British Airways to expand presence at London City airport 20%

The airline will base an additional four Embraer E190 aircraft at the Thames hub, expanding its BA CityFlyer fleet to 26 aircraft.

In total, the new aircraft will add nearly 20% more BA seats at London City for 2019, allowing it add various new destinations.

The first addition to be announced is a new year-round service to Rome starting November 11, with one-way hang luggage fares leading in from £55.

BA though says Rome, its 33rd destination, is just the first of a number of new routes and extra flights over the coming year.

It will also add an extra week day Zurich service, taking this route to five flights a week.

Tom Stoddart, managing director BA CityFlyer, said: “The four new aircraft shows our commitment to giving our customers an even bigger range of destinations and flight times.

“This growth will see the number of job opportunities in east London increase with direct employment opportunities for pilots, cabin crew and engineers, as well as indirect roles for our various suppliers in and around the airport.”

Luke Hayhoe, general manager commercial and customer BA CityFlyer, added the expansion at City airport came after BA added 13% capacity in 2018.

BA has pledged to invest £4.5 billion over the next five years to guarantee customers WiFi and onboard power, fitting out 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft.

Richard Hill, chief commercial officer London City Airport, said: “BA CityFlyer is London City Airport’s largest airline partner and this investment in four additional E-Jets demonstrates absolute commitment to its base at London’s most central airport, and continued growth as we enter 2019.”