London City Airport connects with Munich and Budapest
London City Airport welcomed the launch of British Airways flights to Munich on Saturday, closely followed by LOT Polish Airlines' inaugural flight from Budapest yesterday, linking the capital of Hungary to the Docklands airport.
Above:
British Airways cabin crew James and Cyntia bring some of their excellent inflight service skills to Munich Cricket Club in London when they served up steins of Bavarian beer with help from some of the resident team.
Customers at London’s Munich Cricket Club joined in a traditional Bavarian toast to the newest British Airways’ route to launch from London City Airport (LCY). Cabin crew members James Carlton and Cyntia Matyokova visited the famous bierkeller and kitchen in Victoria to celebrate the new three-times-a-day British Airways flights to the Bavarian beer capital of Munich. The first of the year-round BA flights took off on Saturday and means British Airways now offers four German routes from London City.
As well as its beer heritage and annual Oktoberfest, Munich is also famous for its culture and is home to 18 world renowned museums and arts venues. Munich is also a gateway to some of Bavaria’s most beautiful sightseeing routes, including palaces and castles, and the ski slopes of the Bavarian Alps are just under an hour’s drive away,
This year British Airways has also increased frequency to Berlin from the Docklands airport to 18 return flights a week.
Luke Hayhoe, British Airways’ general manager commercial and customer, said: "Germany is such an important destination for both business and leisure customers, so the addition of Munich to our schedule has been welcomed by everyone who flies from London City. With well-timed frequent flights there are plenty of options for customers who either want to do a day trip or stay for longer. Munich complements our existing flights to Berlin, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt and means that we now fly 82 return flights a week to Germany this winter. The new route will increase the number of British Airways’ destinations from London City Airport to 34."
Richard Hill, Chief Commercial Officer at London City Airport, said: "Munich is a German powerhouse of a city, attracting leisure and business travellers alike. Its gaining popularity is reflected in the frequency of this new three-times-a-day British Airways service, which makes travel between Munich and the centre of London easier and quicker thanks to the convenience of London City Airport.
"It’s not just the world-famous Oktoberfest that brings thousands of visitors to explore Munich. Alongside the city’s beer halls are public parks, historic architecture and a leading centre for business – home to globally recognised firms. Through British Airways’ continued growth at its London City base, we are keeping London connected to Europe – enabling trade and tourism in both directions."
British Airways is investing £6.5 billion to improve its customer experience over the next five years, including new aircraft, new cabins, new catering, new lounges, WiFi and new routes.
Yesterday saw the first LOT flight directly from Budapest to London City Airport (above), heralding the start of a twice daily, twelve times a week service. To operate this special route, LOT acquired four new Embraer 190s, joining existing flights between London City and Warsaw. From 1st May the air carrier will also launch flights to LCY from Vilnius.
London City Airport is conveniently located in London’s Royal Docks and is the nearest airport to the business and financial centre of London and less than six miles from famous attractions such as Tower Bridge and the Shard. The newest service offered by LOT will bind Hungarian-UK relations even stronger, based on the hugely important human and economic links between the countries.
The schedule will be in favour of business passengers flying to London-City from Budapest, allowing to take a round trip without an overnight stay. Moreover, LOT’s new flight is an excellent alternative to other flights offered on London-Budapest route using airports located farther away from the center of London (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Southend).
Above:
(left to right) Richard Hill, Chief Commercial Officer for London City Airport and right, David Bentley, Regional Director of Sales for LOT Polish Airlines.
Adrian Kubicki, Director of Corporate Communications at LOT Polish Airlines, said: “We are more than happy to welcome passengers from Hungary onboard our flights to London City today. London City is the most convenient airport for those passengers willing to get to the City of London in the shortest and most comfortable way. There is a great potential in this flight as the annual average passenger traffic on the Budapest-London route approximates 1.4 m. After fights to New York, Chicago and Kraków launched last year, now it’s time for London City. We are certain that new connections will be in favour of passengers travelling to and from CEE region and are going to be among the most successful routes in our constantly growing network. Already this year we will launch flights from Budapest to Brussels and Bucharest taking another step in developing our presence in Hungary.”
Peter Downes, Aviation Director at London City Airport, said: “It is now quicker and easier than ever to hop between the Danube and the Thames thanks to LOT Polish Airlines’ new service between Budapest and London’s most central airport.
"It means that, for the first time, the Hungarian capital joins our route map, adding another major European city that leisure passengers will love, and a convenient service for business trips.
“This is the latest staging post in LOT’s growth at London City Airport, coming just five weeks after the highly successful launch of flights to Warsaw and ahead of a new Vilnius connection in May – all made possible thanks to the airline’s investment in four new Embraer 190 aircraft. This is a really exciting chapter for London City and LOT, transforming our Central European offer, and enabling closer ties for tourism and trade, at an important time for the UK, London, and Hungary.”