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twitterBritish Airways to start daily service to Las Vegas
Airline will become McCarran’s third nonstop carrier from Europe
AP Photo/Mark Lennihan / File photo
A British Airways jet takes off from Heathrow Airport in London July 16, 2006.
Sunday, May 17, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.
Beyond the Sun
Sun Coverage
UPDATED STORY: Vegas officials courted British Airways for a decade
British Airways, an airline that annually flies 36 million passengers and has flights connecting six continents, will begin daily service between London’s Heathrow International Airport and Las Vegas this fall.
Officials with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, McCarran International Airport and the airline are expected to announce details of the new service on Monday.
British Airways would become the third air carrier to offer nonstop flights between Europe and Las Vegas. Britain’s Virgin Atlantic offers daily round trips between London’s Gatwick International Airport and McCarran and German discount carrier Condor Flugdienst flies twice a week between Frankfurt and Las Vegas.
One other British airline that flew Las Vegas routes, British Midland, discontinued flights from Manchester last month.
Great Britain is the No. 3 provider of foreign tourists to Las Vegas behind Canada and Mexico, according to the LVCVA.
British Airways would be making its first foray into Las Vegas. The airline already has flights to 18 airports in the United States, including Phoenix Sky Harbor International, Denver International, Los Angeles International, San Francisco International and Seattle-Tacoma International in the West.
Most of the airline’s business is international flying with 143 destinations in 69 countries. Owned by private investors, BA has nearly 50,000 employees worldwide, with about 85 percent of them working in Great Britain. The airline’s primary hubs are Heathrow International, 14 miles from central London – the world’s third-busiest airport, but serving the largest number of international travelers – and Gatwick International, the second-busiest of London’s six airports.
BA is a bitter rival of Virgin Atlantic and its flamboyant chief executive, Richard Branson. Virgin has been unable to secure additional take-off and landing slots at busy Heathrow, one of the reasons Virgin has flown to and from Las Vegas from Gatwick. The two companies also have scuffled over a proposed BA alliance with American Airlines and Branson’s relationship with recently formed Virgin America.
Virgin Atlantic carried 287,146 passengers between London and Las Vegas in 2008, a 14 percent decline from the previous year. In that year, passenger traffic was down 7.7 percent at the airport to 44 million.
At Heathrow, British Airways dominates the airport’s new Terminal 5, which opened with great fanfare in March 2008. A technical glitch in the terminal’s baggage handling system led to 300 flight cancellations in the first five days of operation. Since the initial problems were fixed, Terminal 5 is acknowledged as one of the world’s best air passenger facilities.
British Airways’ fleet of 231 aircraft includes a mix of Boeing and Airbus jets. It includes 55 Boeing 747-400s, 40 Boeing 777-200 extended range jets and 21 Boeing 767-300 extended range jets, all with a range capable of making the flight from London to Las Vegas. The airline also has ordered 24 Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” jets and 12 Airbus A380s, the jumbo jet with two decks of passengers.
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BA, Heathrow, Vegas.......How about that
would be good to see direct routes from manchester england
I wonder how many people on those flights will be visa over-stayers for the year. It would be an interesting study to see what sort of numbers turn out.
Why is this news?
Actually, this is very good news, especially when you consider all we have heard for months is that airlines are cutting capacity to McCarran. Not only will this make it easier for British tourists (who are an important part of the Vegas visitor mix) to make the trip, it also opens up access to all of the BA feeder flights that connect to Heathrow. Given how many rooms will hit the market this year, we need a lot more stories just like this one.
Since Virgin saw passengers decline last year, you have to wonder why BA is making this move... It's clearly part of the battle going on between the two airlines. While it might be good in the short term, in the long term, one of them is going to stop their Vegas run and the other will be free to raise fares. So enjoy it while you can!
'Why is this news?' Just a thought but I suppose one of the world's leading international airlines choosing Las Vegas is a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dark and down economy.
Direct service to the world's busiest airport in terms of international passengers will make foreign travel easier for Las Vegans as well.
