In the meantime, the aviation industry has almost got used to the fact that the closure of a base is announced first and only then do the union and management negotiate seriously. This is also the case with British Airways, because "five past twelve" they agreed on a collective agreement for London-Gatwick.

The “cheap daughter” for the second largest airport in the British capital is coming after all. Recently, things looked very different, as British Airways announced after unsuccessful negotiations with the Balpa pilots' union the closure of the short and medium haul base. Apparently, however, this was more the starting signal for serious negotiations.

A new collective agreement has now been concluded. This is the basis for a new subsidiaryto operate from London Gatwick. British Airways emphasized a few days ago that it has been flying losses on the short and medium-haul routes from this airport for years. The lowcoster should now stand up to its competitors Ryanair and Easyjet.

"We will continue to develop our concept for a fully fledged short-haul subsidiary in Gatwick that will offer our customers competitive fares," said British Airways in a media statement. It is not yet entirely clear whether the offshoot based on the model of BA Cityflyer will fly under the BA brand or whether a new brand will be invented. Theoretically it is possible to start as a level, but this brand flopped in Vienna, Amsterdam and Paris-Orly.