Baltimore Airport offers incentives for continued BA operations
British Airways (BA) will
continue to fly between Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and London
Heathrow for at least two more years, thanks to a subsidy the carrier will receive from the
Maryland Board of Public Works. While fuel prices had made it difficult for BA to operate
profitable flights on this route, the subsidy will serve as an incentive to continue this route. If
BA’s rate of return on sales out of Baltimore falls to less than 8 percent, it will receive up to
$5.5 million in subsidies per year for two years to offset the impact.
During the month of October, Delta
Airlines is offering certain coach-class customers a one-way helicopter shuttle between Manhattan
and JFK Airport for about the same cost as a cab ride. Regular cost for this service is about $159,
plus taxes and fees.
The helicopter ride (provided by U.S. Helicopter Corp., the only helicopter operator in the
United States that offers regular scheduled service) takes about eight minutes to get from its two
heliports in downtown and midtown Manhattan to JFK and Newark airports. This service began in March
2006; and the company says it plans to expand its routes and schedule in New York, and to establish
new routes in other major cities.