British Airways is the national airline and largest full-service airline of the United Kingdom based on destinations and passengers served. The airline also owns two subsidiary airlines - BA CityFlyer and BA EuroFly. In terms of passengers carried, it's the second-largest airline in the United Kingdom (behind easyJet) but is the dominant airline for long-haul flights flying from the UK.
The airline is based at London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and flies to over 200 destinations worldwide. While British Airways mainly does intercontinental flights, it also has a strong route network in Europe and a domestic route network within the UK.
Top Tip: You can buy British Airways flights using financing options including Clearpay and Klarna.
British Airways has a different baggage policy for carry-on and checked baggage policy. The allowance for carry-on baggage and checked baggage will vary depending on your cabin class.
All passengers are given one item of free carry-on baggage and one free small personal item.
Passengers free checked baggage allowance will depend on the cabin class that the passenger is flying in. Below are details of the free checked baggage allowance of each cabin class:
British Airways' customers can choose between Economy, Premium Economy, Business or First Class for their flights.
British Airways Economy Class differs depending on whether the flights are short-haul or long-haul.
Euro Traveller is British Airways' Economy Class for flights within Europe and the UK. It offers a comfortable cabin with leather seats, adjustable headrests, complimentary newspapers and LED mood lighting.
Euro Traveller is split into three different fare structures:
World Traveller is British Airways' Economy Class for long-haul flights. Onboard a wide-body plane, it offers a comfortable and spacious cabin with leather reclinable seats, complimentary meals and drinks and a personal entertainment system on all fares.
World Traveller is split into two fares:
Seats on British Airways economy-class flights are set out in a 3 x 3 x 3 configuration on long-haul flights and a 3 x 3 configuration on short-haul flights. Seats offer between 29–31" of pitch and 17" of width.
The British Airways Premium Economy Service is called World Traveller Plus and is only available on medium-haul and long-haul flights.
Passengers receive a quilt and cushion and can enjoy great in-flight entertainment with a selection of movies and films. Passengers can enjoy the same great menu that's in Economy Class but with alcoholic cocktails and mocktails added to the Premium Economy bar menu. Each passenger is given an amenity kit, which uses materials created from recycled plastic bottles. The kits include eyeshade, socks, pen, toothbrush, toothpaste and lip balm from Scaramouche & Fandango.
The service offers passengers increased reclination on seats, personal in-seat power sockets and a larger in-flight entertainment screen.
The seats in British Airways Premium Economy are approximately 18.5 inches in width and recline to a 38-inch pitch.
British Airways Business Class provides passengers with an excellent range of services to ensure they have the most enjoyable flight possible. The facilities offered onboard depend on whether the flight is long-haul or short-haul. For long-haul flights 'Club World' flights, passengers will be able to enjoy the best night's sleep possible onboard their BA flights. Passengers flying within Europe on 'Club Europe' BA flights are guaranteed more comfort on board to help them relax on their European flight.
BA's Club World passengers can expect three-course meals to suit every taste as well as a range of expertly chosen Old and New World wines. Each passenger's seat is equipped with a personal 10.4-inch flat screen so you never spend a moment bored on your flight. For Business Club Europe passengers, delicious meal options will be crafted to match the length of your flight.
Club World British Airways seats give personal space to stretch out in privacy and comfort. At night, seats will convert into a 183cm (72") fully flatbed. Passengers flying between London and New York on BA's Club World London City flights will be able to get the rest they need on board with a seat that converts into a fully flatbed. Power supplies are fitted to every seat to allow passengers to charge their electronic devices in flight. Passengers in the airline's Club Europe cabin sit on contoured leather seats with 76.2cm (30") legroom and fully movable headrests.
First Class is the most luxurious of the British Airways travel classes. From a personal stylish suite to exclusive spa treatments and world-class meals, First Class ensures that passengers arrive at their destination in style. First Class is only available on long-haul flights.
Passengers flying from LHR and JFK are given access to The Concorde Room, BA's most luxurious departure lounge. The lounge offers passengers total intimacy with a private cabin and full waiter service.
