British Airways to restart Pakistan flights

A British Airways 787-8 landing at Heathrow Airport. Photo: © Alan Wilson

British Airways has today announced the re-launch of its flights to Pakistan, with Islamabad’s new airport being the initial destination for the carrier. The three-weekly flight marks a return to the country following a 10-year hiatus after seeing improvements in airport infrastructure and security measurements.

Using the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, its smallest long-haul aircraft, on the route will allow British Airways to test the economics of the new connection at first before potentially moving towards larger aircraft. British Airways has 214 seats installed on its 787-8, with 35 in its Club World business class, 25 in Premium Economy and 154 in regular economy.

The inaugural flight is scheduled for June 2nd. Flights will depart each Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday from London Heathrow Airport . The service will be operated in direct competition with Pakistan’s flag carrier, PIA – Pakistan International Airways. PIA has a daily flight on this route using the Boeing 777. The airline also operates flights between other destinations in Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

British Airways aims to capture parts of the relatively strong traffic between the UK and Pakistan, which is created by the large diaspora of Pakistani people living in the UK. Currently, this traffic is mostly handled by PIA and middle eastern carriers, including Emirates or Qatar Airways.

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