BA to Start London Heathrow to Charleston, SC

Arion640 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:53 pm

https://www.postandcourier.com/business ... a444b.html

British Airways will launch two nonstop routes each week between the Holy City and London, starting April 4, the airline announced Thursday. The Thursday and Sunday service will continue through Oct. 24, 2019. Tickets go on sale Friday. The price has not been announced.

Aircraft is the 787-8, so no First class.

Last place I’d of thought to be honest!

Longhornmaniac · Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:54 pm

Alright, who saw that one coming? Wow.

jasoncrh · Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:54 pm

I just fainted.

448205 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:55 pm

IndyHoosier · Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:55 pm

Wow, really surprising. There are dozens of cities I would have guessed before CHS.

trexel94 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:58 pm

You can't be serious! St Louians must be fuming now.

FSDan · Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:59 pm

Very interesting! I didn't expect this, but it does seem to follow along the lines of their recent MSY and BNA additions - 2nd tier U.S. cities that have strong tourism industries, booming culinary scenes, and are generally "trendy". I bet they'd be in PDX too if DL hadn't beaten them to it!

The difference here is that I don't think CHS has nearly as much of a business community as MSY or BNA...

Sctvman · Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:59 pm

They said in the article one of the main reasons is because of Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head. This is basically for the entire state of SC, not just CHS.

tkoenig95 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:59 pm

Looks like these mid-tier cities the 787 was intended for are coming alive.
Congrats to BA and the 787 team!

sevenair · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:00 pm

New global links for the new global Britain. Well done BA!

FSDan · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:02 pm

Also, given the AA/BA JV, AA must have seen enough LHR-PHL/CLT-CHS transfer passengers that they think this will work.

Noise · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:04 pm

wow. just wow. game changer for CHS.

smittythepirate · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:09 pm

I'm excited for it and hope it sticks around for a while.

zakuivcustom · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:13 pm

Definitely not a market that I thought would be big enough to get a TATL flight, and to LHR no less.

Ok, just 2 flights/wk, but it's still definitely not a market that I expect that BA would fly to so soon.

Congrats to CHS.

aemoreira1981 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:15 pm

Even at 2x weekly, this is a route few saw coming.

TWFlyGuy · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:15 pm

FSDan wrote:
Very interesting! I didn't expect this, but it does seem to follow along the lines of their recent MSY and BNA additions - 2nd tier U.S. cities that have strong tourism industries, booming culinary scenes, and are generally "trendy". I bet they'd be in PDX too if DL hadn't beaten them to it!

The difference here is that I don't think CHS has nearly as much of a business community as MSY or BNA...

There's a lot of money in CHS area but it's still only a city of 775K people...metro! MSY is 1.2MM and BNA is 1.9MM. Will be interesting to see if the POS is mainly Brits visiting CHS which would make sense as CHS is routinely considered one of the best cities to visit and has AWESOME food options. But pretty cool.

dmstorm22 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:19 pm

This was the dream when the 787 was created - long (I guess not too long) and thin.

Congrats to CHS and BA.

tkoenig95 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:19 pm

Can we expect the belly cargo to do well considering Boeing and other manufacturing firms in the CHS area?

VS11 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:21 pm

Congrats! Charleston is a destination on its own but is also close to Savannah. I am glad to see AA/BA exploring new opportunities.

tphuang · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:21 pm

I almost fainted too. How many slots do BA have lying around?

chrisnh · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:21 pm

My wife and I along with my two sisters just got back from a reconnaissance mission to the southern Gulf Coast of Florida where we spent the time asking ourselves, "Could we live here?" Coming from New England (NH, MA) we realize it's just too hot and humid there, plus the "A Florida Man..." meme points to it being full of miscreants.

Anyway, we are ALSO going to do the same reconnaissance trip to Charleston. We hear great things, it's a charming place...And although it's hot and humid there, too, it's enough less than FL to be appealing. Plus, MA-SC is sort of driveable.

So BA sees the Charleston area like we do...very desireable.

VS4ever · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:23 pm

well the 788 was supposed to be a hub buster, that's what so many said when it was first launched, It appears BA is following that lead. This is about as crazy as Leicester winning the English Premier League in 2015/2016.. Not sure it would have been 5,000 to 1 odds, but I don't think a single person would have picked CHS as the next on the list.

Now it is seasonal, so that in itself makes sense and 2 weekly is not hugely risky on the number of seats in the market. But wow, not expected.

My question is and i would be curious to the answers. Does the 2 weekly open up the possibility of more of these limited frequency options coming soon. They have a couple of 4 and 5 weekly, but going to 2 suggests a different strategy... RSW? for example, as a Brit, I know we love Florida, although most go to MCO for obvious reasons, but the Fort Myers area, can afford you access up to Tampa and across and down to the Keys if you are tourist. Not so good for yields mind you, although little competition and a more discerning non-mickey town flyer and you never know?

Any other places people think could benefit from this type of service (somewhat realistically)

AVLAirlineFreq · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:23 pm

With their lengthened runway, I'm now looking forward to non-stop service between Hilton Head and Paris...

