British Airways is to launch its London Stansted based "no-frills" division under the name Go. The launch is set for early in the second quarter of 1998.
Go's chief executive Barbara Cassani denies that the new airline's remit is to eliminate new low-cost entrants such as easyJet, but warns that it "-won't go on to a route on which we can't be competitive on pricing - we're going to knock the socks off customers [with pricing] - they'll be surprised."
The airline has declined to release any further details for the moment, although Go is known to be aiming for an April launch with ex-Philippine Airlines Boeing 737-300s leased from General Electric Capital Aviation Services.
Cassani says that the recruitment programme is going well and that operations will be launched "in the spring" with 150 staff, increasing to 300 at the end of the first year. She adds that all the pilots are being recruited from outside BA, but some retired ex-BA pilots are expected to be taken on.
Source: Flight International
