British Airways has finally revealed their new destination to the US that has been rumoured for a while. Today British have confirmed the new route is to Cincinnati, Ohio. Flights start on 5 June 2023.
It will be the only direct flight to Cincinnati from the UK and BA’s 27th US destination. It would be nice to see some other areas of focus in the world now from BA as it feels very US-centric now.
I’m guessing it’s not going to be of huge interest to most leisure travellers but don’t forget that it’s always worth looking at alternate airports that you could connect through in the US if you can’t get your first choice on Avios. For example, Nashville is a 4-hour drive away from Cincinnati or a short flight and it is well positioned for getting to Charleston and Florida as well. If you are a bourbon fan it’s also handy for Kentucky and the bourbon trail.
The new service will run six days a week (no flight on Saturdays) The Ba121 flight departs at 16.05 from Heathrow to arrive in Cincinnati at 19.45 and Ba120 leaves for the return trip to Heathrow at 21.30 to arrive back at 10.15 the next day.
This is obviously aimed at business travellers as Cincinnati is the headquarters of the huge multi-national company Procter & Gamble which make everything from washing power to beauty products. There are also several Fortune 500 finance companies based there.
However, has some attractions worth seeing and is on the Ohio River. The Over-the-Rhine district is known for its 19th-century architecture, including Findlay Market, which has specialises in food and craft stalls. The Cincinnati Museum Center encompasses history, science and children’s museums in the art deco Union Terminal. There is also a zoo, botanical garden and the Cincinnati Art Museum.
The flights will be on a B787-8 which does not have the Club Suites, and there is no firm schedule for them to be refitted as they are doing the B777s first. There will also not be a first class cabin as they are not fitted on this aircraft type for BA.
What do you think of the route announcement? Let us know in the comments below.
10 comments
I still prefer that they restart Calgary.
That was a good route for leisure travellers. I’m trying to remember how long ago they last flew it.
We were due to fly to Calgary in Feb 2019 booked using Amex 2-4-1 voucher and had a flight change in June 2018 re-routing to Vancouver.
Received excellent customer service from BA and they booked us onto an Air Canada flight from Vancouver-Calgary-Vancouver.
I do agree it would be good if BA reinstated the Calgary route – even if the Vancouver flight went via Calgary.
Interesting, more so the comment that BA has rostered a 787-8 no Club Suite!
You also Mention that BA is focusing on upgrading their 777 fleet to Club Suite, is there any recent evidence of this?
Recently on no fewer than three routes that I have deliberately booked a Club Suite it has been changed to Old Club!
For instance a350 rostered on ORD (Chicago) changed to old 777 tin and the a380 back on the route with old Club.
Be interested to know if BA have slowed down their upgrade or stalled due to ramped uptake and aircraft being utilised?
They were due to have fitted all the B777s by the end of this year. There is no way this will happen as there are too many aircraft left to do so they have definitely slowed down the installation. Around Half the entire long haul fleet have Club Suites currently. Unfortunately they do keep swapping aircraft. I got a swap to old Club next month so I used Avios to upgrade as I really dislike the old seats.
Is BA becoming a transatlantic only airline? Sad – but I guess that’s the reality. Qatar and others do such a good job in Asia – but it’s shame to lose the non-stop journeys.
Love this new route as we have friends in Cincy (wife’s an ex P&G employee), after the demise of the old Delta direct flights we’ve been driving down from Chicago. Visiting will be so much easier now.
Although I would love to see BA launch some new longhaul routes to some non-US destinations, as a business I can understand why they stick to their largest market.
Firstly, many secondary US airports without a direct service to europe will offer very lucrative subsidies for airlines to fly there – whether in terms of direct financial compensation of the waiver of airport fees etc.
Secondly, the competition across the atlantic is very different to flying east to asia say. To Asia, BA are competing with the likes of Emirates and Qatar on the indirect side (who fly longhaul from more UK airports than BA) and with the flag carriers of asian nations. These flag carriers tend to have incredible loyalty from their home populations. If you look at the proportion of passengers on BA flights to HND/ICN/SIN that are Japanese, Korean or Singaporean generally they represent a fraction of the customer base for BA.
Thirdly, anywhere BA launches to in the US seems to be a success and often exceeds expectations in terms of loads. Austin launched with a 787 and a three times weekly service. It quickly grew to a daily 747 at one point. Nashville and New Orleans have been hugely successful. Of course much of this leads to….
Finally, the joint service agreement with AA which allows BA to tap into one of the best known brands in the US.
I DO think BA could make money on new routes to Asia. But I guess from a bean counters perspective it would be a case of ‘Yes, we could turn a profit on LHR to Seoul. But we could make MORE on LHR to Cincinatti’.
iers of asian nations. These flag carriers tend to have incredible loyalty from their home populations. If you look at the proportion of passengers on BA flights to HND/ICN/SIN that are Japanese, Korean or Singaporean generally they represenAlthough I would love to see BA launch some new longhaul routes to some non-US destinations, as a business I can understand why they stick to their largest market.
Firstly, many secondary US airports without a direct service to europe will offer very lucrative subsidies for airlines to fly there – whether in terms of direct financial compensation of the waiver of airport fees etc.
Secondly, the competition across the atlantic is very different to flying east to asia say. To Asia, BA are competing with the likes of Emirates and Qatar on the indirect side (who fly longhaul from more UK airports than BA) and with the flag carrt a fraction of the customer base for BA.
Thirdly, anywhere BA launches to in the US seems to be a success and often exceeds expectations in terms of loads. Austin launched with a 787 and a three times weekly service. It quickly grew to a daily 747 at one point. Nashville and New Orleans have been hugely successful. Of course much of this leads to….
Finally, the joint service agreement with AA which allows BA to tap into one of the best known brands in the US.
I DO think BA could make money on new routes to Asia. But I guess from a bean counters perspective it would be a case of ‘Yes, we could turn a profit on LHR to Seoul. But we could make MORE on LHR to Cincinatti’.
Staggering lack of choice on BA now for anyone trying to use 241’s. India is now impossible for Jan/Feb- it’s normally fine for J. SE Asia we all know about and SIN used to be fine. Caribbean always impossible. Indian Ocean is the same as is SA. When I check a CV Plus, there is good availability but not on the standard vouchers and with expiry dates I need to get them used. So the 241’s are indeed becoming poor value and less attractive. Good luck to BA on the US for business travellers because leisure pax are not booking the US; I had dinner with some airline and tour ops friends at WTM last week and leisure bookings to the US have COLLAPSED due to the strength of the US Dollar…Leisure travellers are always influenced by the exchange rate because the US is no longer good value – hasn’t been for years- especially when one factors in “Resort” and other fees plus the tipping demands.
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