JPM42...WE have a winner...well said
It's news because it is!
You don't have to be in either the airline or travel business to know this. One of the world's prestigious airlines coming to LAS for the FIRST time is ALWAYS news, especially in a down economy.
Not saying it will be a success but when BMI pulled out recently and with LV hurting for tourists and conventioneers, I would think this snippet would raise a few eyebrows.
As far as decline in VS pax figures, I personally saw NO EVIDENCE of this back in March (not a high season nor holiday month) when my wife and I were unable to get on the LASLGW flight because it was choc-a-block as the British call it and even the following day's flight was only "marginally better". As space-available pax, we ended up going first to SFO then the VS flt to LHR the next day. The return from LGW was also full, so, once again, we had to go LHRSFOLAS on VS.
This can only be good news to both Clark County and the City of LV............
The article mentions next Fall, not this. Does that mean Fall 2009 or 2010? Usually, announcements like this are a few months out, not more than a year. Anyone know for sure?
hi i think youll find thomascook fly direct to L/V from manchester england"I HOPE"
Good news-increased competition never hurts the consumer. How long is it direct to Heathrow?
Vagabond: a travel email I received says the flights will start late Oct. Early tickets prices may be under $500.
Mike: I've flown Virgin from LV to Gatwick, and if I remember correctly, it's about 9.5 hours. Slightly longer than the SanFran-Heathrow route, which I usually fly.
I go to London regularly, so this is great news!
This is wonderful news! After traveling to France on British Airways, I had several points of departure...none of which were my home town of Las Vegas! I left from L.A, CA. Let's see how it is to return home via no stopping-off point. To return home via Gatwick or Heathrow would solve so many needless problems; better yet, if I go directly from Barcelona to Las Vegas.
British Airways' service is wonderful; their staff is attentive and concerned - in short - a breath of fresh air.
The full-bed configuration of business class for trans-atlantic flights is SO well worth the cost that to consider anything else is nonsense; penny-wise and dollar foolish.
In British parlance; spot-on!!!!!!!
vagabond, you're obviously not an American. Next fall means the very next fall, or "this fall/autumn" as you guys say in Europe/Down Under.
Actually, I'm a well-heeled traveler who has lived and worked in a number of different countries over the years and call LV home now!!!
As such, I know how English can sometimes be misinterpreted - especially by foreigners. Heck, there's even fundamental differences btwn the Queen's English and American English! Being a scholar of the language, I also know many of the idiosyncrasies of said tongue. My question posed whether it was this fall or next fall. Since we have not had fall this year (we're barely into summer!), it is conceivable and more accurate grammatically (although I correctly guessed it meant this year),that what occurs in THIS calendar year is referred to as THIS fall/winter/year etc and not as "next". It hasn't happened yet, has it? See the confusion? But I digress............
Cherrio!
CHEERS !! BRAVO ! WELCOME...........
This is good news for Las Vegas! A nonstop flight from London.
Lucky for them. I live in Pittsburgh and must stop in Houston for three hours and change planes to get to Las Vegas. Each leg of my trip takes 312 hours on Continental. I leave Pittsburgh at 5:30pm, and won't get to my room until midnight.
It should read: 3 1/2 hours, not 312 hours. I used the 1/2 symbol and it didn't take.
Vegabond pilot, unless the writer changed it, the article mentions "this fall," not "next fall."
wow, non-stop from england, yet i can't a non-stop from pensacola, florida.
Great news for us in the Uk who live 10 minutes away from Terminal 5..I just heard the news as I was about to book a flight via Gatwick with US AIRWAYS in June to Las Vegas .. Now I can walk to Terminal 5 from my flat and board a plane directly.......
Any Australian music fans over there in Las Vegas especially Cold Chisel, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly
I might add I know the flights start at the end of October..I have changed my holiday to November to save up a bit more dosh (money) to spend over there!!!!
Where do those from the UK like to stay in LAs Vegas? I mean which hotel/casino is their preferred place to stay?