More Middle Eastern flights and a new US destination
BA are busy. There are big, positive changes to global routes, with a new US city accessible directly from Heathrow, and upgrades in the number of flights to a number of other North American cities. Two Gatwick flights will see an increase in the number of days they fly,
The new US destination: St. Louis
Starting in April 2026, BA will be flying to St. Louis in Missouri. This is their 27th destination in the US, and tickets are now on sale.
The service won’t be daily; instead, it’ll operate four times a week. The first flight will be on Sunday, 19th April 2026,
The flights will be operated by a three-class 787-8, with either 31 or 35 Club Seats, 25 or 37 Premium Economy (World Traveller Plus) seats, and either 136 or 154 Economy (World Traveller) seats.
The 787-8 fleet is mixed, with some planes having the newer Club Suite and some having the older Club Seat. Whilst that fleet is being retrofitted with the newer suite, there are no guarantees that that programme will be complete by the launch date of the St. Louis flights. BA’s last estimate on when all their 787-8’s will be updated was late 2026.
Outbound and inbound flight times
London to St. Louis
- BA0221 leaves Heathrow at 4:25pm, landing in STL at 7:30pm.
- Flights take place on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
St. Louis to London
- BA0220 leaves St. Louis at 10pm, landing in at LHR at 12noon the following day.
- Flights take off on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, landing the next day.
Which lounge will BA passengers use?
BA has not mentioned lounge access but St. Louis is served by American Airlines (it’s not quite a hub), and there’s an Admirals Club. There’s also a local lounge called Wingtips, but given the relationship between BA and AA it’s like you’ll head to that lounge.
AA lounges, with a few exceptions, are not known for being luxurious. The Heathrow T3 arrivals lounge is good, the First Class lounge at T3 Heathrow is also decent. I have also sat in many AA lounges that were not that great. The pictures of the St. Louis lounge show that it’s more of the latter.
With just four flights a week, it’s unlikely that BA will be opening a dedicated space at this airport.
Why St. Louis?
It’s a central-ish city that had great connections into the Midwest, predominantly through Southwest Airlines. It’s also well-served via Delta, United and Frontier, plus the previously mentioned AA.
The city itself is an interesting destination, but it’s likely that most travellers heading to or from St. Louis will be connecting onwards. There will be some business traffic to and from London as the global headquarters of Anheuser-Busch is located there, plus the North American headquarters of Nestlé.
As a fan of second-tier American cities (we’ve had our fill of New York, LA, Washington and Vegas), it’s a viable option for us, and Chicago is just an hour flight away, or a four-hour drive if you want a mini road trip on a two-stop holiday.
More Middle Eastern flights
There are no new ME destinations for BA, but there will be more planes in the air.
- Bahrain goes daily from the 27th October 2025.
- Riyadh increases to twelve flights per week, and then again to fourteen in Summer 2026.
- Jeddah will move from four flights per week to five in Summer 2026
- Doha will be two flights daily, seven days a week.
BA has excellent coverage across the Middle East, also flying twice daily into Dubai
More capacity on some US routes
- Las Vegas (from Heathrow) will have thirteen flights each week, up from ten.
- Miami will now have two flights a day from Heathrow
- Dallas (from Heathrow) will be a daily flight
- San Diego (from Heathrow) moves to twice daily
- Austin (from Heathrow) moves to twice daily
- JFK will now only be accessible via Heathrow, with nine flights a day.
More long-haul news
- Bangkok (from London Gatwick) will become a year-round flight from Summer 2026, having been active only in the Winter.
- Jamaica (also from London Gatwick) will move from three flights per week to four flights per week.
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