian and Ukrainian airspace closed, British Airways has to fly a lot further to make this route work. This would only make sense with high load factors, which they don't seem to be getting.
For the time being, the westbound flight is blocked at 13 hours and 20 mins, and the Eastbound flight is blocked at 11 hours and 30 minutes for this 5100-mile hop.
Final Thoughts
British Airways has opted to suspend its flights from London to Beijing starting in late October and continuing until the end of the schedule. I cannot say I am surprised, seeing as the demand for China has simply not returned since they opened their borders. China is a beautiful country and I hope one day British Airways will bring back this route.
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