British Airways is boosting its Mexico services with the launch of two direct flights a week from London Gatwick to Cancun from November 2010.

The route will be served by a Boeing 777 with three cabin classes.

Richard Tams, head of UK & Ireland sales and marketing, said: “We’re delighted to be the only UK scheduled airline offering direct flights to Cancun.

“It is the perfect addition to our Gatwick long-haul premium leisure network.”

Tickets have gone on sale today and the first flight will leave Gatwick on November 3 at 12.45pm UK time and arrive in Cancun at 5.45pm local time.

Meanwhile the new UK coalition government’s decision to scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow could prompt the airline to focus its business in Madrid after its merger with Iberia.
BA’s chief executive Willie Walsh told The Financial Times: “You’ve got a fantastic airport in Madrid that has excess capacity… and we’ll grow there.”
“Growth is not going to go away. Growth will just leave the UK and go to other parts of Europe. BA will be able to access that growth because our assets are mobile and we can focus on developing Madrid rather than… London.”
Ealier this year BA and Spanish carrier Iberia signed an agreement to combine operations, and shareholders will vote on the plans in the autumn. The new company, with its main hubs at Madrid and London, will be called International Airlines Group.
The British government’s decision to scrap plans for a third runway was welcomed by environmental campaigners, but the aviation industry was dismayed as demand for flights is expected to more than double between 2000 and 2030.
Ministers hope the extra demand can be met by regional airports in England and high speed rail links.