Tag: Cape Town

British Airways Relaunches London Gatwick – Cape Town

British Airways will relaunch winter seasonal flights from London Gatwick to Cape Town from 13 December 2022.

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Cape Town
Cape Town (Image Credit: British Airways)

British Airways has relaunched its winter seasonal route from London Gatwick to Cape Town.

The route returns for the first time since COVID-19 on Tuesday 13 December 2022.

Flights will operate three times weekly until Saturday 25 March 2023.

Flights depart Gatwick on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday, with the return flights from Cape Town the following day.

Extra flights to Cape Town are welcome. Though for Club World passengers you should be guaranteed to have BA’s Club Suite on a flight between Heathrow and Cape Town. Whereas at Gatwick, you are guaranteed to have BA’s old Club World cabin.

According to BA’s latest schedule updates, it will add a second daily flight from Heathrow to Cape Town on 20 November.

Sadly, following the demise of its franchise partner Comair, BA does not offer local flights within South Africa. BA does have an interline agreement with AirLink and South African Airways.

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Virgin Atlantic Returns To Cape Town

Virgin Atlantic is to return to Cape Town after a five year break with a new winter seasonal service from London Heathrow.

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Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 Dreamliner
Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Virgin Atlantic is to return to Cape Town after a break of five years with a new winter seasonal service from London Heathrow.

Flights will operate daily from Sunday 25 October 2020 with a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

Virgin used to fly to Cape Town until April 2015 when the route was suspended as part of a wide-ranging review of the Virgin Atlantic route network.

Cape Town is a hugely popular winter long-haul destination and the arrival of additional capacity will be welcomed.

Following the closure of Thomas Cook, the route has been exclusively operated by British Airways with daily Boeing 747s from London Heathrow and a winter seasonal Boeing 777 service from London Gatwick.  It’s fair to say that the interior condition of Virgin’s 787-9 aircraft is significantly better than some of BA’s soon to be retired 747s that are used on this route.

Flight VS478 will depart London Heathrow at 16:20 arriving at Cape Town at 05:55.

Flight VS479 will depart Cape Town at 08:00 arriving at London Heathrow at 18:00.  

Note the return to London Heathrow is a day flight and some may passengers prefer a night flight. There is of course the option of flying back to Heathrow overnight on Virgin Atlantic’s daily service from Johannesburg.

Flights will go on sale from Tuesday 18 February 2020.

British Airways Launches Seasonal Gatwick – Cape Town

British Airways is operating a winter seasonal route from London Gatwick to Cape Town, to complement existing flights from Heathrow.

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British Airways Boeing 777 at London Gatwick
British Airways Boeing 777 at London Gatwick

British Airways is to launch a winter seasonal service from London Gatwick to Cape Town in South Africa from Thursday 24 November 2016.

Flights will operate three times a week and will complement the airline’s existing twice daily service from London Heathrow. It will also compete directly against Thomas Cook’s new service to Cape Town from London Gatwick which runs from 15 December 2016 to the weekend of Saturday 25/Sunday 26 March 2017.   The seasonal service is currently scheduled to return from mid November 2017 to late March 2018.  However, this may change depending on the commercial performance of the route.

BA flights will be operated using a three class Boeing 777 aircraft which will offer Club World business class, World Traveller Plus premium economy and World Traveller economy.

This new route also adds to a growing portfolio of long-haul routes from London Gatwick which includes Norwegian’s long-haul flights to the USA and Cathay Pacific’s new service to Hong Kong from 2 September 2016.

BA itself is launching flights from London Gatwick to Costa Rica on 27 April 2016 and Peru on 4 May 2016. BA also returns to New York JFK from London Gatwick on 1 May.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

London Gatwick – Cape Town (Winter 2016)

Flight BA2065 Depart London Gatwick 18:00 – Arrive Cape Town 07:50 (Mon, Thurs, Sat)
Flight BA2064 Depart Cape Town 19:10 – Arrive London Gatwick 05:05 (Tue, Fri, Sun)

British Airways to launch seasonal London Gatwick – Cape Town service from Thursday 24 November 2016

British Airways Boeing 777 at London Gatwick
British Airways Boeing 777 at London Gatwick

British Airways is to launch a winter seasonal service from London Gatwick to Cape Town in South Africa from Thursday 24 November 2016.

Flights will operate three times a week and will complement the airline’s existing twice daily service from London Heathrow. It will also compete directly against Thomas Cook’s new service to Cape Town from London Gatwick which runs from 15 December 2016 to the weekend of Saturday 25/Sunday 26 March 2017.   The seasonal service is currently scheduled to return in late November 2017.  However, this may change depending on the commercial performance of the route.

BA flights will be operated using a three class Boeing 777 aircraft which will offer Club World business class, World Traveller Plus premium economy and World Traveller economy.

This new route also adds to a growing portfolio of long-haul routes from London Gatwick which includes Norwegian’s long-haul flights to the USA and Cathay Pacific’s new service to Hong Kong from 2 September 2016.

