British Airways Boeing 777 landing at Oakland International Airport (Photo: Port of Oakland)
Brexit does not seem to be having much impact on British Airways’ plans for the booming San Francisco Bay Area.
Today the airline launches nonstops from Oakland to London-Gatwick. The new flights are in addition to BA’s recently deployed daily 787 Dreamliner nonstop between San Jose International and Heathrow, as well as its two dailies between SFO and Heathrow using an Airbus A380 or Boeing 777.
This means that you can now fly BA to London from all three Bay Area airports- no other carrier offers that. It also means that British Airways now flies about 1,250 seats per day, each way, between the San Francisco Bay Area and London.
The new Oakland flight allows BA to tap into the populous and wealthy East Bay suburbs full of travelers who don’t (or won’t) cross the Bay for a flight out of the more congested SFO. BA is the only carrier at OAK offering lie-flat business class seats to Europe— essential if you want to hit the ground running after an overnight flight!
See a slideshow of BA’s inaugural flight event at Oakland International!
British Airways’ signature forward & rear facing business class seat- now flying from SFO, SJC and OAK. (Photo: Chris McGinnis)
Checking fares for April and May, British Airways has OAK-LGW for about $500 round trip in economy. Premium economy is running about $1,200. Business class is about $4,000 round trip. Unlike other carriers flying to Europe from Oakland, British Airways does not charge a fee for the first checked bag in any class of service.
Fares available on BA.com & Google flights on Tues March 28 & subject to change. Sale good through March 31
The new Oakland-Gatwick flights will operate four days a week using a Boeing 777-200ER that seats 275 passengers: 203 in economy, 24 in premium economy and 48 in business class. That’s a lot of room for upgrades or award flights! British Airways’ premium economy (aka World Traveller Plus) is in a separate cabin, bigger seats with 38-inch pitch, in-seat power, and choice of meals from the business class menu.
BA Club World (business class) travelers flying out of Oakland receive up to five days of free parking in OAK’s Premier Lot, an added value of $190. They also get complimentary access to a new Escape lounge located in Terminal 1 near BA gates. One-time passes to the lounge go for $45.
Don’t miss! Trip Report: British Airways Boeing 787 Dreamliner San Jose-London
BA business class passengers now have access to Oakland’s new Escape Lounge (Photo: K Taylor)
On Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays the flight departs London Gatwick’s South Terminal at 10:20am and arrives into Oakland at 1:15 pm. From Oakland, the flight departs at 2:45 pm and arrives London Gatwick at 9:25 am the next morning. On Tuesdays, the flight departs at 11:25 am from London Gatwick and arrives Oakland at 2:20 pm, returning at 3:50 pm with an arrival into London at 10:30am the next morning.
At Gatwick, BA uses the recently renovated South Terminal — recent improvements include a brand new business class lounge, and upgraded check in area, and easier access to the Gatwick Express.
Gatwick Airport (LGW) is 28 miles south of central London but still convenient and even preferred by many travelers. Why? Because the easy 30-minute, approximately $25 Gatwick Express train can whisk you from the airport to Victoria Station in the heart of the city every 15 minutes. London’s Heathrow Express, while speedier, drops you off at Paddington Station, which may not be as convenient. On the flip side, those traveling into Oakland from London can now get to downtown San Francisco via a new BART spur that connects the the airport to the city in about 30 minutes for about $10 each way.
London’s three primary airports. The Gatwick Express train connects the airport with Victoria Station (Image: Visit London)
BA seems to be on something of a roll recently. In addition to the new Oakland flight, British Airways is adding new nonstops to Ft Lauderdale and New Orleans from London this spring.
Do you have plans to fly to Europe this spring or summer? Where will you go and how will you get there? Please leave your comments below!
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Hi Chris… How was your flight?
Are the 777-200s BA using on this route the new renovated cabins
Thanks for the info! I’m on OAK-LGW tomorrow and will be writing up a Trip Report about the experience.
Granted the flight just started and takes time to develop but there were 67 passengers on the inbound the other day.
Not right now, $1690 for them or $1241 for BA WT+ for the first dates I checked (the dates they gave $503 for economy which is now $678). Book ahead.
OAK-LGW. Hmm. LGW is the only place I’ve had a four hour delay for traffic on a normal day, no snow. If you aren’t going to the four counties in that area, or greater London, then it sucks to have to drive from there round the M25. I have looked at the Norwegian flight, and then taking the train to get north of London to somewhere like Luton where I could then pick up a rental car, but the SFO-MAN flights are better for me.
Depends where in London you are heading. If it’s somewhere on or close to the Piccadilly Line then I’d take the tube. Further from there and you have to change tube trains anyway and Paddington has a tube station too. Figure at least an hour to get anywhere on the tube, and it’s tough in rush hour if you have a lot of bags.
I believe that the new CrossRail system will open in the next year or two, and that will probably be the route of preference for many. It will connect Heathrow, Paddington, the West End and the City on one fast line.
To Paddington, which is hardly “downtown”. If you have to get back on the Tube, why not start on the Tube as well?
Really not sure who this flight is targeted toward. Looking on the BA website, they advertise this flight as a SF centric flight. I think Willie is bitting off more than he can chew with this flight and LEVEL. I don’t think they will be around next summer.
From Terminal 3 the Heathrow Express is 15 minutes. However from Terminal 5, which BA uses, it’s 20 minutes.
FYI the earlier LHR to SFO flight will be a 747 this summer. Presumably bookings are good if they have up-sized from a 777.
The later flights remains a A380.
Gatwick is the world’s busiest single-runway airport. It gets VERY congested on summer week-ends and immigration there is a mess, Frankly. I’d ALWAYS prefer Heathrow.
City airport is delightful but there is only a flight there from New York right now using a A319.
What really makes this fare so amazing is that half of the fare is pure taxes. So I don’t know how the airlines can afford to fly people so cheaply.
LHR to downtown London in fifteen minutes via train!! Balderdash and codswallop!!
Unfortunately, Norwegian Premium economy is still better than World Traveler + and they cost the same more or less.
The average family can’t afford Business class for $$$ but premium economy is a nice gap between economy and the front of the plane.