Starting in March 2014, British Airlines will be the first airline to offer a direct flight between Austin, Texas and London. British Airways will operate a Boeing 787 aircraft five days a week, increasing to daily flights later in the year.
You can start booking your flight today actually! The 9 hour flight from Austin to London starts March 3, 2014 at 7:00pm and arrives in London at 10:00am. The 10.5 hour flight from London to Austin also starts on March 3, 2014 and departs at 12:35pm arriving in Austin at 5:00pm. The unfortunate thing is that since this is operated by British Airways the taxes/fees added on when you try to redeem American Airline miles is pretty hefty. Depending on the price of the ticket it typically doesn’t pay to redeem miles for economy class.
This is the official news release from BA:
NEW YORK, September 3, 2013 – British Airways today announced that it will launch a new service between Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and London Heathrow beginning early March 2014. This will be the first regular transatlantic flight for the city of Austin.
British Airways will operate a Boeing 787 aircraft five days a week, increasing to daily flights later in the year. Seats and vacation packages are available for purchase at ba.com beginning today.
The new service will have three cabins, Club World (business), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and World Traveller (economy). The cabins feature stylish new interiors with state-of-the-art entertainment systems. British Airways provides meals, snacks and beverages, including full service bar for free. Customers can also benefit from a generous baggage allowance.
“We are very excited to be bringing British Airways to Austin. This new route presents an important opportunity for business growth across the Atlantic, particularly in the thriving technology sector,” said Sean Doyle, EVP Americas, British Airways.
We know that London is among the top destinations for international travel from Austin and equally, Austin is home to some of the most important global cultural events. We are looking forward to providing a convenient and high quality service to new and existing customers.”
“As the Mayor of Austin and a former pilot, I could not be more excited about this announcement by British Airways, one of the world’s foremost carriers,” said Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell. “Connecting two of the world’s great cities, London and Austin, through this first time, non-stop service between ABIA and Heathrow Airport is sure to take our city to a new level for both business and vacation travelers.”
This marks British Airways’ third destination in Texas, with the airline also serving Houston and Dallas Fort Worth. Business and leisure travelers will fly into the modern Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport with fast connections to the city or easy transfer to onward destinations in Europe, Asia and Africa.
This is a great option for those in the Texas area as getting to London with a layover can be quite a long flight! However, I am seeing the non-stop roundtrip flight currently pricing out at over $1,600 in March, while one with a layover is about half the price.
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As an Austinite it’s definitely nice to have this service, but the fare difference is such that connecting through Dallas into a widebody just makes sense. I suspect this will be more about destination traffic into Austin than anything originating here.
“Direct”? Where does this flight stop between Austin and London? Or do you mean “nonstop”? The two terms mean different things in aviation terminology…
Texas lawmakers must be traveling a lot these days. Oh well I love Austin.
This will be great for Austin.