Ocean Beach, San Diego (Image Credit: London Air Travel)
British Airways has announced it is to upgrade its London Heathrow – San Diego route from a three class Boeing 777-200 aircraft to a four class Boeing 777-300 aircraft from Sunday 27 March 2016.
This is a significant upgrade for the London Heathrow – San Diego route, which will celebrate its fifth anniversary in June 2016.
BA will be offering First Class on this route for the first time since the route was reinstated as a direct route from London Heathrow and continues a trend of first class being added to routes, such as Austin and Denver.
Although, the overall number of seats on each flight will only increase from 275 to 299, there is a significant change in the profile of premium seating with the addition of 14 First Class seats, 8 additional Club World business class seats and 20 additional World Traveller Plus premium economy seats.
Passengers in all cabins will also benefit from a much better in flight entertainment system which is more stable and features much more content. The seats in all cabins also have in-seat power sockets and a USB/RCA socket, enabling personal devices to be connected to the in flight entertainment system.
Update: BA has since changed the aircraft operating this route to a Boeing 747.
WestJet Boeing 767 aircraft (Image Credit: WestJet)
Canadian airline WestJet has today confirmed it is to launch summer seasonal direct flights from London Gatwick to no less than six Canadian cities: Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, St John’s, Edmonton and Winnipeg.
Flights will operate from the week beginning Monday 4 May 2015 to the end of October 2015.
Flights to Vancouver will operate six times weekly, Edmonton will operate twice weekly, Calgary five times weekly and Winnipeg once weekly. Flights to Toronto and St. John’s will both operate once daily.
In total, this represents 28 return trips from London Gatwick total each week.
This represents a significant expansion in capacity between London and Canada, and significant competition to British Airways and Air Canada from London Heathrow and Air Canada Rouge and Air Transat from London Gatwick. This, combined with the expansion of Norwegian at London Gatwick means that the airport is carving out a niche for low cost transatlantic travel.
In the case of Winnipeg, WestJet’s service will also be the only direct route between the city and London.
All London flights, with the exception of flights to St John’s, will be operated by one of WestJet’s four Boeing 767-300ERW extended range aircraft.
Each Boeing 767 seats 262 passengers. The main economy cabin has 238 seats in a 2-3-2 configuration. Passengers in the main cabin will be offered complimentary snacks and non-alcoholic drinks and the option to purchase hot meals. The cabin does not also feature seat back in flight entertainment. Instead, the aircraft will be equipped with WestJet Connect, the airline’s inflight entertainment and wireless connectivity system which can stream entertainment to your smartphone/tablet. Passengers are also offered one complimentary checked bag. However, seat selection fees will apply.
The aircraft will include a “Plus” premium cabin with 24 seats in a 2-2-2 configuration and complimentary hot meals.
Flights are on sale now and to mark the launch, WestJet is offering special introductory fares which it claims are the lowest on the market for bookings made by Wednesday 16 September for travel between 6 May 2015 to 28 June 2015.
British Airways has unveiled its new eight seat First Class cabin on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft. This is the smallest First Class cabin on four class long-haul aircraft, which typically have fourteen seats.
British Airways Boeing 787-9 First Class (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways has today unveiled its new first class cabin on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
The eight seat cabin is an evolution of the first class cabin currently found on Boeing 747, 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft.
To date, other BA Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft have operated without a First Class cabin.
Featuring just eight seats in two rows of 1-2-1 seats, the cabin is significantly smaller than the fourteen seat configuration found on most aircraft.
British Airways 8 Seat Boeing 787-9 First Class Cabin (Image Credit: British Airways)British Airways 8 Seat Boeing 787-9 First Class Cabin (Image Credit: British Airways)
The seat itself is essentially the same. However, elements surrounding it have been significantly modified.
British Airways Boeing 787-9 First Class Seat (Image Credit: British Airways)Centre Seat Pair, British Airways Boeing 787-9 First Class Cabin (Image Credit: British Airways)
BA Boeing 787-9 First Class IFE Screen (Image Credit: British Airways)
Design modifications include a larger (and fixed) 23″ TV screen, a more accessible personal wardrobe and personal stowage, and a smartphone style seat control.
