British Airways is seeking clearance from the UK Civil Aviation Authority to allow its pilots and cabin crews to operate Qantas Boeing 747-400s on routes from London Heathrow Airport for an unlimited period.
An application to the CAA from BA says that the approval is "-initially to facilitate the free interchange of aircraft and crews on the UK-Australia route via Los Angeles". BA says that, in the long term, the aircraft could be used on short- or medium-haul routes from the UK during the time between flights back to Australia. Paris and Frankfurt are likely destinations.
Qantas 747 flights arrive at Heathrow early in the morning and mostly leave late at night. The UK flag carrier, which has a 25% stake in Qantas, is interested in using the aircraft on high-density flights.
Project sources say that approval will also be sought from the Australian authorities for Qantas pilots to fly BA 747s in Australia.
Operating procedures on the two airlines' aircraft are virtually identical and, with flight-operations and flight-planning data available to both through BA's BABS computer system, the structure is already in place to support such operations.
CAA regulations normally prevent BA from operating foreign-registered aircraft unless they are transferred to the UK register, or leased under a formal arrangement for a predetermined period.
The CAA says the application is now in the objection period before being considered by the UK Department of Transport (DoT).
"The DoT will need to see how the application can be reconciled with the European Commission Directive 2047 (leasing), which sets out the principle that leasing should be short term or where there are exceptional circumstances," it says.
The airline has also applied to operate the 737 of its German subsidiary Deutsche BA from London Gatwick to Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. The British Airline Pilots Association is considering appealing against both schemes.
Source: Flight International
