Why British Airways Flew to Calgary

British Airways flew between Calgary, Alberta, and London-Heathrow for over a decade, from 2006 to 2019. They had also flown to Calgary back in the 1980s.
In the later years of this most recent route though - even prior to the events of 2020 - BA seemed to be wavering a bit, downgrading it to seasonal at one point before cutting it "permanently" in 2021.
Today, I explore the story of British Airways' YYC-LHR route!
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SOURCES:
[1] British Airways YYC 2006 Press Release
web.archive.or...
[2] British Airways Aircraft Adjustments 2007-2008
www.routesonli...
www.routesonli...
www.routesonli...
[3] WestJet/BA Codeshare
www.reuters.co...
[4] British Airways 787s to Calgary
www.globenewsw...
[5] BA 767s return for 2015
www.routesonli...
www.routesonli...
[6] Final BA 767 Flight www.routesonli...
[7] BA 767 and 787-8 Cabin Layouts
web.archive.or...
[8] WestJet/BA Codeshare Ends
www.straight.c...
[9] BA Suspends Calgary Flights for Winter 2018-2019
globalnews.ca/...
www.flightglob...
[10] BA 787-9 Seating
www.britishair...
[11] No First Class for Calgary
www.routesonli...
[12] WestJet 787-9 Seating www.westjet.co...
[13] The last BA Calgary Flight
flightaware.co...
[14] BA permanently suspends some routes
www.traveloffp...
www.bbc.com/ne...
[15] WestJet Calgary to Heathrow
www.westjet.co...
www.newswire.c...
[16] London-Heathrow Summer 2022 Slot Usage
www.ibj.com/ar...
www.acl-uk.org...
app.powerbi.co...
[17] British Airways No Longer Flies to Calgary
www.britishair...
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Outro song - "Take Flight" by Nyhtian: • Nyhtian - Take Flight ...
© Alex Praglowski Aviation 2022
This video is the property of Alex Praglowski Aviation and may not be used for any purpose without prior permission. Contact me at the email in the "About" section of my channel for usage.

[@emelgee68]

Don't forget the London capacity that flies via Amsterdam on KLM. Amsterdam is often referred to as London's 5th airport - especially when it comes to connecting traffic to other parts of the UK than London. There are in fact more flights from Amsterdam to destinations in the UK than from Heathrow.

[@FrecciaNeraM36]

Technically London's 7th airport

[@nickskier1]

Well its always a shame to have fewer airline options and international companies flying to calgary. Happy that it gives Westjet and Air Canada room to gain more revenue on the Calgary-London Flight.

[@bennyguan848]

True also with BA gone basically also leaves more for KLM to gain more revenue from Calgary to Europe too while competing with Air Canada & WestJet.

[@itachi0105]

Just connect via yvr or yyz...

[@vyomps]

As a Calgarian, I was so heartbroken when BA cancelled their services. I found their service to always be much superior than AC. Air Canada's infamous Banana Bread always ruined every journey for me LOL. I used to connect from Heathrow to India and loved staying on the BA network for the duration of the journey. Flight timings and fares were both extremely ideal and reduced jet lag. Being able to transit at Heathrow T5 was also a fun experience as compared to elsewhere. Please come back BA. Now we only have KLM which represents some international wide-body diversity at YYC. Otherwise the airport is always so dull :(

[@jamesdelatour2266]

I always liked the banana bread :(

[@ywgmb35]

Even Air Koryo of North Korea is superior to Air Canada lol. I went on a North Korea tour (so easy to do as a Canadian!) in late 2017 and you fly on their national airline Beijing Pyongyang. Even in Economy, the seats and legroom were amazing, and probably resemble how seats on Air Canada USED to be before they started packing passengers in like sardines for extra revenue.

[@bubba842]

Don't Air France and Luthansa still fly from Calgary??

[@vyomps]

@@bubba842 no sir

[@bubba842]

@@vyomps oh, when did they stop flights. I'm pretty certain they used to fly there. All the European flights would come in at around the same time, around 4pm. I remember seeing Air France from Paris and Luthansa from Frankfurt on the arrival boards.

[@michaelnewby4311]

I used to work the BA YYC flights 2015-2018, was actually one of my favourite trips. But the flights were rarely full.

[@sevenapertures]

My father had a few flights on the BA 767 on this route. It’s sad to see BA no longer flying to Calgary. Love these videos, Alex. Keep up with the good work!

[@noahlovesplanes]

Love your videos Alex! Keep up the good work. They are so interesting and entertaining!

