British Airways London Heathrow Long Haul Archives – Page 4 of 4

BA suspends London Heathrow – Calgary for winter season

British Airways has suspended its route to Calgary for the winter season. It now operates on a summer seasonal basis only.

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British Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner (Image Credit: Heathrow)

British Airways has suspended its daily service from London Heathrow to Calgary for the winter season. The route now operates on a summer seasonal basis only.

The last outbound and inbound flight operates on Saturday 27 October 2018. The service resumes on Sunday 31 March 2019 until Monday 25 October 2019.

It then resumes again, initially four times weekly, on Sunday 29 March 2020 until Saturday 3 October 2020. The affected flight numbers are BA102 and BA103.

No specific reason has been given for the cancellation. However, it is a reasonable assumption that unsatisfactory commercial performance is behind the decision.

BA started flying from London Heathrow to Calgary in December 2006, initially with a Boeing 767 aircraft. The route then changed to a Boeing 787 in July 2014.

Air Canada will continue to fly direct from London Heathrow to Calgary year-round.

Update May 2020

Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, this route will not operate in the summer of 2020.

It is currently scheduled to return from Sunday 28 March 2020.

BA suspends Luanda from early June 2018

British Airways is to suspend its service from London Heathrow to Luanda, Angola, from early June 2018. The last outbound flight BA77 departs Thursday 7 June 2018. The last inbound flight BA76 departs Saturday 9 June 2018.

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British Airways is to suspend its service from London Heathrow to Luanda, Angola, from early June 2018.

The route currently operates once weekly and is codeshared with Angola Airlines. It is the only direct route between London and Luanda. The last outbound flight BA77 departs Thursday 7 June 2018. The last inbound flight BA76 departs Saturday 9 June 2018.

No reason has been given for the cancellation and the period of notice is very short. The route has been subject to occasional cancellations in recent weeks due to maintenance requirements of BA’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners.. The short notice period does suggest a degree of urgency to release a spare Boeing 787 for the summer.

It also has to be said that this development follows a number of suspended routes to Africa.

BA has previously suspended Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 2012; Lusaka, Zambia in 2013; Freetown and Monrovia in 2014; and Entebbe, Uganda in 2015.

The main exception is South Africa where BA has recently announced Durban and an increase in flights to Johannesburg to 18 times weekly for the winter season.

If BA ever orders the Airbus A321 Long Range aircraft this may make some of these routes viable again. However, there is no sign of an imminent order.

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British Airways Launches London Heathrow – Durban

British Airways will fly from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to Durban three times weekly from Monday 29 October 2018.

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KwaZulu-Natal South Africa (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has launched a new direct route from London Heathrow to Durban.

BA will fly from London Heathrow Terminal 5 to Durban (King Shaka International Airport) three times a week from Monday 29 October 2018.

Flights will be operated with a three class Boeing 787-8 aircraft.

This is the only direct route between Europe and Durban. Emirates flies direct to Durban from Dubai. Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines also serve Durban via Johannesburg.

Although flights do not operate daily, it will be possible to connect to domestic BA services to/from Cape Town and Johannesburg on flights operated by BA’s franchise partner Comair.

This does solidify BA’s position on the London – South Africa market. BA is the sole operator on London Heathrow – Cape Town, to where BA can despatch up to three Boeing 747s a day in the winter. BA also operates up to two Airbus A380s a day on London Heathrow – Johannesburg, where South African Airways is cutting capacity.

One noteworthy difference to Cape Town and Johannesburg is that the return flight to London is a day flight rather than an overnight flight, which is obviously a matter of personal preference.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

London Heathrow – Durban

Flight BA41 Depart London Heathrow 16:55 – Arrive Durban 05:25 (Monday, Thursday, Saturday)
Flight BA40 Depart Durban 07:30 – Arrive London Heathrow 18:25 (Tuesday, Friday, Sunday)

(Timetable is indicative and is subject to change according to days of the week and seasons.)

Update December 2020

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, this route appears to be permanently suspended.

