ROUTES EUROPE: BA Reveals New Las Vegas Link

British Airways (BA) is to introduce a three times weekly service between London Gatwick and Las Vegas McCarran International Airport from October 29, 2012 complementing its existing daily flights to the popular business and leisure destination from London Heathrow. The new flight will be operated using a Boeing 777-200ER configured in a three-class arrangement with a Club World cabin offering premium passengers seats that convert into fully flat beds.

BA launched flights on the London Heathrow – Las Vegas route in October 2009 having seen its competitors already secure notable traffic flows to the US city from the UK. Virgin Atlantic Airways first introduced flights on London Gatwick – Las Vegas in June 2000, while bmi British Midland International (now part of BA) flew between Manchester and Las Vegas between October 2004 and April 2009. Short-lived US low-cost carrier MaxJet Airways also offered flights between Las Vegas and London Stansted from November 2006 until January 2008, while charter specialists Thomas Cook Airlines and MyTravel Airways have also offered links to Las Vegas.

In 2011, an estimated 597,000 O&D passengers travelled to Las Vegas from the UK and the table below highlights the largest individual markets. Virgin Atlantic currently dominates the traffic between the two markets with an approximate 51.9 per cent market share. BA currently has just a 23.0 per cent share and its new link from London Gatwick, in direct competition with Virgin Atlantic will certainly help it increase its penetration. Despite the lesser demand, BA has a much stronger yield than its rival with average fares on its flights from London Heathrow significantly higher than those of Virgin Atlantic from London Gatwick.