British Airways ramps up US flight schedules

With current demand almost doubling following the UK easing restrictions on inbound travellers from the US and EU, British Airways is adding thousands of extra seats on key routes.

The UK Government announced that quarantine restrictions would be lifted for fully-vaccinated US and EU passengers when travelling to the UK.

Within a couple of hours of the announcement, BA saw bookings from the US surge by 95%.

Flights between New York-JFK and London Heathrow will increase to 21 services per week (up from 17 per week), Los Angeles and Chicago will increase to 10 per week (up from 7 per week), starting from 16 August 2021.

From 23 August 2021, flights between Seattle and London Heathrow will increase to 7 services per week (up from 4 per week), and Los Angeles will further increase to 14 per week.

BA also plans to continue to bolster schedules between the US and UK throughout September.

Customers from the US will be able to take advantage of BA’s collaboration with American Airlines.

The partnership with AA allows for seamless connections across key US hubs with one-stop connections from most US cities into London.

It offers regular direct services to and from 12 airports.

British Airways’ flagship US lounge at JFK’s Terminal 7 has now reopened after a pause of 16 months.

Additional flights will also be added from European cities such as Berlin, Geneva and Hamburg, and the schedules will be continually reviewed to ensure the number of seats available matches customer demand.

The news comes after a successful trial was conducted between British Airways, Heathrow Airport and Virgin Atlantic, which showed that the Government’s amber policy for fully vaccinated travellers could be rapidly expanded for US and EU citizens.

As part of the 10-day trial, fully vaccinated customers on selected flights from Los Angeles, New York, Montego Bay and Athens agreed to share their vaccination status at their departure airport.

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO said: "We are very much looking forward to welcoming new visitors from the US and EU to the UK from next week, many of which will be reuniting with their family members for the first time in many months."

"We hope for crucial travel corridors to be established to allow reciprocal agreements.  This will allow UK nationals to travel as the UK’s Covid cases fall and vaccination rates continue to rise."