British Airways Creates Transatlantic Shuttle Service

CRAWLEY, England, March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia have announced they will deliver more benefits to customers as schedules are coordinated across the North Atlantic and more destinations are launched in summer 2011.

From March 27, American Airlines and British Airways will effectively create a transatlantic shuttle service between the top US-UK routes by aligning the timing on their schedules.

The biggest change is on the Heathrow - New York route. Previously, five of the 11 daily flights to New York left Heathrow at almost exactly the same time, leaving gaps of up to three hours between services.

Now flights will depart every hour, on the hour between 1pm and 8pm from Heathrow. There will also only be an hour and a half between morning departures at the most.

Chicago flights inbound to London previously had four flights departing the Windy City at similar times around 5pm and 8pm. Now the flights will be evenly spaced, departing at around 5pm, 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. The 9am and 9.45pm slots will remain as they were.

Two of the three flights to Miami from London clashed around 10am, and these have now been split to leave at 10am and 11am. The 1.30pm has moved to 1.35pm.

The joint business will also now give customers the chance to fly direct between New York (JFK) and Budapest starting from April 5, and between Chicago and Helsinki, both seven times a week on American Airlines from May 1.

British Airways will launch daily flights to San Diego from June 1, marking the airline's return to the route after eight years. It offers a great variety of hotels in San Diego suitable for all ranges of budgets and tastes. Customers can save by booking a flight and hotel package for their San Diego holidays at the same time on ba.com plus benefit from a 24 hour in-resort support and expertly chosen hotels which adhere to stringent health and safety criteria.

The British carrier will also increase its services from Gatwick to Cancun from two to three a week from March 27 offering even more choice to customers wishing to take their holidays in Cancun.  

Iberia is starting the only direct flight between Spain and California; flying between Madrid and Los Angeles three times a week from March 28, with an additional flight between July and September. Iberia will also launch new flights between Barcelona and Miami three times a week from March 29.

About British Airways:

British Airways offers a wide range of holiday experiences around the world to complement its flight network – with city breaks, beach holidays, hotels from value two star hotels through to luxury five star resorts, fly-drive holidays with Avis car hire and as well as a wide range of experiences in-resort from city tours through to transfers. Customers can save time and money with ba.com when booking ATOL protected holiday packages utilising flight+hotel or flight+car (ATOL number is 5985). Passengers are offered added peace of mind to their holiday plans and the security of travelling with British Airways. British Airways plc constantly seeks to exceed customers' expectations, both in terms of the value for money and quality of the service provided.

For further British Airways / British Airways Holidays Ltd media information please contact:

Katja Cooper
Astral Towers
Betts Way
London Road
Crawley
RH10 9XA
01293 722513
www.ba.com