BA adds new amenities to Beijing, Shanghai, & Hong Kong flights

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New amenities for British Airways flights between London Heathrow, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong

British Airways is to add additional in-flight amenities and services to passengers travelling between London Heathrow, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Passengers travelling in World Traveller Plus and Club World will be offered slippers. Passengers travelling in all cabins will be offered Twinings green tea, the option of chopsticks for eating meals and bilingual menus.

In the grand scheme of things, these are fairly small changes. It’s also not unusual for BA to offer additional in flight amenities on certain routes for cultural reasons. Slippers have long been offered on flights to Tokyo and bilingual menus are common on many routes.

However, it does point to an effort to do better in China where BA has had mixed success. BA’s route from London Heathrow to Chengdu was suspended this month and BA faces very strong competition from Cathay Pacific on the London – Hong Kong route.

BA takes Heathrow – Abuja off sale from Wednesday 8 March -Tuesday 18 April 2017

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British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has suspended sales of flights on its London Heathrow – Abuja route from Wednesday 8 March to Tuesday 18 April 2017.

The reason for this is that Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport is to close for essential repairs to its runway which is reported to have pot holes.

The airline has yet to announce how passengers already booked to fly to Abuja during the closure will be accommodated. One option is to allow passengers to change the dates of flights to outside the closure period, or to allow passengers to fly to another destination in Africa (but any onward transport would be at the passenger’s own expense).

According to press reports, the Nigerian Government has instructed airlines to operate flights to an alternative airport in Kaduna (some 200km north of Abuja) with onward road transport provided to Abuja. However, airlines will need to be satisfied that security arrangements for their passengers and crews are sufficiently robust.

There’s more detail on the background to the closure of the runway in this article from the Financial Times (subscription required).

The affected BA flight numbers are BA083 and BA082.

Update: BA has subsequently decided to cancel all flights between London Heathrow and Abuja during the period of the runway closure.

Affected passengers have the option of a refund, rebooking on an alternative flight between London Heathrow and Abuja outside the runway closure (up to Friday 19 May 2017), or rebooking on an alternative flight to/from Accra or Nigeria within 7 days of the date of your original booking. However, if you choose the later option any additional costs such as ground transport or hotels will be at your own expense and will not be reimbursed by the airline.

Affected passengers should contact either BA or their travel agent.

BA to launch London Heathrow – New Orleans from 27 March 2017

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British Airways Boeing 787-8 (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways is to launch a new direct route from London Heathrow to New Orleans in Louisiana (Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport) from Monday 27 March 2017.

This will be the only direct scheduled flight from New Orleans to London.

Flights will be operated from London Heathrow Terminal 5 using a three class Boeing 787 aircraft (Club World Business Class, World Traveller Plus Premium Economy and World Traveller Economy).

Flights will intially operate four times weekly on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. However, we would not be surprised to see the route upgraded to a daily service in the future.

New Orleans is the third transatlantic route to be launched by BA from London Heathrow using the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, after Austin and San Jose, California.

The prospects of success for the route are strong. New Orleans is a popular tourist destination (notably for its Mardi Gras) as well as a popular choice for conventions.

Further transatlantic route announcements from BA are likely to come (albeit at a steady pace). And BA is likely to continue the trend of launching routes from cities that are not served by direct flights to London and/or Europe.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

BA has also produced a short PDF brochure for the new route.

London Heathrow – New Orleans

Flight BA225 Depart London Heathrow 15:40 – Arrive New Orleans 19:40

Flight BA224 Depart New Orleans 21:10 – Arrive London Heathrow 12:00

BA to suspend London Heathrow – Chengdu from 12 January 2017

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British Airways has confirmed it is to suspend its London Heathrow – Chengdu route from Tuesday 12 January 2017.

The last outbound flight from London Heathrow (Flight BA88) will operate on Tuesday 12 January, and the last inbound flight to London Heathrow (Flight BA89) will operate on Wednesday 13 January.

