Portland, Oregon, has become the newest addition to the
British Airways route map, providing the city with its only direct route to the
United Kingdom. It’s been a long time coming, and Portland has faced many
challenges as a result of the pandemic. Hopefully, it is returning to normalcy,
as it has always been one of my favorite US cities.
The new route to Portland will run five days a week, on
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. The Boeing 787-8
Dreamliner will fly the Portland route. If you want to use your Avios, there
should be plenty of availability starting in December.
British Airways’ Director of Networks and Alliances, Neil
Chernoff said: “This summer British Airways will be flying from 26 US cities to
London and we’re very excited to be adding Portland to our list of
transatlantic destinations. Not only are we the only airline to offer direct
flights from Portland to London, but this new route also opens a wide variety
of connections for our customers.
Through Alaska Airlines, our oneworld partner, British
Airways will offer codeshare connections to several destinations operated by
Alaska Airlines from Portland.”
British Airways also reintroduces a direct flight from
Pittsburgh to London. It is still the only airline that provides a direct
flight from Philadelphia to London. The airline will resume a year-round four-per-week
service – Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. This will be a B787-8 as well.
To support the return of business travel, the airline will
launch a new daytime flight from Newark Liberty International Airport to London
Heathrow on June 6 – its third daily flight from Newark to London.
Personally, I prefer daytime flights because you rarely get
much sleep on overnight flights because the total flying time is frequently
between 5-6 hours. Although it requires an early start, it significantly
reduces jet lag as you return to the UK in the evening and hopefully get a good
night’s sleep.
The daytime flight will depart from Newark at 7.55 a.m.,
making it a convenient option for those who want to spend an extra night in the
New York area or arrive just in time for an evening in London.
On 13th June, daily direct flights from San Jose,
California, to London will resume, as will the return of A380 aircraft to more
North American airports. Earlier this week, Chicago and Vancouver became the
latest cities to welcome the Airbus 380. Meanwhile, on 1st July, Dallas-Fort
Worth International Airport will welcome the A380 for the first time. The
aircraft, which is British Airways’ and the airline industry’s largest, has 469
seats and offers a choice of First, Club World, World Traveller Plus, and World
Traveller cabins.