BA itself is launching flights from London Gatwick to Costa Rica on 27 April 2016 and Peru on 4 May 2016. BA also returns to New York JFK from London Gatwick on 1 May.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

London Gatwick – Cape Town Timetable

Flight BA2065 Depart London Gatwick 18:00 – Arrive Cape Town 07:50 (Mon, Thurs, Sat)
Flight BA2064 Depart Cape Town 19:10 – Arrive London Gatwick 05:05 (Tue, Fri, Sun)

Thomas Cook launches winter seasonal Gatwick – Cape Town

Cape Town in South Africa has long been a very popular destination for Britons seeking winter sun.  

However, direct flight options between London and Cape Town have in the past year become limited to British Airways following the withdrawal of Virgin Atlantic’s seasonal route and the previous suspension by South African Airways.

Thomas Cook has now entered the market with the launch of a three times weekly flight between London Gatwick and Cape Town.

The flight will operate for three months from 15 December 2016 to 20 March 2017. 

Flights will be operated using Airbus A330 aircraft in a two class economy and premium configuration.

The flight times have not yet been published. 

This route adds to a growing portfolio of long-haul leisure routes at London Gatwick with Norwegian’s expanding transatlantic network and WestJet and Air Canada Rouge due to launch flights to Canada from London Gatwick next year.

Thomas Cook to launch a winter seasonal route from London Gatwick to Cape Town in December 2016

Cape Town in South Africa has long been a very popular destination for Britons seeking winter sun.  

However, direct flight options between London and Cape Town have in the past year become limited to British Airways following the withdrawal of Virgin Atlantic’s seasonal route and the previous suspension by South African Airways.

Thomas Cook has now entered the market with the launch of a three times weekly flight between London Gatwick and Cape Town.

The flight will operate for three months from 15 December 2016 to 20 March 2017. 

Flights will be operated using Airbus A330 aircraft in a two class economy and premium configuration.

The flight times have not yet been published. 

This route adds to a growing portfolio of long-haul leisure routes at London Gatwick with Norwegian’s expanding transatlantic network and WestJet and Air Canada Rouge due to launch flights to Canada from London Gatwick next year.

BA to reintroduce First Class to Vancouver, Cape Town, Las Vegas and Phoenix

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British Airways First Class Cabin (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways First Class Cabin (Image Credit: British Airways)

A few months ago it was announced that BA would stop offering first class on flights to Cape Town (selected flights only) and Las Vegas, Phoenix and Vancouver.

The reason for this was that even though the flights continue to operate with a four class Boeing 747 aircraft, these routes would be operated with aircraft that have not been fitted with the latest version of BA’s first class cabin.

Instead, BA would operate the old first class cabin as an extension of Club World business class.

As the airline continues to retire its older Boeing 747 aircraft, it is reintroducing first class on these routes with the assurance that all flights will operate with the latest first class cabin.

First class will return to Vancouver from Sunday 29 March 2015. First class will return to Cape Town, Las Vegas and Phoenix from Sunday 25 October 2015.

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British Airways to reintroduce First Class on flights to Vancouver from Sunday 29 March 2015 and Cape Town, Las Vegas and Phoenix from 25 October 2015

A few months ago it was announced that BA would stop offering first class on flights to Cape Town (selected flights only) and Las Vegas, Phoenix and Vancouver.

The reason for this was that even though the flights continue to operate with a four class Boeing 747 aircraft, these routes would be operated with aircraft that have not been fitted with the latest version of BA’s first class cabin.

Instead, BA would operate the old first class cabin as an extension of Club World business class.

As the airline continues to retire its older Boeing 747 aircraft, it is reintroducing first class on these routes with the assurance that all flights will operate with the latest first class cabin.

First class will return to Vancouver from Sunday 29 March. First class will return to Cape Town, Las Vegas and Phoenix from Sunday 25 October.

Continue reading “British Airways to reintroduce First Class on flights to Vancouver from Sunday 29 March 2015 and Cape Town, Las Vegas and Phoenix from 25 October 2015”

BA to restore long-haul flights at London Heathrow Terminal 3

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British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)
British Airways Logo (Image Credit: British Airways)

As part of a wider set of terminal moves at London Heathrow and the consolidation of BA’s operations into Terminals 3 and 5, a number of long-haul BA flights are to move from Terminal 5 to 3 from Wednesday 14 October 2015.

These flights are Accra, Cape Town, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, Nairobi, Phoenix and Vancouver.

Continue reading “BA to restore long-haul flights at London Heathrow Terminal 3”

British Airways to restore long-haul operations at London Heathrow Terminal 3 as Accra, Cape Town, Denver, Las Vegas, Nairobi, Phoenix and Vancouver flights move from Terminal 5 on Wednesday 14 October 2015

As part of a wider set of terminal moves at London Heathrow and the consolidation of BA’s operations into Terminals 3 and 5, a number of long-haul BA flights are to move from Terminal 5 to 3 from Wednesday 14 October 2015.

These flights are Accra, Cape Town, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, Nairobi, Phoenix and Vancouver.

Continue reading “British Airways to restore long-haul operations at London Heathrow Terminal 3 as Accra, Cape Town, Denver, Las Vegas, Nairobi, Phoenix and Vancouver flights move from Terminal 5 on Wednesday 14 October 2015”