British Airways increases Heathrow-New York JFK flights amid shift away from Gatwick

The shift also allows British Airways to expand other long-haul routes from Gatwick. A spokesperson told The Standard, "We know that most of our customers prefer to fly from Heathrow when travelling to New York, which is where all nine of our daily JFK flights will depart from in Summer 2026. Freeing up this aircraft at Gatwick means we can increase our capacity to popular leisure destinations, so we’ve added extra flights to Bangkok and Jamaica."

According to Cirium data, British Airways has previously flown nine daily frequencies between these airports only twice since 2000—in the summers of 2014 and 2015. However, while flight numbers match those years, overall seating capacity will be lower by as much as 18% because BA now uses Boeing 777-200LRs and Boeing 777-300ERs instead of larger Boeing 747-400s once common on the route.

British Airways remains the leading carrier between London and New York by both seat count and number of departures. Virgin Atlantic holds second place for seat capacity on this corridor, followed by American Airlines and United Airlines.

Next year, seven airlines are projected to offer services between London-area airports (including both Heathrow and Gatwick) and New York-area airports (JFK and Newark). Newark Liberty International Airport continues to see service from both British Airways and United Airlines out of Heathrow. At Gatwick, Norse Atlantic UK provides year-round service while Delta offers seasonal summer flights.

The transatlantic route remains a key market for both business travel demand as well as tourism between the cities.

London Heathrow continues as a primary hub for international travel for both British Airways and several other major carriers serving New York.