DOT flight cap for JFK could stop BA’s new transatlantic operation

The Times of London reported last week that British Airways executives are concerned the U.S. Transportation Department’s proposed cap on flight activity at New York JFK could prevent them from launching a new transatlantic operation. Earlier this year, after the United States and the European Union concluded an “open skies” agreement that takes effect at the end of March 2008, British Airways officials were widely quoted as saying they planned to take advantage of the pact by launching a new operation that would offer non-stop service from the U.S. East Coast – most likely JFK – to key business markets in continental Europe, skipping the U.K. altogether. But the newspaper said DOT’s proposed new restrictions on flights at Kennedy Airport could derail the BA operation. DOT has proposed capping JFK flight operations at 80 an hour, a reduction of up to 20 percent at peak periods. BA had already planned to boost its JFK-London service next year from 51 flights a week to 55.