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British Airways sees record passenger numbers on US routes

British Airways sees record passenger numbers on US routes
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British Airways | Official Website

British Airways is the leading foreign long-haul airline serving the United States. According to data from the US Department of Transportation, in the 12 months leading up to February 2025, British Airways carried 7.7 million passengers across the Atlantic. This positions them as a major player in transatlantic travel, trailing only behind Delta, United, and American Airlines.

The airline's recent network adjustments included adding Cincinnati to its roster in 2023 while ceasing operations to San Jose. Flights to Dallas/Fort Worth are currently on hold but are expected to resume this winter.

During this period, traffic increased by 4%, reaching a record high for British Airways. The seat load factor rose to an unprecedented 86.1%, despite capacity growing by just 1%. This likely led to higher fares and yields, although these may decrease over the summer due to weakened demand and excess capacity.

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British Airways operates out of London Heathrow and London Gatwick airports, with Heathrow accounting for approximately seven million passengers. Despite minimal growth attributed partly to slot limitations at Heathrow, British Airways benefits from these constraints as they help maintain higher yields while limiting competition.

In terms of popular routes, British Airways leads on all five top US routes: Heathrow-New York JFK, Heathrow-Los Angeles, Heathrow-Boston, Heathrow-San Francisco, and Heathrow-Miami. Notably, the route between Heathrow and New York JFK saw 1.2 million passengers with a market share of 37.5%.

Cincinnati joined British Airways' network two years ago in June 2023 after being disconnected from London since Delta Air Lines ceased operations there in 2009. British Airways introduced a five-times-weekly service using Boeing 787-8 aircraft. In the year leading up to February 2025, it carried 82,000 passengers on this route with an occupancy rate of 82.4%.

Organizations Included in this History
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