Bits: British Airways Summer 2026 long haul changes, Norse slashes its ‘own brand’ routes

News in brief:

British Airways announces Summer 2026 long haul changes

We published an article yesterday on the launch of Bangkok flights for Summer 2026. Gatwick to Bangkok is going year-round – it is currently winter-only – and BA released Avios seats for April to early August 2026 in one go yesterday.

This isn’t the only change for Summer 2026.

New flights:

Jamaica – London Gatwick to Kingston will increase from three to four flights per week

Miami – London Heathrow to Miami will return to two flights per day, presumably taking back a flight currently operated by American Airlines

Dallas Fort Worth – London Heathrow flights will resume after a year where American Airlines took over BA’s historic slot

Las Vegas – London Heathrow to Las Vegas will increase from 10 to 13 flights per week

San Diego – London Heathrow to San Diego will increase to 14 flights per week

Austin – London Heathrow to Austin will increase to 14 flights per week

Bahrain – London Heathrow to Bahrain will become daily from the current three flights per week

Riyadh – London Heathrow to Riyadh will increase to 14 flights per week, as BA looks to compete with Virgin Atlantic and the upcoming launch of Riyadh Air

Jeddah – London Heathrow to Jeddah will increase to five flights per week

Doha – BA will increase flights across both main London airports to 14 per week

Airport changes:

New York JFK – the service between London Gatwick and New York JFK will be removed. A ninth (!) Heathrow service will replace it.

It is not entirely clear where the aircraft to operate these new flights will come from. Some are likely to be Boeing 787 aircraft returning to full operation following upgrades to their Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.

Norse Atlantic cuts its network following IndiGo deal

With both Airbus and Boeing struggling to meet their commitments for new aircraft deliveries, a new trend is springing up.

A number of ‘challenger’ airlines are moving away from operating their own flights to leasing out their aircraft to others. It allows airlines to launch new routes now instead of waiting a few years for the delayed aircraft on order.

Norse Atlantic is at the forefront of this in Europe, with Iceland’s Play doing the same for short haul. Indian carrier IndiGo has been keen to launch flights to Europe, and is already using one Norse Atlantic aircraft to fly to Manchester and Amsterdam.

Next year another five Norse Atlantic aircraft will join them. Half of the 12-strong Norse Atlantic fleet, which is exclusively comprised of Boeing 787 aircraft, will be with IndiGo, along with their flight crew.

This means that next summer Norse Atlantic will only operate:

• Athens to New York JFK
• London Gatwick to Los Angeles, New York JFK, Orlando
• Rome to Los Angeles, New York JFK

It is cutting:

• Athens to Los Angeles
• Berlin to New York JFK
• London Gatwick to Miami
• Oslo to New York JFK
• Paris CdG to Los Angeles, New York JFK

Hat-tip to @SeamM1997 on X.