[@xyaviation1133]

Flew on that flight with BA and AC, I always found BA to have better pricing, at least from a U.K. perspective… when I booked BA Premium economy was cheaper than AC and Westjet Economy! I think it would be a good move for BA to try and codeshare with Westjet on the LHR, allowing onward connections and eliminating the need for BA to fly, benefiting both airlines, however I doubt that’s very realistic.

[@jasonChampton]

2018-2019 was the years I really started planespotting at YYC so I’m really glad I got to see them when I had a chance, but man it’s sad we might not see them again (anytime soon.)

[@naturallyherb]

British Airways also operated cargo-only flights to Edmonton at some time during the pandemic. It's good to mention that too.

[@egpx]

BA might have ditched the WestJet codeshare a couple of years previously but they were still using WestJet for their passengers' onward connections. In spring 2019 I flew on a BA 788 LHR-YYC and then on to YYJ on a WestJet 737. I flew the same route later with AC, LHR-YYC on a 789 and on to YYJ on a Dash 8. Will have to try WestJet on the LHR-YC leg next time!

[@jfmezei]

Calgary used to be considered a high yield city due to head offices for the oil patch. Where you have head offices, you have executives who travel business class. BTW, "historically", Montréal comes before Toronto for flights. The combination of loss of head offices due to election of separatists PQ in 1976 as well as unfinished move from Dorval to Mirabel (leaving domestic unconnected to international) resulted in the move to Toronto as hub for Air Canada.

[@pauldini5121]

Arrete de mentir asti

[@brucecanmore3788]

Flew BA twice to LHR one 767 one 788 both business. Really great cabin crew both trips. Awesome northern lights! The opposed seating was ok as a couple but I would hate as a solo traveller. Flight was delayed ~24 hours, mechanical. Struggled to get the European plan cash back which was ultimately very significant given the formula for time and distance. Wish Canada had that consumer protection for domestic travel also.

[@cdsmrailaviation1099]

I explored BA as an option for my first visit to Calgary in 2019 and I was put off by the price of both the base fare and seat selection prices compared to Air Canada. After a few times using AC I've been swayed to Westjet though and definitely enjoyed my experience with them

[@mchandler15]

As a Brit that flies to Calgary quite a bit (you can probably tell why from my picture) I always use Air Canada because it's always the cheapest on Expedia with hotel and hire car deals. Used Air Transat from Gatwick once and they weren't that good. Air Canada has always been good to be honest. In fact I've never used British Airways because they are always expensive!

[@robertross7666]

How did a Brit end up becoming a fan of the flames?

[@derrickleung8014]

The 747 recovery flight was a fond memory, it was great to watch it fly in.

[@RobEJC]

After flying into LHR (both connecting and terminating) and LGW, I very much prefer LGW for its smaller size and relative ease of navigation and decent transport options once on the ground. LHR is a behemoth inside and out.

[@borderreiver1806]

I found connecting via lhr was seamless, most often either to glasgow, or paris ..

[@lindyisgoated28]

Nice video! Keep up the great work!

[@cdg1966]

Can you do a video of why LH has cancelled YYC service twice as well?

[@le_great_escape]

I would love if you could do more videos like these 🎉

[@maxxiong]

YYC had so many international flights before the pandemic. There was even a direct flight to PEK (Beijing) on Hainan airlines.

[@elitutucanphillopphen1989]

Excellent video!

[@jkwacker8225]

The only time I’ve flown BA was this route. With the addition of changing planes at LHR and carrying on to Newcastle.

[@thecalham]

My dad runs a flight tracker just west of brooks I remember seeing a BA flight years back saying their forward loo was clogged... I imagine that's a long flight for a clogged toilet

[@sandino833]

Great to see the BA livery in Calgary!

[@PlanesTrainsEverything]

Oops. A mistake in the first sentence. BA is not the United Kingdom's flag carrier. We don't have one. Technically, a flag carrier is an airline which is subsidised or owned by the country in which they are registered. BA may rely on the UK Government for loans, but the taxpayer pays nothing towards the carrier's survival. Very few west European airlines are Government owned, or have a majority share - only Finnair, ITA Airways and TAP Air Portugal. A great video otherwise and a new subscriber.

[@fortythreenorth2518]

A lot of Brits like doing ski holidays in Banff. I feel bad for them when the Temps plung below -20 or there's major snowfall and zero visibility making for a terrible holiday. Fortunately there's lots of good bars and pubs as well for such days.

