St. Louis Lambert Airport (STL), in Missouri, US, is set to receive flights from a second European destination later today, making it also the airport’s first direct service to and from the UK in 20 years. This new service will be operated by UK-based British Airways. The carrier is also set to deploy its premium-heavy Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets on this route, which is an indication as to the type of passenger market the airline is expecting on this route.
With the launch of this service, British Airways further solidifies its position as the largest carrier operating in the highly competitive US – UK market, with STL becoming the airline’s 26th destination in the US.
British Airways Launches Its 26th US Destination
Later today, British Airways will be operating its inaugural service, connecting its hub at 
London Heathrow Airport (LHR), with St. Louis Airport in Missouri. According to FlightRadar24, this will be the airline’s 26th US destination, while LHR will become the second European destination STL will be connected with going forward.
The current schedule filed shows that this route is seasonal and is scheduled to operate only four times a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays throughout the northern summer season, until October 24. The airline will be using the following itinerary:
BA-221 | BA-220 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
London Heathrow | St. Louis | St. Louis | London Heathrow |
Departure | Arrival | Departure | Arrival |
04:25 PM | 07:30 PM | 09:35 PM | 11:35 AM (+1) |
The airline will be deploying its fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft, but what makes it interesting is that the airline will be using its premium-heavy configured Dreamliner jets, which is an indication that British Airways sees high potential for premium passenger demands and the associated higher revenue.
The Airline’s Premium Heavy Dreamliners
While British Airways flies all three variants of the Dreamliner family, this route will only see select Boeing 787-8 and the larger Boeing 787-9 jets, which are configured to accommodate more passengers in the premium cabins. While the smaller 787-8 is configured with three cabin classes – business, premium economy, and economy, the 787-9 is configured in a four-class layout, which also includes first class.
The 787-8 can accommodate a total of 204 passengers split into 31 business class seats (1-2-1 layout), 37 premium economy seats (2-3-2 layout), and 136 economy seats (3-3-3 layout). The 787-9, on the other hand, can accommodate up to 216 passengers in eight first-class seats (1-2-1 layout), followed by 42 seats in business class (2-3-2 layout), 39 premium economy seats (2-3-2 layout), and 127 economy seats (3-3-3 layout).
Over the past few years, the airline has also been rolling out cabin upgrades across its fleet, and as a result of that, aircraft such as the 787s have been receiving refreshed premium economy cabins. Furthermore, as part of the retrofit program, the airline’s business class seats will also see upgrades, because some of the aircraft types, such as the Airbus A380, some of the Boeing 777s, and the 787s, in the fleet still have an older seat product.
Wow: This Is British Airways’ Refreshed Premium Economy Class
A new winged headrest design for BA’s World Traveller Plus cabin.
Further Connections From St. Louis
As with most of the Transatlantic flights operated by British Airways, when considering a destination to launch flights to, the airline will also take into account the presence of airline partners and the onward domestic or regional network connectivity that can be accessed. In this case, British Airways will be looking to partner with fellow 
oneworld alliance members or carriers with which the airline has independent codeshare partnerships.
When considering St. Louis, the airline will have two US-based partners available to provide onward connections within the US and the wider North America region. The first is 
American Airlines, because the two carriers have a long-standing Transatlantic Joint Venture (JV) in place, which will allow the two airlines to collaborate on this route and provide onward connections on either end. The second airline that can rely on is 
Alaska Airlines, because both carriers are part of the oneworld alliance.
With the partnership British Airways has with American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, customers of all three carriers can essentially book itineraries in each other’s route networks, ultimately improving global connectivity, while also enjoying other services such as lounge access and reciprocal accrual of points and miles. The bottom line is that with a new route to a global hub such as Heathrow being launched, Missouri will now be more connected than ever.
