British Airways announced the addition of two new international connections to its network in Q4 2024.
Jeddah and Tromsø, in Saudi Arabia and Norway respectively, will be the airline’s new routes, in both cases from/to London Heathrow.
During the GREAT FEATURES Expo in Riyadh, an event to drive business engagement between the UK and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, British confirmed the restart of its operations to Jeddah, which will begin on November 4th after a five-year suspension due to the pandemic.
According to the press release, the company will offer four services per week with Boeing 787 aircraft. These flights will complement the current operations between London and Riyadh, further enhancing connectivity in the UK – Saudi Arabia market.
Speaking to the delegation in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District, Colm Lacy, British Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We have a long history of connecting families, friends and businesses in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with our home in London. There are significant opportunities for businesses in both countries, so we’re pleased we can re-build our connectivity and strengthen links between the two kingdoms”.
In late 2020, British Airways cancelled its flights to Abu Dhabi, Muscat and Jeddah as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the significant reduction in demand. The airline reported that it did not plan to recover its entire network in the Middle East until 2023.
Compared to its network prior to COVID-19, the British company has resumed almost all of its Middle East destinations. Muscat (Oman) remains suspended.
Schedule on the London – Jeddah route, which will be offered year-round.
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday
- BA 133 London LHR 20:10 · 05:30+1 JED Jeddah
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday
- BA 132 Jeddah JED 07:55 · 11:45 LHR London
British routes in the Middle East
Bahrain
- Bahrain (BAH): 7 weekly · Boeing 777-200(ER)
Israel
Jordan
- Amman (AMM): 4 weekly · Airbus A320neo
Kuwait
- Kuwait City (KWI): 7 weekly · 789/78X
Qatar
- Doha (DOH): 14 weekly · 772/77W
Saudi Arabia
- Riyadh (RUH): 7 weekly · Boeing 777-200(ER)
United Arab Emirates
Last April 20th, following a four-year hiatus, it restarted services between London Heathrow and Abu Dhabi.
Tromsø, British Airways’ new European connection in winter 2024/25.
The airline will make its first ever flight between London Heathrow and the Norwegian city on December 1st. At the time of publication, British will operate two services a week on this route with 180-seat Airbus A320neo jets until March 27th, 2025.
Tromsø will become the company’s second connection in Norway after Oslo, which has 17 weekly flights from London on Airbus A319-100s and Airbus A320-200s.
“Those who missed the northern lights in the UK need not worry! We are excited to welcome Tromsø to our route network – it is a growing winter leisure market thanks to its abundance of cold-weather activities and we’ll be the only premium carrier operating there from the UK. We’ve optimised the schedule for three- and four-night trips, which we know are perfect for a destination like this”, said Neil Chernoff, British Airways’ Chief Planning and Strategy Officer.
British schedule between London and Tromsø
Thursday
- BA 612 London LHR 08:25 · 13:00 TOS Tromsø
- BA 613 Tromsø TOS 14:00 · 16:45 LHR London
Sunday
- BA 612 London LHR 08:15 · 12:50 TOS Tromsø
- BA 613 Tromsø TOS 13:40 · 16:25 LHR London
Routes in Scandinavia – British Airways
Billund (BLL)
- Gothenburg (GOT): 2 weekly · Dornier 328-310 Jet
- London City (LCY): 4 weekly · Dornier 328-310 Jet
- London (LHR): 7 weekly · A319/A320
Copenhagen (CPH)
- London (LHR): 36 weekly · A319/A320/A20N
Gothenburg (GOT)
- Billund (BLL): 2 weekly · Dornier 328-310 Jet
- Cambridge (CBG): 2 weekly · Dornier 328-310 Jet
- London (LHR): 18 weekly · A319/A320
Oslo (OSL)
- London (LHR): 17 weekly · A319/A320/A20N
Stockholm (ARN)
- London (LHR): 20 weekly · A319/A320/A20N/A21N
Tromsø will become the airline’s most northerly destination globally.
In the Saudi Arabia – UK market, Saudia offers 20 weekly services between Jeddah and London LHR. Additionally, the company operates 1 and 20 flights per week to Heathrow from Neom Bay and Riyadh, respectively (and 4 on the JED-LGW route).
Birmingham and Newcastle are other Saudia destinations in the United Kingdom.
On the UK – Norway side, Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) operates to London Heathrow airport from Oslo and Stavanger with Airbus A320neo aircraft. Ryanair has flights to Oslo (OSL and TRF) from London Stansted, and Norwegian to London Gatwick from Bergen, Oslo, Stavanger and Trondheim.
British Airways’ current network covers more than 190 destinations across 70 countries, in addition to routes in codeshare with other airlines.
As for international operations, the company has flights to Albania, Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, France, Grenada, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Guyana, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates and the United States.
BA has almost 300 jets in its fleet, including Airbus A319, Airbus A320, Airbus A321, Airbus A350, Airbus A380, Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Dornier Do-328 and Embraer 190.
Cover photo: Daniel Nicholson – JetPhotos (London Heathrow).