[@Rob-b3i]

I used to work for British Airways flight 103/102 until the Airline stopped flying to Calgary I really hope that BA does return to Calgary one day in the near future.

[@Edmonchuck]

CAI also did this route for years as a BA/OneWorld codeshare.

[@faisal-ca]

I flew Calgary to London in 2009 with BA and it was great.

[@ruslanulko8195]

Great video

[@Theoriginalborgy]

As a Brit living in Calgary I was disappointed with my last trip on BA flight back home. The service and plane were subpar. The best fight I ever had was with the old Canada 2000.

[@shiftfocus1]

The only time I’ve flown BA, and the only time I’ve been on a 747, was YYC-LHR in April 1982.

[@JBM425]

Don’t forget that one can fly from Calgary to LGW via Keflavik on Icelandair. It’s not a nonstop, but it probably takes a decent chunk of the leisure market.

[@cre8ivjay]

Does Icelandair fly to YYC? I know YEG had routes, but wasn't aware YYC did.

[@joncalon7508]

I've flown YEG-KEF-LHR on Icelandair, and always had to drive to Edmonton to fly with them, as they do not fly into YYC. That said, the 3 hour drive to Edmonton isn't all that bad, and the Icelandair experience isn't all that bad. I rather enjoyed the 757's to and from Keflavik. The high density of the 787 seating does not seem to be a good indicator of passenger comfort, and having the ability to break the flight in two and stretch your legs in Keflavik (and get some iceland hot dogs and skyr at the same time) is a good thing in my opinion.

[@wij5368]

@@cre8ivjay Yes, Icelandair always flew out of Edmonton. When I checked a month ago, Icelandair is not flying from Edmonton and the route is suspended temporarily.

[@alexjohnson8209]

Alex calgary is becoming a global city in the future calgary will be a global hub for international flights thank you for sharing with us keep safe.

[@glenlaughlin6547]

Very interesting, on the workings, of the different airlines.

[@JustBen81]

I never flew to Calgary - but I flew to Edmonton twice and since even Edmonton had direct flights to Europe (KLM) and Calgary seems to be the more important airport I always assumed all major European Airlines had a service there.

[@justynsadlowski7568]

At Sacramento international airport British airways brought the concord for the opening of a net runway

[@ChasetheG]

Do "Why Delta flew from Indianapolis to Paris".

[@lucascalma605]

In my own perspective, I think that the reason why Calgary kept changing schedules even prior to the pandemic is that Calgary might not have been as high yielding than Toronto or Vancouver and might not have had that much capacity during the start of COVID, but although it's permanent, I think that in the post-COVID world by 2023-24 perhaps there's somewhat of a chance that BA could rethink about this route, and maybe revive passenger flights again to Calgary because of how profitable North America was to British Airways for decades.

[@CaptureKing247]

BA cancelled their code share with WestJet due to all the issues WestJet had with their 767. BA was frustrated with WestJet throwing passengers onto their flights last minute

[@ghostrider-be9ek]

omg the 67s were a complete debacle

[@wozja]

What were the issues with WJ 767’s ??

[@ghostrider-be9ek]

@@wozja mx issues at almost every stop, they were MEL on way too many items

[@CaptureKing247]

@@wozja kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGjGZ2mbpNukmac

[@AEMoreira81]

Those 767s are now Amazon’s problem (Amazon owns them and they’re leased to Cargojet). But now WestJet uses the Dreamliner.

[@VanshForce1]

0:15 I got absolute brain cancer after seeing that B.A 747 at Calgary. It looks cursed and beautiful at the same time.

[@bennyguan848]

Yep 👍,Calgary is doing fine internationally still with WestJet, Air Canada & KLM leading the way on the international passengers traffic✅. Yes YYC- Europe is well served from Alberta daily/ seasonally too!

[@cre8ivjay]

I am convinced that if Alberta was marketed more as a tourist destination, we would see much more traffic. *Most* people around the world aren't even aware that Alberta exists, or what can be found here.

[@olympian3]

@@cre8ivjay indeed in the mountains is a great area for skiing/snowboarding. Not sure why else people would come here though.

[@cre8ivjay]

@@olympian3 That would be more than enough for so many people.

[@olympian3]

@@cre8ivjay pretty far from Europe though, I think it’s part of the problem

[@borderreiver1806]

Years past flew back and forth BA , Calgary or YVR.. have to say in the dozen or so return trips I never had a bad experience or need for a negative comment.. price was a tad higher, but relability ,comfort.. no contest.. had a couple dozen other flights including AC definatly the overal experience was differant, not horrible but definatly not as nice.

