American Airlines and Atlantic Joint Partner British Airways Announce London-Portland Service

American Airlines and British Airways announced on Wednesday new year-round service between Portland, Oregon and London-Heathrow. The service will be operated by British Airways and will start on June 1, 2020.

AJB Partners American Airlines and British Airways Announce New Route - Courtesy American Airlines

Today, American Airlines announced the first and only year-round service between Portland, Oregon and London-Heathrow starting June 1, 2020. The route will be operated by American’s Atlantic Joint Business (AJB) partner British Airways with a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. American Airlines, in conjunction with their joint business partners Iberia and Finnair will offer eight new transatlantic destinations for summer 2020 and extend five seasonal routes beyond the summer season. In Wednesday’s announcement American’s SVP – Network Strategy, Vasu Raja said,

“Our partnerships mean more new routes and more options for our customers around the world. With this new British Airways flight between London and Portland, American and our partners will offer more than 1,000 flights every day between North America and Europe.”

American is extending service between Chicago and Barcelona through October 24, 2020 and the Chicago-Athens route until November 29, 2020. Additionally, the Dallas-Fort Worth to Rome route and Philadelphia to Prague and Lisbon service will be extended until January 5, 2021.

In a separate announcement from British Airways, the carrier announced that the new London-Portland route will be the 27th route to U.S. destinations offered by BA and American Airlines. Additionally, the partners – British Airways, American Airlines, Finnair and Iberia will add eight new routes for the summer 2020 season, including American’s new Boston to London-Heathrow service and Iberia’s new Madrid-Washington D.C. service. In today’s announcement, British Airways’ Director of Networks and Alliances, Neil Chernoff said,

“Portland will be a fantastic addition to our route map. As a major technology and innovation hub the city is drawing ever-increasing numbers of international visitors. Since 2015 we’ve launched routes to Pittsburgh, Charleston, Nashville, New Orleans and San Jose, and is our key to our joint business strategy which is growing across North America. We’re confident the route will be warmly welcomed by both business and leisure travelers.”

In its centenary year, British Airways rolled out 16 new routes across the globe including direct service Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the U.S. In addition to their AJB relationship with American Airlines, British Airways’ customers can also benefit from their enhanced network relationship with Alaska Airlines.

Source(s): American Airlines, British Airways