MAH4546 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:23 pm

It's crazy but South Carolina, and Charleston in particular, is a hot bed for European manufacturing operations - BMW, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Michellen.

TYSflyer · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:26 pm

The Charleston area is thriving. Savannah and Hilton Head are an easy drive. Although I’m as surprised as anyone, I suspect seasonal service, twice weekly will do just fine.

maps4ltd · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:33 pm

And St. Louis just lost Wow transatlantic service.

This is humiliating.

maps4ltd · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:34 pm

This feels like a Cranky Flier April Fools Day post.

usxguy · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:34 pm

I'm wondering how pissed off SAV and JAX are right now...

maps4ltd · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:37 pm

trexel94 wrote:
You can't be serious! St Louians must be fuming now.

Oh, you have no idea.

MIflyer12 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:42 pm

MAH4546 wrote:
It's crazy but South Carolina, and Charleston in particular, is a hot bed for European manufacturing operations - BMW, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Michellen.

Michelin and BMW are at GSP, not CHS. MUC-ATL-GSP is going to be a LOT faster than MUC-LHR-CHS-drive.

slcdeltarumd11 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:42 pm

WOW. No one on here saw this coming. In a weird way I think it has a chance. 2x a week and seasonal isn't too ambitious. They are not targeting business traffic at all. This will get major press coverage in a market like Charleston they will get summer vacationers both directions. I wonder about incentives/revenue gurantees. It's so infrequent I wonder if BA is just going for it.

Wish them the best of luck!!! Would be cool if this is a total hit.

TWA302 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:43 pm

trexel94 wrote:
You can't be serious! St Louians must be fuming now.

Understatement.

maps4ltd · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:44 pm

BA doesn't even serve Charlotte, a major Oneworld airline hub, yet it's now going to CHS.

Honestly, I would've thought that a leisure route like this would go into LGW, alongside Orlando and Punta Canada and the like.

33lspotter · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:44 pm

Very much thought this was a joke. I almost asked myself if it was April 1st.

skipness1E · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:49 pm

maps4ltd wrote:
BA doesn't even serve Charlotte, a major Oneworld airline hub, yet it's now going to CHS.

Honestly, I would've thought that a leisure route like this would go into LGW, alongside Orlando and Punta Canada and the like.

Gatters has nothing smaller than a B772, partly why OAK didn’t work out.

KLMatSJC · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:51 pm

Maybe they are just selling tickets on delivery flights? :duck:

Just when you think you have seen it all...

AaronPGH · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:51 pm

It has to feel good for the folks in CHS to see their hometown airliner getting proper hometown service.

voxkel · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:52 pm

I hope PWM or BDL are also on the radar for BA.

Bigant0408 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:53 pm

As others mentioned I definitely wasn't expecting this to happen not even by a long shot. But this goes to show if towns are thriving and with the right aircraft airlines may be willing to give them a chance. Interesting to see how this route does but 2x seasonally sounds justified to me.

FA9295 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:54 pm

Does anyone know if financial incentives were involved here? (e.g. similar to BA's PIT-LHR announcement)?

NolaMD88fan · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:55 pm

Wow! Congrats to CHS officials for landing this.

Adipocere · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:56 pm

Wow a fantastic win for CRW. The whole region needed a shot in the arm aviation wise and this certainly is one!

ASA · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:56 pm

Nobody mentioned Boeing? :confused:

I wonder how the 787 production line / delivery schedules have influenced global travel patterns from CHS?

Bluegrass60 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 6:57 pm

Congrats to CHS and to BA for a new business model w/787. There could be many more of these Tier 2 cities opened up with this type frequency

peanuts · Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:01 pm

SurfandSnow wrote:
Call me crazy, but this could set a precedent for something like LHR-EGE. Vail has gotten so expensive that most Americans could never afford to go. Europeans, however, still find it to be relatively affordable...

???
A Vail day pass is $160 (as a way to encourage you to purchase the Epic pass instead).
Many top notch European ski resorts have day passes for $65
Ski School for the family? I won't even get started...

There is no way. Europeans find the Rockies NOT CHEAP. And the skiing is not better.
Skiing Americans from California, CHI, BOS and NY are way wealthier than Europeans.

(BTW, a Saturday EGE service is not out of the question though if equipment can support it; in this economy anything is possible now.)

Redwood839 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:04 pm

*inserts Ryan Reynold's but why? gif here*

YYZLGA · Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:05 pm

It's entirely for the UK tourism market. Many British people are fascinated by American Southern culture, and the kinds of people who used to pour into LAS are now looking at other destinations as well like MSY and, BA hopes, now CHS.

SCQ83 · Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:09 pm

Interesting. CHS could also be a potential route for Condor out of FRA.

peanuts · Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:09 pm

Adipocere wrote:
Wow a fantastic win for CRW. The whole region needed a shot in the arm aviation wise and this certainly is one!

West Virginia CRW and South Carolina CHS are a about 472 miles apart. Sorry.

admanager · Thu Oct 18, 2018 7:10 pm

Adipocere wrote:
Wow a fantastic win for CRW. The whole region needed a shot in the arm aviation wise and this certainly is one!

Not Charleston WV (CRW), its the South Carolina one (CHS)

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