British Airways announces Houston – Heathrow service 
June 27, 2007

Today, British Airways announced that on March 30, 2008 they will fly nonstop from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) to London’s Heathrow Airport. British Airways’ current two daily nonstop flights to London Gatwick Airport will be changed to serve Heathrow instead. The new nonstop routing is a long sought after goal of the Houston Airport System’s.

“All of us at the Houston Airport System are very pleased to learn about British Airways’ new nonstop London Heathrow service,’ said Rick Vacar, director of aviation. “Heathrow is Europe’s largest gateway and offers a number of advantages for Houston’s travelers.”

“As a result of the new open skies agreement that was signed between the United States and the European Union, people traveling from Houston to London will have more access,” said John Lampl, spokesperson for British Airways. “In many instances, people would have to travel by bus from Gatwick to Heathrow, now people connecting from Houston to London will be able to transfer at Heathrow in a much more seamless way and will be able to make quicker connections, to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, India or anywhere else they are going in the British Airways network.”

“We assume there will be a lot of interest in this new service,” adds Lampl “If the demand exceeds the capacity, the natural progression would be to replace the 777 aircraft with 747s and then maybe an additional flight.”

Currently British Airways also flies a Detroit-routed one-stop daily flight to Heathrow.    

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The Houston Airport System served 51 million passengers in 2006. It is the 4th-largest multi-airport system in the U.S. and the 6th-largest in the world. Bush Intercontinental is the nation’s 9th-busiest airport. According to J.D. Powers & Associates, William P. Hobby Airport is first in customer satisfaction among smaller airports in the United States. HAS annually contributes over $24 billion in positive economic impact to the Greater Houston region. For more information watch Houston Airports Today every Saturday at 9:00 am on KTBU Channel 55 or visit www.fly2houston.com.