British Airways to Have Record Number of US-bound Flights Next Summer

British Airways, the largest European airline for US flights, is set to break its own record for the number of daily nonstop departures to the US next summer. The oneworld member plans to operate an average of 50 daily nonstop flights from London Heathrow and London Gatwick, marking the first time it has reached this milestone.

Increasing Heathrow Departures and Decreasing Gatwick Departures

According to schedules provided by BA to Cirium Diio, the carrier’s US departures have steadily increased each July since 2004. In July 2026, there will be 50 daily takeoffs, a 6% increase from July 2025. However, the growth is not as simple as it seems. BA’s Heathrow departures will see a 9% increase while those from Gatwick will decrease by 31%. This is due to the carrier ending its flights to New York JFK and Las Vegas from Gatwick and subsequently increasing its service from Heathrow to these destinations. As a result, Heathrow will have 47 of BA’s 50 daily takeoffs.

Record Level of Flights, but Not Seats

While the number of flights will be at a record high, the number of seats available for sale will not increase accordingly. This is due to BA’s use of lower-capacity twinjets, including more flights using the retrofitted 204-seat Boeing 787-8s. This offsets the retirement of 747-400s and the decreased use of the 332/336-seat 777-200ERs at Gatwick. BA plans to have an average of 272 seats per flight in July 2026, a decrease of 10 compared to July 2025 and the lowest since 2014.

BA’s Planned Heathrow-US Network in July 2026

While schedules are subject to change, BA has currently scheduled 24 routes for July 2026, an increase from 23 in July 2025 as Dallas/Fort Worth returns to its map. However, unlike in July 2025, no Boeing 787-9s are currently scheduled, although this may change. BA’s Heathrow to JFK route will see an increase to nine daily flights, while Miami will increase to two daily and Las Vegas will have a 10-weekly operation. Other changes include San Diego increasing to two daily flights, Austin increasing to daily, and the addition of a daily flight to Dallas/Fort Worth.

Gatwick’s Reduced US Network

As BA will no longer operate flights to JFK or Las Vegas from Gatwick, the airport will only have two US routes: two daily flights to Orlando and one to Tampa. This is the smallest US network for BA at Gatwick since 2013, with only five routes operating before the pandemic in 2019.