British Airways will start flying from London’s Heathrow Airport to Las Vegas’ McCarran International Airport in October.
With planning for this in the works for years, Heathrow, the busiest international airport will begin daily service on October 25, with a flight arriving in Las Vegas at 5:10 p.m. The return trip to London will depart at 7 p.m.
The airline will use a Boeing 777, photo at right, configured with 274 seats, 24 of which will be “world traveler plus,” 36 business-class, with seats that recline fully to 180 degrees, and 214 economy class seats.
Fares will begin at $461 round trip, plus taxes and fuel surcharges.
British Airways will be the second United Kingdom carrier providing direct, daily service to Las Vegas. Although Virgin Atlantic already makes the trip it flies from the much smaller Gatwick Airport.
The new Heathrow connection will put Las Vegas within one stop of cities around the world, making it that much easier for people to travel to Las Vegas and, hopefully, boost Las Vegas’ sagging tourism.
Based on top overseas source markets for Las Vegas visitation compiled in 2007 (latest available figures), United Kingdom passengers already account for 409,000 annual visitors, 11.5 percent of the total international tourism, second only to Canada that brings 1.5 million visitors, 41.4 percent of the total.
Las Vegas will be the 19th American city with British Airways service.