British Airways Boeing 787-9 First Class Seat (Image Credit: British Airways)Side Table, British Airways Boeing 787-9 First Class Seat (Image Credit: British Airways)At Seat Control, British Airways Boeing 787-9 First Class Seat (Image Credit: British Airways)Wardrobe, British Airways Boeing 787-9 First Class Seat (Image Credit: British Airways)
Features found on other BA first class cabins, such as the seat side personal lamp and shaded window blinds have been removed.
Some readers may be disappointed not to see more radical innovation from BA. However, we expect that a lower destiny seating configuration or items that add additional weight to the aircraft will not be pursued unless there is a clear revenue benefit to the airline.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will make its debut on selected flights to Delhi from 22 October 2015.
It will also fly to Austin, currently a Boeing 787-8 route, from February 2016. This will be followed by Abu Dhabi & Muscat from 5 November 2016, Kuala Lumpur from December 2016 and San Jose which launches 4 May 2016.
The aircraft is likely to be used to replace Boeing 777 and 747 aircraft and, as per San Jose, open up new routes.
The airline has a total of 22 Boeing 787-9 aircraft in order, in addition to 8 delivered Boeing 787-8 and 12 Boeing 787-10 aircraft.
British Airways Lounge Singapore Changi Airport (Credit: British Airways)
British Airways has opened its new lounge at Terminal 1 of Singapore Changi airport.
Designed by British design studio Graven the lounge features digital panoramic views of the Singapore skyline reflecting the time of the day outside.
Customers travelling in First Class will be provided with a passcode on entry to the lounge to access a dedicated “Concorde Bar”.
Continuing a trend of new BA lounges outside of London reflecting their local cities, the main lounge includes artwork from Singapore and British artists, including Simon Wee and Dr Brendan Neiland.
The main lounge seats 185 passengers. The Concorde Bar seats 41 passengers. 88% of seats have access to power for electronic devices as well as USB ports, and there is high-speed WiFi throughout.
The Concorde Bar features black Nero marble surfaces, European oak flooring and bespoke furnishings. Seating options including communal bar seating, private sofa corners and dining booths.
This route will be the only direct link between San Jose, California and Europe. It is consistent with the airline opening new North American destinations that are not served by any other European airline. It is also the second new BA route after Austin, Texas to use the Boeing 787 Dreamliner from launch.
San Jose will be the fourth city in California to be served by British Airways after Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego. It is also one of a growing number of new transatlantic routes from London Heathrow following the launch of Salt Lake City by Delta.
BA’s four class Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner will feature 8 first class seats, 42 Club World business class seats, 39 World Traveller Plus premium economy seats and 127 World Traveller economy seats.
The Boeing 787-900 Dreamliner will debut on BA on London Heathrow – Dehli from 25 October 2015. The Club World business class and World Traveller Plus cabins will be as found on the current Boeing 787-800 Dreamliner. The World Traveller economy seat will be slightly wider and the First Class seat is expected to be a modified version of BA’s current First Class seat.
Flights will go on sale at ba.com from Thursday 27 August 2015. The route can also be booked as a codeshare with American Airlines.
Based on the performance of other new BA transatlantic routes from London Heathrow in recent years (Las Vegas, San Diego and Austin) we expect it will perform strongly.
BA has also produced a PDF brochure for the new route.
London Heathrow – San Jose, California
Flight BA279 Depart London Heathrow 15:15 – Arrive San Jose 18:05
Flight BA278 Depart San Jose 20:00 – Arrive London Heathrow 14:05
(Timetable is at launch, and may subsequently vary by season.)
Delta at London Heathrow (Image Credit: London Heathrow)
Delta Air Lines continues its steady transatlantic growth at London Heathrow with the launch a new route to Salt Lake City in Utah from Sunday 1 May 2016.
The flight will operate on a summer seasonal basis. This will be the only direct flight from London Heathrow to Utah. Delta will also offer passengers connections to some 50 cities from Salt Lake City.
Flights will be operated with a Boeing 767-300 aircraft, with a two class, business & economy, service. Flights will depart from London Heathrow Terminal 3. It is codeshared with Delta’s transatlantic joint-venture partner, Virgin Atlantic.
Flight DL 51/VS 4019 – Depart London Heathrow 10:10 – Arrive Salt Lake City 13:07
Flight DL 50/VS 4020 – Depart Salt Lake City 16:52 – Arrive London Heathrow 10:00
Update March 2018
This route is scheduled to return on Tuesday 1 May 2018 and will operate until Saturday 27 October 2018. Flights will operate daily for most of the season.
