Future Routes: London Area
You may have seen my first and second “future routes” posts highlighting the future flights in the Washington DC Area and the future flights in the New York City Area. In my third one, I am documenting and explaining the future routes of the largest city in the United Kingdom: London. I will be highlighting routes from: London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport, London City Airport, and London Stansted. I will not be highlighting all the future routes, because then the post would be full of hundreds of short routes that no one cares about. Instead, I am picking and choosing the most important future intercontinental routes out of the London area and will be showing only a few new short haul routes.
Future Intercontinental Routes:
London Heathrow to Pittsburgh on British Airways:
British Airways Boeing 747-400 in a Oneworld Livery
| Airline | British Airways |
| Route | London Heathrow – Pittsburgh |
| Length | Around 3,720 Miles |
| Aircraft Type | Boeing 787-8 |
| Airline Type | Full Service |
| What Makes it Special | This is the first time the BA has ever served Pittsburgh, and since Pittsburgh is a large city that desperately wants transatlantic flights, this flight represents a significant step up for people wanting to fly on transatlantic flights out of Pittsburgh. |
| Number of Weekly Flights | 4 |
| Start Date | April 2, 2019 |
London Heathrow to Durban on British Airways:
| Airline | British Airways |
| Route | London Heathrow – Durban, South Africa |
| Length | Around 5,900 Miles |
| Aircraft Type | Boeing 787-8 |
| Airline Type | Full Service |
| What Makes it Special | First flight to Europe out of Durban. |
| Number of Weekly Flights | 3 |
| Start Date | October 29, 2018 |
London Heathrow to Shenzhen on Shenzhen Airlines
| Airline | Shenzhen Airlines |
| Route | London Heathrow – Shenzhen, China |
| Length | Around 5,970 Miles |
| Aircraft Type | Airbus A330-300 |
| Airline Type | Full Service |
| What Makes it Special | First flight to Europe on Shenzhen Airlines; first flight to Shenzhen from London |
| Number of Weekly Flights | 3 |
| Start Date | October 30, 2018 |
London Heathrow to Las Vegas on Virgin Atlantic
A Virgin Atlantic 787-9
| Airline | Virgin Atlantic |
| Route | London Heathrow – Las Vegas |
| Length | Around 5,200 Miles |
| Aircraft Type | Boeing 787-9 |
| Airline Type | Full Service |
| Notes | Virgin Atlantic discontinuing flights from London Gatwick to Las Vegas |
| Number of Weekly Flights | 7 |
| Start Date | March 31, 2019 |
London Heathrow to Chongqing on Tianjin Airlines
Photo Courtesy of Tianjin Airlines
| Airline | Tianjin Airlines |
| Route | London Heathrow – Chongqing, China |
| Length | Around 5,300 Miles |
| Aircraft Type | Airbus A330-200 |
| Airline Type | Full Service |
| What Makes it Special | First flight to Chonqing from London Heathrow |
| Number of Weekly Flights | 2 |
| Start Date | August 25, 2018 |
| Other Notes | Tianjin Airlines’ third flight from London to China; they also serve Tianjin and Xian, Tianjin Airlines cancelling flight form Chongqing to London Gatwick |
London Gatwick to Tampa on Norwegian Air Shuttle
Photo Courtesy of Norwegian Air Shuttle
| Airline | Norwegian Air Shuttle |
| Route | London Gatwick – Tampa |
| Length | Around 4,400 Miles |
| Aircraft Type | Boeing 787-9 |
| Airline Type | Low Cost |
| Notes | British Airways also flies to Tampa out of Heathrow |
| Number of Weekly Flights | 2 |
| Start Date | October 31, 2018 |
London Gatwick to Shanghai on China Eastern
A China Easter Boeing 777-300ER in Chicago
| Airline | Norwegian Air Shuttle |
| Route | London Gatwick – Shanghai Pudong, China |
| Length | Around 5,700 Miles |
| Aircraft Type | Airbus A330-200 |
| Airline Type | Full Service |
| Notes | China Eastern also flies to Shanghai out of Heathrow |
| Number of Weekly Flights | 3 |
| Start Date | December 7, 2018 |
London Stansted to Washington Dulles on Primera Air
Image Courtesy of Primera Air
| Airline | Primera Air |
| Route | Washington Dulles – London Stansted |
| Length | Around 3,696 Miles |
| Aircraft Type | Airbus A321NEO |
| Airline Type | Low Cost |
| What Makes it Special | Primera Air is a low cost airline, so this new route makes traveling from DC to London a lot more affordable, with prices starting as low as around $200 one way. |
| Number of Weekly Flights | 5 |
| Start Date | August 22, 2018 |
| Other Notes | London Stansted is a good ways away from London, so this flight is not the best in terms of practicality. |
Future Short Haul Routes:
I think that I got most of the intercontinental routes, but because there are so many future domestic routes out of the London area, I am only highlighting some of the ones from new airlines to new airports.
LOT Polish Airlines out of London City
A LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737-800
| Airline | LOT Polish Airlines |
| Route | London City – Warsaw Chopin, Poland |
| Length | Around 920 Miles |
| Notes | Aircraft: Embraer E190 |
| Airline Type | Full Service |
| Start Date | January 7, 2019 |
| Airline | LOT Polish Airlines |
| Route | London City – Budapest, Hungary |
| Length | Around 900 Miles |
| Notes | Aircraft: Embraer E190 |
| Airline Type | Full Service |
| Start Date | February 18, 2019 |
Pobeda out of London Stansted
Pobeda is a Russian low cost carrier owned by the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot founded in 2014. London Stansted will be their first destination in the United Kingdom, it is a step forward in their growth.
| Airline | Pobeda |
| Route | London Stansted – Saint Petersburg, Russia |
| Length | Around 1,290 Miles |
| Notes | First flight to England on Pobeda, first flight to Stansted from Saint Petersburg. |
| Airline Type | Low Cost |
| Start Date | October 12, 2018 |
| Airline | Pobeda |
| Route | London Stansted – Kaliningrad, Russia |
| Length | Around 880 Miles |
| Notes | First flight to England from Kaliningrad |
| Airline Type | Low Cost |
| Start Date | October 23, 2018 |
Ryanair Opening New Base at London Southend:
London Southend is probably the least well known airport in the London area. However, it is also the least extravagant and elaborate airport in London. While it is definitely not convenient for most London residents (especially the ones living on the west side), it can be pretty convenient for those living near the airport. On April 2, 2019, Ryanair is launching their first flights out of London Southend. From April 2-5, Ryanair will launch 13 flights from Southend, which are listed below.
Year Round Destinations:
- Alicante, Spain
- Bergamo, Italy (also serves Milan)
- Bilbao, Spain
- Brest, France
- Cluj, Romania
- Dublin, Ireland
- Faro, Portugal
- Kosice, Slovakia
- Malaga, Spain
- Venice, Italy
Seasonal Destinations:
- Corfu, Greece
- Palma de Mallorca, Spain
- Reus, Spain
