British Airways (BA) is to move its daily Gatwick ” Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) service to Heathrow on 30 March 2008, following the new bilateral agreement between the EU and US and co-inciding with Terminal 5”s opening.
The announcement, made in London by BA CEO, Willie Walsh and Dallas Fort Worth CEO Jeff Fegan, marks the first major international flight change since the Open Skies deal between the EU and the US took effect on 30 April this year.
Fegan sealed the deal with BA and Walsh by presenting him with a Texas-made cowboy hat and black cowboy boots at the airline”s London headquarters. ”We will be delighted to welcome DFW travellers to London Heathrow,” said Walsh.
”Next year already promises to be a significant for BA as we move into our new home, Terminal 5. The state-of-the-art terminal, one of Europe's largest current construction projects, will be capable of handling 30m customers a year.”
”We applaud British Airways for taking this initiative and making DFW the first US airport to receive news of this new non-stop international service," said Fegan. "Our passengers will now have great service to both Gatwick and Heathrow and the opportunities to easily travel from DFW to Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India are greatly enhanced. We also believe this will generate even more DFW ” London service in the future.”
The new arrangement leaves BA oneworld partner American Airlines, as the only carrier serving Dallas Fort Worth from Gatwick. However, a large question mark remains regarding BA”s own commitment to the south London airport as far as the United States is concerned. With the previous withdrawal of the New York operation only Atlanta, Orlando and Tampa have non stop flights from Gatwick, which are mainly leisure routes.