British Airways to Launch Nonstop Service Between New Orleans and London
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Beginning March 27, 2017, British Airways will launch new 4x weekly service between New Orleans (MSY) and London (LHR). This will be the only nonstop flight connecting The Big Easy with Europe — something the city hasn't had since 1982.
Here's the schedule, which will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays:
- BA0224 — New Orleans (MSY) 9:20pm Departure ⇒ London (LHR) 12:00pm (+1) Arrival
- BA 0225 — London (LHR) 3:40pm Departure ⇒ New Orleans (MSY) 7:40pm Arrival
The 10-hour and about 4,629-mile journey will be operated by one of BA's 787-8 Dreamliners. The aircraft has three cabins: World Traveller (154 seats), World Traveller Plus (25 seats) and Club World (35 seats).
As of this writing, the flights are currently bookable on BA's website. You can fly on the inaugural from MSY to LHR from $952 round-trip in economy. Or, you can book a one-way ticket on the inaugural for $477.
There seems to be pretty good award availability on this route — in both economy and business. A one-way trip in business class will cost you 62,500 Avios + $442, while a one-way ticket in economy will cost you 16,250 Avios + $287. There's also availability with round-trip awards — a round-trip in business will cost 137,500 Avios + $1,140, and an economy ticket will cost you 41,250 Avios + $732. As you can see, and as is standard with BA award tickets, there are some pretty substantial surcharges.
Ultimately, this is an interesting addition to BA's route network, making it the only nonstop option between New Orleans and London — and on a larger scale, all of Europe. Keep in mind that you can transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Avios at a 1:1 ratio, so award tickets on this route could be much more attainable after earning a 100,000-point sign-up bonus from the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
H/T: nola.com