[@nathanielaikins5534]

Thank you Alex ,Can you also do a video about Lufthansa FRA-YYC route why they stopped .Also Korean Air summer flights to YYC ??I worked on all these flights before

[@bennyguan848]

As for Asia flights,Calgary will likely get Tokyo,Japan🇯🇵back 1st & possibly new seasonal route to Seoul,South Korea🇰🇷on WestJet or Air Canada at some point likely when travel demand returns more to normal after the pandemic😷. Beijing China 🇨🇳 is possible again too on 1 of AC or WS (in a couple of years).

[@wij5368]

It would be nice if there are direct flights to Tokyo and Seoul from Calgary instead of connecting from Vancouver.

[@ghostbsilva]

@@wij5368 Westjet annnounced a direct flight to Tokyo in 2023 and enhanced its code share agreement with Korean Air.

[@omerfarazj]

BA flew an A380 to YVR before covid...good times

[@zork999]

I flew Air Transat from Vancouver to Amsterdam with a stop in Calgary. Basically, empty from YVR to YYC and then totally stuffed to AMS. It was, by far, the worst of my 60+ transatlantic roundtrips. Very limited entertainment (which you had to pay for!), food was extra (on a very long flight), seat pitch under 30" (IIRC 28"), and rude cabin crew. Sure it was cheap, but you got what you paid for. That was to Amsterdam, but I assume the flights to LGW are much the same.

[@sh230968]

I have flown BA between Heathrow and Calgary in 767 era.

[@calgaryguy78]

This is very sad news. Calgarians are held hostage by sub-par local airlines. The taxes to fly into yyc are ridiculous. Open up the skies and give us some competition in the market. Emirates and Qatar have shown interest in the past to fly to yyc but were shut down. Let the market decide.

[@TheMrSSS]

I remember going on this flight. 👍

[@benniinsuedafrika]

Why wouldn't it? Calgary is an important town with big oil and mining business and a financial district. Its one of the most important cities in Canada

[@rapturekevin]

Their old livery from the 80's was the best.

[@zareeftashfique8168]

I migrated to canada on this flight…. I remember ordering a kind of cake/pudding served on condensed milk….. it was soo delicious I still remember me eating that cake more than flying British airways

[@ivanaviator1937]

Wha is the song you use for all your videos i like it

[@StevoE7]

Realistically though, unless BA does something about the seat on club world, WJ is absolutely giving them tough competition.

[@wozja]

Did BA install different engines on their 767’s ? Are Those the rolls royce that are on the 757’s and A330’s ?

[@xyaviation1133]

Yes BA had RB211s on their 767s, 747s and 757s to reduce costs and support Rolls Royce a British company. The A330 engines are RR Trent 700s I think not 211s.

[@funnydrivr]

London does seem like a popular market I just hope Westjet can start flying their 787-9s to YEG.

[@mississaugaicedogs]

why doesn't BA codeshare with WSJ again? Seems to me like they are missing out

[@SimonW1]

Great video 😅

[@flyinghighoverthesky]

It’s unfortunate that BA doesn’t serve Calgary anymore. What is however interesting is why Air Transat that seems to have completely left western Canada. Only having to connect in YUL and YYZ. Every time I flew Air Transat to Frankfurt AMS or London from Vancouver it would stop in Calgary. What is happening? There was a swath of direct international flights from Calgary. With BA leaving the YYC market it leaves only KLM. I guess it’s fare to say Calgary is westjet territory. Will there be future possibilities of other markets coming to YYC? With other airlines? Thank you for the video.

[@flyinghighoverthesky]

Does Icelandair fly to Calgary? When flying back to Canada from Europe I have sometimes taken the KLM flight via Calgary or Edmonton to YVR, of course that is with a westjet flight onwards.

[@coolkiasha3154]

I wish airlines like Turkish, Emirates, Qatar came to Calgary. Emirates wanted to come to Calgary but Air Canada made random stuff up so they could have all the profit

[@JustKiddingNYC]

Have you ever tried doing a Kermit the frog impression? You'd kill it

[@throughtheclouds7855]

I just wish BA would operate at least a single Manchester-Canada route

[@wij5368]

Now I will not be going to Northern England, Scotland and Wales anytime soon 😥

[@andyjay729]

Still not as weird as KLM's (the Dutch flag carrier) flight to Edmonton.

[@dondavis7687]

Somebody with money had to get from London to Calgary and back or vice versa!….. This is usually the case with why any 2 cities are served directly by any airline.

