British Airways Suspends Gatwick – Fort Lauderdale

British Airways has suspended its route from London Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale from Saturday 7 September 2019.

London Air Travel » Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale Beach (Image Credit: London Air Travel)
Fort Lauderdale Beach (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

British Airways is to suspend its route from London Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale.

The last flights between Gatwick and Fort Lauderdale are scheduled to operate on Saturday 7 September 2019.

The route currently operates three times weekly. It launched in 2017 and, like BA’s now suspended route to Oakland, followed the launch of this route by Norwegian at Gatwick.

Norwegian has in the past month switched its Gatwick – Fort Lauderdale route to Miami International. This means London will have no direct link to Fort Lauderdale. This is a shame as Fort Lauderdale is a worthwhile destination in its own right and an alternative to what is a very unpredictable arrivals experience at Miami International.

Passengers whose flights have been cancelled are entitled to a full refund. Alternatively, passengers can be re-accommodated on American Airlines and BA services from Heathrow to Miami International. However, any additional costs such as ground transportation will be at your own expense.

American and BA will operate five joint daily flights between Heathrow and Miami from Sunday 27 October 2019.

Affected passengers should check the status of their booking at ba.com and contact either BA or their travel agent.

Update: BA has published guidance which adds that affected passengers can also choose to fly from Gatwick to Orlando or Tampa in Florida. Again, any consequential costs will be at passengers’ expense.

Norwegian launches Gatwick – Miami & San Francisco

Norwegian is to switch its routes from Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale and Oakland to Miami and San Francisco from Sunday 31 March 2019.

London Air Travel » Fort Lauderdale

Miami Design District
Miami Design District (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

Norwegian continues to reshape its network at London Gatwick.

After suspending Singapore and launching Rio de Janeiro, it will switch its existing routes to Fort Lauderdale and Oakland to Miami and San Francisco International respectively.

The changes will take effect from Sunday 31 March 2019. Norwegian will fly to Miami daily and to San Francisco five times weekly.

Norwegian cites passenger demand and increased cargo capabilities for the decision. This is similar to low cost short-haul airlines who first started flying to secondary airports in Europe and then moved to primary airports as they reached maturity. Norwegian will continue to serve a number of cities in mainland Europe from Fort Lauderdale and Oakland.

This will leave Oakland with no direct service to London after BA suspended the route this year.

BA did also launch Fort Lauderdale after Norwegian. Its CEO Alex Cruz did say that serving Fort Lauderdale from Gatwick and Miami from Heathrow works well for passengers wanting a choice of Florida airports, so it looks like this will continue.

Flights are on sale now at Norwegian.

British Airways Launches London Gatwick – Fort Lauderdale

London Air Travel » Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale Beach (Image Credit: London Air Travel)
Fort Lauderdale Beach (Image Credit: London Air Travel)

British Airways is to launch a new route from London Gatwick to Fort Lauderdale (Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport) from 6 July 2017.

This is the second new transatlantic route announcement in as many weeks after BA announced a new route from London Heathrow to New Orleans last week.

It is also BA’s fourth destination in Florida after Miami, Orlando and Tampa.

Flights will operate three times weekly (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) with additional flight on Sunday in the peak summer season (16 July – 3 September 2017).

Flights will be operated using a three class Boeing 777-200 aircraft with Club World business class, World Traveller Plus premium economy, and World Traveller economy.

BA is not for the first airline to fly to Fort Lauderdale from Gatwick as Norwegian have been flying the route for some time. Indeed, this is the second time BA has launched a new route to head-to-head with Norwegian at Gatwick, after reinstating flights from Gatwick to New York JFK.

This route will popular with tourists to South Florida and those taking cruises from the area.

It is also a potentially better gateway than Miami airport and should promise a smoother experience in US Customs & Immigration. 

That said, BA’s Airbus A380 operated flights from London Heathrow to Miami will offer the option of First Class, newer World Traveller Plus and World Traveller seating, a more advanced in flight entertainment system and a more pleasant cabin environment. It will of course be possible to “mix and match” flights between different airports. Flights will also be codeshared with Aer Lingus, American Airlines, Finnair and Iberia.

Flights are on sale now at ba.com

Here are links to the press releases from BA and Broward County Aviation Department.

London Gatwick – Fort Lauderdale

Flight BA2169 Depart London Gatwick 09:25 – Arrive Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport 13:45 (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 16 July – 3 September 2017)

Flight BA2168 Depart Fort Lauderdale 17:00 – Arrive London Gatwick 06:30 (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 16 July – 3 September 2017)