Whilst airlines regularly review their route networks and suspend under-performing routes and it has been known for some time that the Chengdu route is underperforming, the announcement is significant.
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BA delays launch of London Heathrow – Tehran to Thursday 1 September 2016

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British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has delayed the relaunch of its route from London Heathrow to Tehran, Iran from Thursday 14 July to Thursday 1 September 2016.

No specific reason has been given for the delay. However, we surmise that the delay is either due to a shortage of suitable long-haul aircraft or operational and regulatory delays in establishing operations in Tehran.

Affected passengers have the option of an indirect reroute on the following airlines: Lufthansa (via Frankfurt/Munich), Alitalia (via Rome Fiumicino), Turkish Airlines (via Istanbul), or Aegean Airlines (via Athens). Connections to the aforementioned airlines flights will be via British Airways operated flights from London Heathrow.

BA has also revised its schedule for London Heathrow – Tehran which is now as follows:

London Heathow – Tehran

Flight BA153 Depart London Heathrow 20:30 – Arrive Tehran 05:45 (Daily, except Sundays)

Tehran – London Heathrow

Flight BA152 Depart Tehran 08:35 – Arrive London Heathrow 11:10 (Daily, except Mondays)

(Timetable is indicative and may vary by season.)

BA launches London Heathrow – Santiago, Chile from 3 January 2017

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British Airways Boeing 787-9 First Class (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways is to launch a new direct route from London Heathrow to Santiago, Chile from Tuesday 3 January 2017.

The airline will fly to Santiago (Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport) four times a week from London Heathrow Terminal 5 using its Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner, offering four classes of travel (First Class, Club World business class, World Traveller Plus premium economy, and World Traveller economy).

This route will be the longest direct flight on BA’s network with a flight time of 14 hours and 40 minutes.

It will also be BA’s fifth direct destination in Latin America after Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Lima.

BA previously flew to Santiago between 1993 and 1999, initially via a stop in Sao Paulo and then Buenos Aires.

Santiago is a hub of BA’s Oneworld alliance partner LATAM. The two airlines have recently applied to operate a joint-venture on flights between Europe and Latin America. We expect that onward connections on LATAM flights from Santiago may become available in due course.

It will also be possible to “mix and match” direct flights between London Heathrow and Santiago and daily indirect flights via Madrid on Iberia which can be booked as a codeshare with BA.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com BA has also produced a summary PDF document for the new route launch.

London Heathrow – Santiago

Flight BA251 Depart London Heathrow 22:00 – Arrive Santiago 09:45 (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)

Flight BA250 Depart Santiago 17:30 – Arrive London Heathrow 10:50 (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday)

(Schedule is indicative and may vary by season.)

BA to fly non-stop to Doha & Muscat from Sunday 30 October 2016

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British Airways is to introduce direct non-stop flights from London Heathrow to Doha in Qatar and Muscat in Oman from Sunday 30 October 2016.

BA has long served both Doha and Muscat. However, a one hour stop-over in Bahrain for Doha and Abu Dhabi for Muscat has been required, adding approximately two hours each way to the journey time.

BA will now fly daily direct to Doha with a four class Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner. BA will fly five times a week to Muscat with a four class Boeing 777-200 aircraft. Flights are on sale now at ba.com.

Why has BA introduced this change?

Well, it now has more departure and arrival slots at London Heathrow. The flight times are more convenient for passengers. Airlines also prefer not to use long-haul aircraft for short flights for operational reasons.

The one significant change is that flights from London Heathrow to Doha will now arrive in Doha in the morning rather than late at night.

BA codeshares with Qatar Airways, a shareholder in BA’s parent company International Airlines Group, on a number of routes from Doha to Dar es Salaam, Peshawar, Karachi, Entebbe, Dhaka, Islamabad and Lahore. Passengers with existing bookings will need to review their itineraries to see if connections are valid or if accommodation is required in Doha.

It is also worth noting that BA does offer flights between Bahrain and Doha and between Abu Dhabi and Muscat for sale and these will clearly not be available from Sunday 30 October.

Flight schedules to Bahrain and Abu Dhabi have also been adjusted to account for the changes to these routes. All flights will also continue to operate from London Heathrow Terminal 5.
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