British Airways Makes Long-Haul Route Changes

British Airways has made major long-haul route changes for the winter 2019/2020 season, according to RoutesOnline. The changes affect both aircraft type and frequency on important long-haul routes for the airline. The first changes go into effect from October 27 and is scheduled to run through the winter season. The adjustments to the route network will see variations in frequency as well as variations in capacity across the long-haul network.

Beginning on the October 27 through January 31, 5 of the 7 weekly flights between Heathrow and Atlanta will be swapped from the Boeing 787-9 to the Boeing 777-200ER. Also starting the same day, the daily flight between Heathrow and Bangalore will be operated by the Boeing 787-9 till the end of the year, when it will be operated by the Airbus A350-1000.

The Boeing 747 will be replacing aircraft on daily service between Heathrow and Miami and Heathrow and Los Angeles. This change will make the Miami route all-Boeing 747s on the thrice daily service.

Other notable changes to the United States network include the increase in service between Heathrow and Philadelphia from 10 weekly to 12 weekly. Heathrow to Nashville will increase from 4 weekly to 5 weekly, as of October 29. In addition, the flight between Heathrow and Phoenix will be operated with a Boeing 787-9, instead of the Boeing 747.

One daily flight between Heathrow and Washington Dulles, BA216 and BA217, will be upgraded to the Airbus A380 from the Boeing 747.

In the Middle East, British Airways will be resuming service to Damman after 17 years. The flight will be operated once daily as a tag on from the current Bahrain service. The two of the three daily flights to Dubai will be operated by the Airbus A350-1000 by the end of March, with the third operated by the Boeing 747-400. And finally, the route between Heathrow and Tel Aviv will be operated by the Airbus A350 from the beginning of December.

On the carrier’s Asian routes, flights to Osaka will be reduced from four weekly to three weekly. Flights to Mumbai will increase from the current 14 weekly to 17 weekly between December 26 and February 6 and increase to 21 weekly between March 1 and March 28. Shanghai will see a reduction from 10 weekly flights to seven weekly flights.

A daily flight to Delhi will get an increase in capacity during a select period with the switch from the Boeing 787-9 to the four-class Boeing 777-200ER.

Overall the adjustments to British Airways’ long-haul network for the upcoming winter season shows an increase in frequency and capacity for some of the airline’s strongest markets. The airline is targeting traffic to India during the holiday season as well as strengthening its U.S. network.

The adjustments also show the initial routes for the carrier’s soon-to-be-delivered Airbus A350-1000 to the route network and in particular the introduction to competitive markets such as Dubai.

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Daniel Morley

Daniel has always had aviation in his life; from moving to the United States when he was two, to family vacations across the U.S., and back to his native England. He currently resides in South Florida and attends Nova Southeastern University, studying Human Factors in Aviation. Daniel has his Commercial Certificate for both land and sea, and hopes to one day join the major airlines.

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