Summary
- Norse Atlantic is the only airline with fewer than 100 flights, offering 31,000 seats between London and New York in September.
- Delta Air Lines and JetBlue both offer 180 flights between London and New York; JetBlue offers more seats.
- British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are the leading airlines with 656 and 368 flights between New York and London respectively.
The route between London and New York connects two of the most famous cities in the world. No wonder it is considered the most valuable air corridor in the world.
Photo: Eliyahu Yosef Parypa | Shutterstock
According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, seven airlines will operate flights on this route in September 2024. There are over 2,000 flights with over half a million seats. In this article, we will take a closer look at these numbers. Maybe then you can figure out which airline to choose for a flight between London and New York.
Norse Atlantic – the only airline with fewer than 100 flights
With just over 30,758 seats between New York and London, Norwegian low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic Airways will operate 91 flights between these two cities in September. The airline will use its Boeing 787 on this 3,479-mile route.
Photo: The Global Guy | Shutterstock
Number of flights |
Number of seats |
Available Seat Miles (ASMs) |
---|---|---|
91 |
30,758 |
106,699,502 |
Norse Atlantic Airways flights from London to New York operate between London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and John F. Kennedy International (JFK). The flight has different fare types:
Business |
Premium economy |
|
|
According to FlightRoutes, Norse Atlantic Airways’ Boeing 787-9 takes seven hours to fly from JFK to LGW.
Delta Air Lines and JetBlue have exactly the same number of flights
Here is a table illustrating JetBlue and Delta Air Lines operations on the London-New York route:
airline |
Number of flights |
Places offered |
ASM |
---|---|---|---|
JetBlue Airways (B6) |
180 |
24,840 |
85,999,440 |
Delta Air Lines (DL) |
180 |
44,100 |
152,453,520 |
Photo: The Global Guy | Shutterstock
While JetBlue uses the Airbus A321neo on this route, Delta uses its Boeing 767-400 and Airbus A330-900neo. JetBlue’s JFK-LHR flight takes 7 hours and 25 minutes, while Delta’s takes 15 minutes longer.
The other two American airlines that offer flights from London to New York
Although United offers 120 more flights on the London-New York route than American Airlines, AA offers just over 9,000 seats than United. As a result, American Airlines’ ASMs are also around 30 million higher. The ASMs offered on American Airlines flights are also the highest offered by any U.S. airline serving this route.
airline |
Number of flights |
Places offered |
ASM |
---|---|---|---|
United Airlines (UA) |
360 |
60,120 |
208,375,920 |
American Airlines (AA) |
240 |
69,457 |
239,765,564 |
American Airlines uses its Boeing 777 (777-200 and 777-300ER) on flights between JFK and LHR. United Airlines, on the other hand, operates from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR). United’s earliest flight departs at 08:30 and the last at 23:00. United uses its Boeing 767-300 for its EWR-LHR flights.
Photo: Ian Dewar Photography | Shutterstock
British airlines have the most flights on this route
British flag carrier British Airways (BA) and the country’s second-largest long-haul carrier, Virgin Atlantic, are the only two airlines that each operate more than 100,000 flights per day between New York and London. BA offers around 60,000 more seats than VS on this route. In fact, BA offers more seats between its flights in these two iconic cities than AA, UA and B6 combined.
airline |
Number of flights |
Places offered |
ASM |
---|---|---|---|
British Airways (BA) |
656 |
168,930 |
583,917,800 |
Virgin Atlantic (US) |
368 |
107,734 |
371,897,768 |
Photo: Nick Morrish | British Airways
British Airways typically uses its premium Boeing 777 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on this route. The first BA flight from JFK to LHR departs at 08:30 and the last at 19:05. Virgin Atlantic, on the other hand, uses a number of aircraft on this route. These include:
- Boeing 737-800
- Airbus A330-900neo
- Boeing 737-800ER.
British Airways also operates flights between New York and London from EWR airport, which Virgin Atlantic does not. British Airways only competes with United on direct flights between EWR and LHR, but United’s flights take ten minutes longer.
Photo: David Velupillai | airbus
Let’s look at some of the airlines that offer a flight on this route with a stopover with the same airline. These include:
airline |
Stopover at |
Flight duration |
Aircraft used |
---|---|---|---|
Icelandair |
Reykjavik (KEF) |
10 hours 20 minutes |
Boeing 737MAX8 Boeing 737MAX9 |
Azores Airlines |
Ponta Delgada (Azores) PDL |
10 hours and 40 minutes |
Airbus A321neo |
Unlike Virgin Atlantic, British Airways also offers flights from JFK to London Gatwick Airport (LGW). British Airways competes with Norse Atlantic, Delta Air Lines and JetBlue for direct flights on the JFK-LGW route. BA’s flight time is 7 hours and 5 minutes, while the longest direct flight on this route is offered by Delta (7 hours and 40 minutes).
Neither British Airways nor Virgin Atlantic offer direct flights between Newark and London Gatwick. British Airways also used to offer flights from London City Airport (LCY) to JFK, but stopped the business-class-only service several years ago.