So reports the Philadelphia Inquirer:
US Airways has petitioned the European Union to add an additional flight each day from Philadelphia to London’s Heathrow Airport and to begin new service from Charlotte, N.C., to Heathrow.
“We did submit an application to the European Union slot trustee on Aug. 23 requesting that slots be allocated for proposed new service,” the company said. US Airways currently has one daily Philadelphia flight to Heathrow.
As we’ve previously noted, US Airway’s Charlotte-London flight is the only service to the city by a US Airline that still goes to Gatwick and not Heathrow, the much preferred destination for business travelers. And yes, should US Airways get marketable landing slots for the service, the existing Gatwick service would end.
Update: Why an application for slots when you generally have to buy slots if you want to fly to Heathrow, something that US Airways has been willing to do so for only a single Heathrow flight from Philly? The key here is the term “slot trustee” — seems they are trying to get slots British Airways is being forced to divest themselves of, likely because of its recent acquisition of British Midland. If that’s the case, it’s far from certain that they will succeed.
