British Airways will commence service between the Silicon Valley and London on May 4, 2016, offering daily non-stop service between San Jose, CA and London Heathrow on its new 787-9 Dreamliner. If you are looking for non-stop business class award space from the West Coast to Europe, now is the time to book!
The new flight will leave San Jose in the late evening and return from London in the mid-afternoon:
Flight Number |
City Pair |
Departs |
Arrives |
BA 278 |
San Jose – London |
8:00 p.m. |
2:05 p.m. (next day) |
BA 279 |
London – San Jose |
3:15 p.m. |
6:05 p.m. (same day) |
- 8 first class seats
- 42 business class seats
- 39 premium economy seats
- 127 economy seats
No first class award seats are available, but at least two business class seats and four economy class seats (as BA promised) have been released on every flight–
Flights are already filling up, so if your plans are still tentative and you have AA miles, use the courtesy 5-day hold available on aa.com to reserve some space because you may wake up and find all of it gone.
British Airways Fuel Surcharges
Nothing turns people off from redeeming on British Airways more than the high fuel surcharges coupled with the exorbitant London departure taxes — these flights are no different.
Nevertheless, just avoid starting your return journey in London to save at least $150 per ticket — go from $500 to $350 just by flying out of another city in Europe, with Dublin always a great option to originate (and a great place to spend a few days).
Good news!. I wish more U.S. cities would get non-stop Europe flights, Considering how much the U.S. population has increased and exploding immigration the past 25 years cities like Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Cleveland, Columbus, Ohio, Sacramento, Richmond, Va., Norfolk, Va., Cincinnati, Jacksonville, Fla., Nashville, Memphis are ripe for these flights. It would also help tremendously to reduce the horrendous congestion of passengers at the mega hubs of LAX/ORD/ATL/NYC/SFO/DFW/PHX/MIA/PHL/IAD/BOS/HOU. After all, Boeing touted the 787 as the future of point-to-point travel rather than stuffing millions of people into hubs to make connections.