Arlington, TX -- March 31, 2008 - The hottest airport in Europe this spring travel season has got to be London Heathrow.
The bargains to London, especially on flights to Heathrow, are far lower than other popular destinations in Europe including Paris, Amsterdam and Rome. Almost every U.S. airline which was previously denied landing rights to Heathrow has now added it to their international route system, over Gatwick airport.
This new increase in competition at Heathrow has made London one of the
hottest bargain base-airfare destinations in Europe for spring travel, in spite
of the fact that London has one of the highest fuel surcharges in Europe at $242
roundtrip on most major U.S. airlines. Madrid and Barcelona come in a close second place
as a great travel bargain this spring, in some cases offering even lower
airfares than London. On some routes, Paris is also a better
buy than many other European destinations.
| Departure City | To London | To Madrid | To Barcelona | To Paris | To Rome |
| New York City | $399 | $479 | $479 | $529 | $759 |
| Newark | $399 | $479 | $479 | $529 | $829 |
| Atlanta | $579 | $529 | $549 | $989 | $1,069 |
| Boston | $409 | $439 | $439 | $739 | $829 |
| Buffalo | $399 | $479 | $479 | $649 | $749 |
| Chicago | $489 | $449 | $449 | $789 | $929 |
| Columbus (OH) | $429 | $579 | $579 | $649 | $929 |
| Dallas | $579 | $539 | $539 | $749 | $869 |
| Denver | $599 | $679 | $679 | $729 | $1,019 |
| Harrisburg (PA) | $399 | $579 | $579 | $649 | $829 |
| Hartford | $439 | $479 | $479 | $529 | $749 |
| Kansas City | $419 | $579 | $579 | $659 | $899 |
| Las Vegas | $519 | $599 | $599 | $729 | $989 |
| Los Angeles | $459 | $539 | $539 | $729 | $1,009 |
| Miami | $599 | $529 | $529 | $789 | $879 |
| Nashville | $399 | $539 | $539 | $679 | $869 |
| Orlando | $599 | $519 | $519 | $689 | $899 |
| Phoenix | $599 | $569 | $569 | $699 | $949 |
| Providence | $399 | $479 | $479 | $649 | $749 |
| Rochester (NY) | $399 | $479 | $479 | $649 | $749 |
| San Antonio | $499 | $609 | $609 | $659 | $899 |
| San Francisco/Oakland | $459 | $719 | $719 | $879 | $679 |
| Washington (DC) | $449 | $509 | $509 | $739 | $929 |
Prior to the Open Skies agreement, only British Airways, Virgin America,
American Airlines and United Airlines could offer nonstop service to London
Heathrow. This forced any other European or U.S. based airline who wished to fly
between the U.S. and England to use alternate airports such as London Gatwick,
London Stansted and Manchester airport.
"Today, the mad rush is on to add Heathrow service. American Airlines and British Airways have switched their Dallas to London service from Gatwick to Heathrow. American plans to abandon Gatwick service altogether when it switches its Raleigh to London service from Gatwick to Heathrow. Even Air France is now offering nonstop Los Angeles to Heathrow service" - states Parsons.
"Continental Airlines has previously sold nonstop tickets to Heathrow through a codeshare agreement with Virgin America. While they will continue this partnership, they will also be adding several flights of their own to Heathrow" - adds Parsons.
Listed below is a summary of new transatlantic flights into Heathrow:
| Departure City | Airline | Frequency | Start Date |
| Atlanta | Delta | New nonstop daily roundtrip | March 29 |
| Dallas | American | Daily (shifted from Gatwick) | March 29/April 13 |
| British Airways | Daily (shifted from Gatwick) | March 30 | |
| Denver | United | New nonstop daily roundtrip | March 30 |
| Detroit | Northwest | New nonstop daily roundtrip | May 1 |
| Houston | Continental | Two new nonstop daily roundtrips | March 29 |
| British Airways | Twice daily (shifted from Gatwick) | March 30 | |
| Los Angeles | Air France | New nonstop daily roundtrip | March 30 |
| Minneapolis | Northwest | New nonstop daily roundtrip | March 29 |
| New York/JFK | Delta | Two new nonstop daily roundtrips | March 29 |
| Newark | Continental | Two new nonstop daily roundtrips | March 29 |
| Philadelphia | US Airways | New nonstop daily roundtrip | March 29 |
| Raleigh | American | Daily (shifted from Gatwick) | March 28 |
| Seattle | Northwest | New nonstop daily roundtrip | June 1 |
"With more airlines competing for Heathrow traffic, we expect airfares to
London during the peak summer months to remain the cheapest in Europe, with
airfares as much as $200 to $500 roundtrip less than other destinations" - advises
Parsons.
