Alex McWhirter looks at how new services can benefit business travellers
London to Las Vegas
Until Virgin Atlantic began flying non-stop from London Gatwick to Las Vegas in 2000, this desert city was not the easiest US destination for UK travellers to visit. The choice was either to fly to a West Coast gateway city and backtrack, or fly indirectly via hubs such as New York, Chicago or Minneapolis. It meant a travel time of under 11 hours for a non-stop flight would be extended to 15 or 20 hours depending on connections.
The good news is that from the end of October, Las Vegas-bound travellers gained another choice, this time from Heathrow. It might seem an odd time to launch a route geared towards convention and leisure business, but BA’s chief executive, Willie Walsh, has claimed that advance bookings are excellent in all three cabins. “It is by far the best-performing route we haveseen,” he told Business Traveller. “The people of Las Vegas are thrilled – they have been waiting for this for years.” And it is estimated that BA’s arrival on the scene will generate additional revenue of US$96 million annually for the city.
Walsh blamed the former Bermuda Two aviation treaty for the fact that the airline had not served Las Vegas before. This agreement meant flights from Heathrow were not possible. “But as soon as Open Skies arrived in 2008, the route came back on the agenda,” he said.
What gives BA an edge is that it departs from Terminal 5 with its many domestic and international connections. This is important because there are no non-stop flights to Las Vegas offered by other major airlines from anywhere in Europe. Virgin does not enjoy the advantage of BA’s network and there are more limited connecting opportunities at Gatwick.
What BA and Virgin offer
British Airways departs daily from Heathrow using a three-class B777 (economy, premium economy and business). Flight BA275 departs at 1535 to arrive into Las Vegas at 1825, while the return flight BA274 departs at 2020 to land back into Heathrow the following day at 1405. (See businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested for reviews of the business class offering on both legs.)
Virgin operates with a three-class B747. Flight VS43 leaves Gatwick at 1120, arriving into Las Vegas at 1405. Return service VS44 departs at 1635 and lands at Gatwick the next day at 1035. Cabin layouts for each plane type are displayed on seatplans.com. Note that Virgin uses a Gatwick-configured B747 on this route.
Fares
Both carriers take advantage of the time-saving benefits of their direct flights and price accordingly. It means tickets are expensive unless your stay includes a weekend or you can benefit from one of their regular seat sales.
For a typical flight in early February during the working week, BA (ba.com) charges £6,773 for Club World, £2,891 for World Traveller Plus and £1,727 for World Traveller. During November’s sale, tickets were being sold for £1,789, £872 and £469 respectively, but there would have been booking and minimum-stay restrictions with these rates. For similar dates, Virgin charges £6,752 for Upper Class (business), £2,957 for premium economy and £1,716 for economy class.
Canny readers may wish to consider booking BA Club World tickets starting in mainland Europe. Not only are premium fares cheaper but you avoid the £90 air passenger duty when departing to Las Vegas from London.
It would seem that, from mainland Europe, BA is keen to match the premium rates charged by the US indirect carriers. So for similar dates to the above, online agent Opodo France (opodo.fr) has a Club World rate of €3,532 out of Paris Charles de Gaulle via Heathrow, while Opodo Germany (opodo.de) has a price of €3,259.
The indirect alternative
Several carriers offer flights via their US hubs. Many are codeshare flights with European carriers such as Air France, KLM and Lufthansa, even though they are operated by the likes of Delta, Northwest or United.
The main advantage of taking this option is price, especially if your stay does not include a weekend. Based on this criteria, opodo.co.uk quotes business class returns out of Heathrow as £2,860 with Delta and £3,035 with Continental, both via New York. Economy fares are £671 with Northwest via Detroit, or £1,083 with Delta via New York. Indirect carriers also offer the advantage of departures from the UK regions.