[@journeyingjohn3275]

NOT the flag carrier of the UK but the UK division of a Spanish registered multinational, trading on a historic brand and delivering a lo cost experience (with less reliable and more difficult to use systems) with premium pricing. A case study in brand destruction for short term profit...

[@MrEjanusie]

Any speculation regarding dropping PCR testing??

[@RobRobinson-q5h]

Everyday I hope that British Airways will be returning to Calgary but it’s been 4 years since the last flight and I don’t think they are going to be returning

[@aheat3036]

The monarchy may rule Canada but Calgary isn’t very cost effective location!

[@vincent412l7]

So - why did BA fly to Calgary?

[@franciemclaughlin]

In 2013 I flew Heathrow to Calgary in a 747.

[@olympian3]

Don’t see why people would come here to Calgary anyways other than for the mountains and banff.

[@wij5368]

I live in Calgary and I find this city boring 😆

[@TannaSloan]

There was once a delay because the caterers accidentally set off the emergency slide and they had to fly in the part. The flight was delayed days. Finally they got the part in and were ready to go and then they hit the plane. The flight way delayed days again. The only time I saw the riot squad called in while working at the airport. Hundreds of drunk and angry brits. Insane.

[@VictorWeinbergerVWGaming]

BA isn't technically the flag carrier of the UK.They have the colours of the Union Jack but the real flag carrier is Virgin Atlantic. I hate to be this type of person in the comments, sorry.

[@soupbums]

London to Hawaii would be good

[@joncalon7508]

If you fly with WJ or AC to LHR or LGW, you are on the Canadian Air Passenger Rights rules, not the far superior European Air Passenger Rights, so if something goes wrong and you're delayed, you're likely fighting more for compensation with the Canadian carriers. I guess if you want to fly to London on a European carrier, I guess you're flying KLM and changing planes in Schipol...

[@davep8987]

Because the earth is flat and it's a strait shot across the top of the Arctic and down to Calgary. They stopped when I pointed out all the British Airways flights going over the Diamond mine in NWT to ice road truckers and mine employees.

[@Silverfoxwolfen]

Why British Airways flew to Calgary..... to get people from the UK to Calgary would be my guess.

[@wij5368]

I flew BA because it was easy to get connecting BA flights to Northern England, Scotland and Wales as well as Northern Ireland.

[@brentwarren6788]

They never flew to Calgary. They flew to Banff. Calgary was just the closest airport.

[@billybob3302]

London is pretty much the only way to fly to Europe without paying a fortune. I hate the city. Born in the UK and the customs always hassle me so much. If Paris, Amsterdam or Dussefldorf were cheaper I'd go there instead.

[@archiec8391]

BA is one of the worst ………..I wish one day YYC will be a hub…maybe not in my lifetime as YYC is a sad sad city.

[@jamier279]

hey i live in calgary

[@okotoksmarkh]

Banf?

[@jesseneudorf1311]

Im from calgary

[@andreinarangel6227]

..another reason: Due to the WUHAN/COVID virus, the training that the British Army held at its facility near Ralston, Alberta, has been dramatically reduced. Prior to the virus spread, the British Army "squadies" used the BAW flight to Calgary as the prefer choice of transit to/from UK.

[@rscott2247]

Doesn't BA fly out of Edmonton as well ?

[@joncalon7508]

I don't believe so. AC and Icelandair (seasonally) have that market for the time being...if BA isn't flying to Calgary, odds are pretty unlikely they're flying to Edmonton.

[@wij5368]

BA flew from Edmonton back in the 70s and 80s.

[@nadeemalvi7728]

Shame bit of income of flying but then like others airlines like they flies into others regionals airport with either planes suit like 757 767 l flew continential cleveland gatwick so ba could done same yet flew ac to calgary where my connection flight to edmonton so cover many main cities of canada much as if they flies flew to most of usa

[@darrinparkin718]

No miss here. BA is the worst airline I have ever flown on.

[@borderreiver1806]

Where, when, why and who

[@bearcubdaycare]

London is less and less of a hub anyway.

[@jlb8696]

You need corrupted platform rule what you think that's why I exist

[@craigquann]

Simple. Oil.

[@adrianfromspain]

Blah, blah.....stealing people’s time.

[@sushi777300]

🤣 don't watch

[@jamessimms415]

Yep, stealing people’s time by reading your snarky comment

[@DontUputThatEvilOnMe]

Cause they just want to go somewhere cold?