British Airways Switches Flight To Heathrow

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and British Airways announced Wednesday British Airways will move its daily DFW–London Gatwick flight to London’s Heathrow Airport starting March 30, 2008. The announcement, made in London by British Airways CEO Willie Walsh and DFW CEO Jeff Fegan, marks the first major international flight change since the new 'Open Skies' agreement between the European Union and the United States took effect April 30.

The new flight will also connect millions of international travelers at DFW to Heathrow's top global destinations. Fegan sealed the deal with British Airways and Walsh by presenting him a Texas-made cowboy hat and black cowboy boots at the airline’s London headquarters.

"We will be delighted to welcome DFW travelers to London Heathrow," said Walsh, "Next year already promises to be a significant year for British Airways as we move into our new home, Terminal 5. The state-of-the-art terminal, one of Europe's largest current construction projects, will be capable of handling 30 million customers a year."

"We applaud British Airways for taking this initiative and making DFW the first US airport to receive news of this new non-stop international service," said Fegan. "Our passengers will now have great service to both Gatwick and Heathrow and the opportunities to easily travel from DFW to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India are greatly enhanced. We also believe this will generate even more DFW - London service in the future." The Airport estimates that one additional flight to London would generate as much as $170 million for the North Texas economy each year.

The new service is also expected to boost European travel by passengers from Dallas, Fort Worth and surrounding communities as well as DFW's 35 million connecting passengers. London Heathrow had been the largest European airport not served through DFW for many years.

"We have wanted a flight to Heathrow for many years to link our two great airports and with the opening of Heathrow’s new Terminal 5, this new flight will be the premier US to EU experience," said Joe Lopano, DFW's executive vice president of marketing and terminal management.

According to statistics released by DFW, 185,000 passengers travel annually between London and DFW, the largest locally-based international travel market. However, 15 percent of DFW's London bound passengers currently use another airport to fly to London Heathrow.

London is currently served by 3 nonstop daily flights from DFW. British Airways offers one daily nonstop to London Gatwick, while American Airlines offers two.

FMI: www.britishairways.com, www.dfwairport.com