On board, passengers can enjoy their own private suite and a fine dining experience with crockery, cutlery and glassware. Passengers are also provided with soft cotton sleepwear and can pamper themselves with the airline's luxury Aromatherapy Associates products and Liberty of London amenity kit.
British Airways First Class seats recline into a fully flat bed with a luxurious quilted mattress, crisp white cotton duvet and pillows. Each seat gives 78 inches of pitch, 22 inches of width and has a power supply to allow passengers to charge their personal electronic devices.
For your British Airways flight, you have the option to either check-in online, via the British Airways mobile app or at the airport. The times at which it opens and closes will vary depending on whether you're flying domestically or internationally.
You can check in online for your flight on the British Airways online check-in page. Online check-in opens 24 hours before the scheduled flight departure time.
You can check in for your British Airways flight on the British Airways app 24 hours before your flight is scheduled to depart. In the app, you can download your boarding passes for your return flights, and even download boarding passes for up to 8 people on the same booking on one device!
If you're unable to check-in online or via the British Airways app, you can check in at the airport. There are airport kiosks available where you can print your British Airways boarding pass - all you'll need is your booking reference (PNR) and your passport.
Want to choose your seats for your British Airways flight? At Alternative Airlines, you can view British Airways seat availability and select your preferred seat.
Alternative Airlines allows you to pick and choose exactly where you want to sit on all British Airways flights, letting you enjoy all the benefits of having a British Airways preferred seat! Visit our seat selection page to find out how to book seats on our site.
British Airways' in-flight entertainment is available on all long-haul international flights and offers a range of TVs, movies, music and games.
The TV shows on offer with British Airways are constantly being updated, but the airline currently offers a range of documentaries, BBC dramas, cartoons and sitcoms.
Offering action packed blockbusters as well as thought-provoking thrillers, British Airways has a excellent selection of films to suit every taste. As well as British films, the airline also shows a number of Hollywood movies.
British Airways high-speed Wi-Fi is powered by .air, which allows passengers to browse the web with Chrome, Safari 1E11 and Edge.
British Airways Wi-Fi allows you to choose from two different packages:
British Airways Wi-Fi pricing starts at £4.99 GBP.
British Airways offers a variety of food and drinks to its customers. The menu will differ depending on the cabin class you're flying in.
British Airways offers a variety of meals and snacks on board their flights, depending on the route and cabin class.
All passengers are offered complimentary snacks and drinks in addition to this. Prior to the flight, passengers can check their booking to see what special meals can be reserved, purchased or upgraded. This must be done between 30 days and 24 hours before flying.
British Airways offer special meals for their flights for passengers who request them prior to flying. These meals must be ordered at least 24 hours before scheduled departure time, except for Kosher meals on flights departing from London Gatwick (LGW) which must be ordered at least 48 hours prior to departure. These are all the meal types that British Airways offer:
British Airways offer a full drinks service, including alcoholic beverages, on most of their flights. These are available to purchase in any class, but long-haul flights will include a complimentary drink with their meal.
British Airways' tiered loyalty programme, Executive Club, gives you access to special lounges and dedicated 'fast' queues. You can collect Avios (points) every time you fly with British Airways or purchase from one of its partners. The more Avios earned, the higher the level of membership you are awarded. The higher the level of membership, the more benefits you will receive.
You can also use Avios to purchase or upgrade your flight on any British Airways flight or any member of the Oneworld alliance.
British Airways is a founding member of the world's third-biggest airline alliance, the Oneworld alliance. British Airways works closely with its Oneworld partner airlines to offer passengers a range of benefits for each airline. BA has a series of interline agreements with airlines within Oneworld that allows its passengers to fly to destinations beyond Britsh Airway's route network.
Some Oneworld alliance members include American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, LATAM, Qantas and SriLankan Airlines, among many others.
When flying with British Airways, you won't be allowed to travel with your pet in the cabin - the only exception to this is medically approved service dogs. You will need to provide 7 days' notice if you want to take your service dog into the cabin with you. You need to board your British Airways flight from London Heathrow, London Gatwick or Manchester Airport to be able to take your service dog with you.
