BA is cutting direct flights to Australia

British Airways will operate one London to Sydney daily flight, stopping at Singapore on the way.After decades of flights the London-Bangkok-Sydney route, BA will stop at the Thai hub. Passengers wishing to fly on to Australia will be transferred to Qantas.Under the agreement, the Australian carrier will also stop in Bangkok and move passengers for London onto BA flights.A similar route via Hong Kong has already suffered the same fate, with the Oneworld alliance partners swapping passengers at the Asian hub.

It leaves London-Singapore-Sydney as the last remaining direct daily flight to Australia. BA will swap the current Boeing 777 plane used on the route for a larger 747 to squeeze more passengers on board.The move conforms with the aim to strengthen the airlines' Singapore hub and provide better connections and service for passengers on flights between London and Australia.BA said:Singapore is a better market for us than Thailand.The company denied this was the beginning of the end for the airline's historic links with Australia.We are absolutely committed to Australia, it said.The revised joint service agreement between the carriers will allow BA to lease two precious pairs of landing slots at Heathrow from Qantas. It has not yet decided what it will do with them.BA is also beefing up frequency on the Hong Kong route, adding three flights a week to the city, taking the number to 17 each way.