more speculation about GLA/EDI

well, the Glasgow Evening Times is today speculating about US Airways operating a flight from GLA during the Summer timetable next year… as well as a possibilty of Continental again looking to an EWR-EDI route…

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Glasgow in line for more direct flights to America

By David Leask
Chief Reporter

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/upload/251102newsairways.jpg

A MAJOR airline hopes to launch direct transatlantic flights from Glasgow.

US Airways is considering plans for daily services from the city to America starting next spring.

The move comes as a major drive to attract direct flights to Scotland looks set to pay dividends, with German giant Lufthansa also thought likely to fly from Glasgow to Munich next year.

Senior figures from US Airways – the seventh biggest carrier in America – visited Glasgow Airport last week.

And airport sources said the airline executives were so impressed they are likely to give the order to begin services in May, probably for the summer season only.

It is not yet known which US airport the services would fly to, although Philadelphia and Charlotte, North Carolina, are possibles. Charlotte is a gateway to the Deep South, with strong Scottish roots and good connections to Florida sunspots.

Glasgow already has all-year daily, direct scheduled flights to New York with Continental and indirect flights with Icelandair. Air Canada and American also fly to Toronto and Chicago respectively in the summer.

A Glasgow Airport insider said: “US Airways will leave the year-round business service to Continental and concentrate on flying tourists to and from the US.”

But Glasgow faces a fight for the deal, with Edinburgh-based political figures also determined to secure a transatlantic link and break Glasgow’s unofficial monopoly.

Continental has hinted it will restart aborted plans for an Edinburgh-New York service, but is likely to ask for cash backing for its marketing budget from Scottish tourism chiefs.

Some aviation sources fear US Airways could still be lured to the capital. Any such move would spark a major political row in the West of Scotland.

BAA Scottish Airports, which runs Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, announced a £60million package of discounts in the summer to encourage new direct international flights to Scotland over the next five years.

It has still to make any new flight announcements for Glasgow, but a BAA spokeswoman confirmed: “We are talking with US Airways about the possibility of services from Glasgow.

“No decision has been made at this stage. We know they are also talking to other airports but hope they will come here.”

A US Airways spokeswoman said: “We are exploring a number of options for more routes across the Atlantic.”

Meanwhile, airport sources believe Lufthansa is in the final stages of negotiating direct daily flights from Glasgow to the Bavarian capital, Munich.

An insider said: “The Germans are trying to turn Munich into a hub and it has good connections to the US and Eastern Europe.

“Lufthansa saw Glasgow was able to fill four daily flights to Brussels before Belgian airline Sabena went bust this year. So it reckons it can fill flights to Germany, although it claims it can’t find slots into Frankfurt.”

A BAA spokesman confirmed it was in negotiations with the airline but stressed it regularly held talks with carriers.

Lufthansa officials in Frankfurt said they had no “immediate” plans for direct flights from Munich to Glasgow.

The route was highlighted by Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace earlier this year as one of the main services Scotland needed to develop.