London Gatwick Airfield (Image Credit: London Gatwick Airport)
Hot on the heels of the announcement of a new route from London Gatwick to Costa Rica, BA is to launch another new long haul route from Gatwick to Lima (Jorge Chávez International Airport) in Peru.
The route launches on Wednesday 4 May 2016. Flights will initially operate three times weekly, departing on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
The route will be operated with a three class, Club World business class, World Traveller Plus premium economy, World Traveller economy, Boeing 777-200 aircraft.
This will be the only current direct route between London and Peru. BA’s IAG sibling Iberia also flies to Peru from Madrid and passengers will be able “mix and match” direct and indirect flights operated by both airlines.
London Gatwick Airfield (Image Credit: London Gatwick Airport)
British Airways is to launch a new direct route from London Gatwick to San Jose (airport code SJO), Costa Rica from Wednesday 4 May 2016.
Flights will initially operate twice weekly, increasing to three times a week from the end of October 2016:
Flights will be operated with a three class Boeing 777 aircraft (world Traveller economy, World Traveller Plus premium economy and Club World business class) and are on sale now at ba.com
This will be the only direct service between London and Costa Rica. BA’s IAG sibling Iberia also flies to San Jose daily from Madrid, and bookings can combine flights on the two airlines. For the avoidance of any doubt, BA does not currently fly direct to San Jose, California (airport code SJC).
London Gatwick – San Jose, Costa Rica
Flight BA2137 Depart London Gatwick 11:55 Arrive San Jose 15:45 (Weds)
Flight BA2137 Depart London Gatwick 11:00 Arrive San Jose 14:50 (Sat)
Flight BA2136 Depart San Jose 17:15 Arrive London Gatwick 10:30 (Weds)
Flight BA2136 Depart San Jose 16:20 Arrive London Gatwick 09:35 (Sat)
Iberia is to examine opening new routes (and in some cases re-instating routes) to Tokyo, Doha, Johannesburg, Toronto, Guadalajara (Mexico), Managua (Nicaragua), San Juan de Puerto Rico, Brasilia and Asuncion (Paraguay) the airline announced today, 31 July 2015.
The routes are likely to launch in 2016 and 2017 and are subject to its parent company, International Airlines Group, placing orders for additional aircraft, including five Airbus 330-200 aircraft, with Airbus.
IAG also hopes to order a further eight Airbus A350-900 aircraft as a replacement for Iberia’s existing fleet. An announcement could be made as early as next week.
That said, it has to be said it is somewhat unusual for an airline to announce a possible order for aircraft in advance of it being finalised.
Nor do airlines normally give away much with regard to future route launches, for obvious competitive reasons (though negotiations with airports on landing fees could be a factor).
Of the routes mentioned Doha and Tokyo are noteworthy as these would be the airline’s only routes to the Middle East and Asia and would be the airline’s first step in making Madrid a global (rather than purely west bound) long-haul hub. We assume they would be supported by code shares with fellow Oneworld alliance partners Qatar Airways and Japan Airlines.
It is noteworthy that Hong Kong and Singapore are not listed, particularly Hong Kong as it is the hub of fellow alliance partner Cathay Pacific.
The launch of more routes to Central and South America also cements Iberia’s position in this market. We are surprised not to see more North American destinations, but these are of course well served by British Airways.
Aer Lingus London Heathrow (Image Credit: Heathrow)
Aer Lingus confirmed during the announcement of its half year results yesterday, Wednesday 29 July 2015, that it is to effectively re-introduce business class on selected short-haul routes, in the fourth quarter of this year.
The new “Aer Space” product will offer full ticket flexibility, lounge access, priority boarding and luggage handling and complimentary food & drink (we don’t know if this includes hot food or alcoholic drinks).
The seat itself will be the same as economy but the middle seat will be kept free.
There will also be no cabin divider between economy and “Aer Space” (this is so it doesn’t constitute a separate cabin for Air Passenger Duty purposes).
It is very similar to the “Excellence Fare” offered by Vueling and Germanwing’s “Best Fare”.
The routes on which it will be launched have yet to be announced but we expect that London Heathrow – Dublin will be one of the first.
We assume that passengers connecting to/from business class long-haul flights on Aer Lingus and its future IAG/Oneworld partners will be seated in the “Aer Space” seats.
Update:
This product has not, as of April 2018, not been implemented and seems to have been postponed indefinitely.
