British Airways Plans Daily Boeing 777 To Portland Next Summer

With 27% more seats per flight, it’ll be in time for peak summer.

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n”” data-img-url=”https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/British-Airways-Boeing-777-236(ER)-G-VIIB.jpg” data-modal-container-id=”single-image-modal-container” data-modal-id=”single-image-modal”>

That didn’t take long. Just five months after British Airways’ Portland route belatedly took off, it has been confirmed that next summer will see a 1x daily 777-200ER service, up from 5x weekly by the 787-8. Presumably, it is pleased with forward bookings and performance thus far, with the summer period obviously with the highest demand. It could also be part of its plan to free up equipment to launch its next US route.

BA increases Portland to 1x daily

BA began London Heathrow-Portland on June 3rd this year, replacing Delta, which ran between 2017 and 2019. BA originally announced Portland in December 2019, two months after Delta ceased it. It was to begin on June 1st, 2020, but the pandemic ensured it didn’t.

When BA launched, it had 5x weekly flights by the 787-8, although it is 4x weekly during the winter. It had scheduled 5x weekly next summer, but that has changed. From March 26th, it’ll be 1x daily, although it won’t be entirely by the 777-200ER until May onwards – in time for peak demand.

No first class seats are available to book, so it’ll presumably use 272-seat 777-200ERs. These have 58 more seats than its 787-8s (+27%). There are 13 more Club World seats (+37%), 15 more World Traveller Plus (+60%), and 30 more in World Traveller (+19%).

Click here for Portland-Heathrow flights.

Photo: British Airways.

Stay aware: Sign up for my weekly new routes newsletter.

Portland’s timings

Next summer’s schedule is as follows, with all times local:

• Heathrow to Portland: BA267, 15:15-17:04 (9h 49m block time)
• Portland to Heathrow: BA266, 18:45-12:10+1 (9h 25m)

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

n”” data-img-url=”https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/British-Airways-Boeing-777-236(ER)-G-VIIS.jpg” data-modal-container-id=”single-image-modal-container” data-modal-id=”single-image-modal”>

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

Heathrow to Portland: a summary

Delta launched the route in May 2017 and ended it in September 2019. It was summer-seasonal. It operated 4x weekly for the first two years and rose to 1x daily in summer 2019, with all flights by the 767-300ER. The pandemic (and no doubt also BA announcing it) meant it didn’t return in 2020.

The USA’s Department of Transportation shows that it carried 110,216 roundtrip passengers in total and had an average seat load factor (SLF) of 78.7%. It had SLFs of 89%-91% in July/August 2019, but the shoulder months of May and October were sub-60%. It was, and remains, a heavily summer-seasonal market.

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying.

BA set to launch another US route

BA serves 26 US airports from London. There’s much speculation that it will announce another route soon. There’s no firm indication where it’ll be, and rumors are rife.

The decision will be based on many factors, including the amount of premium demand, London point-to-point demand, how much of the broader Europe demand it can realistically achieve, freight traffic, the city/region’s economic performance, the airport/region’s financial incentives, and more.

It would be especially exciting if it were a US city without London service; it had previously requested slots for Indianapolis, although slots easily hide another route, and there’s speculation that it could be Kansas City, Cincinnati, or St Louis. Each tick multiple boxes.

It is also very possible that it’ll enter a market already served from London just by a different carrier, whether Delta (Detroit, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City) or fellow oneworld member American (Raleigh Durham, Charlotte).

What do you make of it all? Let us know in the comments.

Source: simpleflying.com