Detroit loses flights to Heathrow

DETROIT -- British Airways is canceling its non-stop flight from Detroit to London, which it has run for 51 years, blaming the struggling auto industry and lagging economy in southeast Michigan for a decline in ticket sales.

British Airways spokesman John Lampl says the airline had been trying to hang on to the route, which has been losing money for several years. But the final straw came when pharmaceutical company Pfizer pfe closed its Ann Arbor, Mich., facility this summer. Pfizer, which has offices in London, was the route's biggest customer, Lampl said.

"We thought maybe by hook or by crook, we could somehow save it, but the business is just not there," Lampl said. "It's not just one thing; over a period of years and a period of events that are occurring, the market is somehow leaving and going to other places."

Michigan is in its longest stretch of job losses since the Great Depression, according to economists at the University of Michigan. Most of that is related to the Detroit-based automakers, which are struggling to regain their footing in the U.S. marketplace. From 2000 to 2006, the state lost 336,000 jobs and is predicted to lose an additional 33,000 by the end of 2008. Its July unemployment rate of 7.2% was the highest in the nation. In August, the rate inched up to 7.4%.

Dana Johnson, an economist at Comerica Bank, cma says troubles in the auto sector have had an indirect impact on many different businesses in the state.

"It's rippled through the whole Michigan economy and caused people to spend less on other things," Johnson said. "Anyone who is selling goods to people here in Michigan is finding less demand because people in Michigan have cut back."

The British Airways flight is the only direct daily route from Detroit's Metropolitan Airport to London's Heathrow Airport. Northwest Airlines nwa runs direct daily flights to London's Gatwick Airport.

"It was consistently the weakest of all of our gateways and has been the weakest for several years," Lampl said of Detroit.

The flight will stop running at the end of March.

Darren Shannon, a spokesman for Northwest, said that airline hasn't seen a decline in flights to London. But Detroit is a hub airport for Northwest, meaning many passengers fly to Detroit first before heading on to London.

"There is a big difference in operating a major operation as opposed to a single flight a day," Shannon said. "It's almost like comparing apples and oranges. The fluctuations British Airways says it's experiencing won't necessarily affect us."

British Airways wasn't helped by the fact that traveling to London has gotten expensive. A round-trip Detroit-London flight in mid-October could run nearly $800, with more than $300 going toward taxes and fees. Once there, the current exchange rate works against the U.S. dollar, making it more expensive to eat, stay in a hotel and get around.

While Lampl admits that is part of the problem, flights to London from the East Coast are still running profitably, he said.