You can transport your pet on a British Airways flight as manifest (air) cargo - this can be arranged through IAG Cargo. Animals allowed via this service include dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, hamsters, monkeys, ferrets, snakes and tropical fish.
Read our guide on flying with pets for more information.
British Airways flies to over 200 destinations worldwide and over all 6 continents. Some of its most popular destinations include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Edinburgh, London and Miami.
Please click on the logos below to find out more about airlines that fly similar routes:
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Heathrow Airport is a major international airport in London, England. Heathrow is the hub airport for British Airways.
By passenger traffic, London Heathrow is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom, the busiest airport in Europe and one of the top 10 busiest airports in the world. In 2018, it handled a record 80.1 million passengers.
Other airlines that fly to/from London Heathrow include Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Scandinavian Airlines, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, among many others.
London Heathrow has large duty-free sections and lots of other shops both landside and airside. It's featured on our blog as one of the best places in the world for airport shopping.
The British Airways fleet includes a mix of Airbus and Boeing aircraft:
As of 2024, the airline has over 240 aircraft in its fleet, and orders for almost 50 more.
Alternative Airlines makes it easy to find the flights you’re after. As well as offering a greater choice of flights, when you book through Alternative Airlines you can save even more money by applying a discount or voucher code. It can be hard to find a discount code for a particular airline like British Airways, but with Alternative Airlines you can apply our discount codes to any of the airlines available to book through our site.
Our customers love using PayPal to book flights! PayPal is a quick and convenient way to pay. We have lots of PayPal discount codes available throughout the year, which you can apply to any flight booking made through Alternative Airlines.
Find the British Airways flights you’re after, pay with PayPal, and save money by applying an Alternative Airlines PayPal discount code.
Here are Alternative Airlines, we love saving you money when you book your flights through our site. Our discounts and deals page is constantly updated with the latest offers. What's more, when you book through Alternative Airlines, the discount codes can be applied to any airline, including British Airways. This will apply no matter what class fare you pick (Economy through to First).
Remember that discount codes expire, so be quick and take a look at the latest codes that we have to offer. You could save money on your British Airways flights!
If you're looking for an affordable option to still fly with British Airways but without having to pay the full cost, then one of the best ways to make the cost of flying more manageable is by booking now and paying later. Here at Alternative Airlines, we have partnered with all the major 'Buy Now, Pay Later' providers, including Klarna, Affirm, Sezzle and Zip, to help our customers split up the cost of their flights.
The options available will depend on the country in which you reside — if you live in the UK, you can split the cost of your flights with Clearpay or Klarna. With Clearpay, you can split the payment into 4 and only need to pay 25% of the cost today, with absolutely no interest charged.
Book your flights today and pay over time when you book through Alternative Airlines.
London Heathrow to New York JFK is one of British Airways's most popular long-haul flights, and the airline's most popular flights to the U.S. from the U.K. If you're looking to save money on your flights, this guide includes lots of helpful information, including links to our flight discounts and offers page.
Last-minute British Airways flights are flights purchased close to the departure date and time of the flight. These flights are usually purchased in the days or weeks leading up to the departure date. Last-minute flights tend to be purchased by business travellers who need to attend meetings or by passengers who need to travel urgently. Last-minute flights can often be cheaper than buying flights months before departure, however, this isn't always guaranteed.
Booking last-minute flights with British Airways is super easy. Simply follow our step-by-step guide on how to book last-minute flights with British Airways.
At Alternative Airlines, the majority of our e-tickets are sent to you instantly or within 2 hours via email. Please note that when booking last-minute flights, in some cases, it might take up to 24 hours to receive your e-ticket.
British Airways flies to over 200 destinations globally. Below are some suggestions of popular last-minute routes with British Airways. Pack your bags today for a last-minute flight tomorrow.
19th October 2023
British Airways is set to recommence flights to Abu Dhabi in April 2024, marking a return after a four-year pause caused by the pandemic and sluggish demand recovery. The airline will provide year-round daily flights using the Boeing 787-9, putting it in direct competition with Etihad's London services. Notably, British Airways will utilise its premium-oriented Dreamliner aircraft for this route, offering first class, business class, premium economy and economy cabins.