Business travellers are an important target market for British Airways’ direct service from London Heathrow to San Diego in California.
The airline will launch the service on June 1, the only direct flight from Europe to San Diego. There is a large concentration of technology and maritime firms based in the area, which is also home to a number of large US naval bases.
Richard Tams, British Airways’ head of UK and Ireland sales, said: “San Diego is an important destination for business travel, and [the new service] comes as a result of the recent joint business agreement with American Airlines and Iberia.”
The San Diego Union-Tribune recently ran an analysis piece about the launch, focussing on the potential benefit for inbound tourism in the San Diego area, which has less of a presence in the UK than other Californian destinations such as San Francisco and Los Angeles
For outbound travel, the website suggested that American Airlines has a large number of frequent flyers based in the area, who can use their points on the BA flight.
The paper also claimed that the San Diego Airport Authority has committed $750,000 in marketing assistance over the next two years and a waiver of landing fees the first year and a 50 percent discount on the fees the second year.
It is thought that the route will generate an additional 40,000 room nights for hoteliers in the area.
BA will use a three-class Boeing 777 offering Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller.