British Airways has confirmed the launch of its London Heathrow to Osaka, Japan route from April 1, 2019.
The airline last served the route in October 1998.
The direct/ non-stop flights to Japan’s second largest city will be served four-times weekly from London with a B787-8 Dreamliner.
Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Director of Network and Alliances, said: “Our partners Japan Airlines and Finnair have demonstrated that Osaka is a hugely popular route with leisure and business travellers alike, so we are excited to launch direct flights from London, giving customers another gateway.”
Hideki Oshima, Japan Airlines’ Executive Officer International Relations and Alliances, said “We are extremely excited with the announcement of British Airways’ new route. Not only does it provide more choices and greater convenience for our passengers traveling between Japan and Europe, but it is also great news for the Kansai region. We look forward to serving our mutual customers through our codeshare service and contributing to the regional economy in Osaka.”
The new route takes the number of daily flights between London and Japan offered as part of British Airways’ joint business with Japan Airlines up to 32 per week.
Japanese tourism is set to grow from 24 million annual visitors in 2016 to 40 million in 2020, the airline predicts.
Japan Airlines will also offer a code share on the new service, giving passengers more opportunities to earn and redeem Avios loyalty points across the network.
British Airways is also adding four cities to its joint business agreement with Japan Airlines, with the ‘BA’ code being put on flights between Tokyo Haneda and Miyazaki, Kumamoto, Komatsu and Matsuyama.
British Airways operates all flights to Japan in cooperation with its joint business partners: Japan Airlines, Finnair and Iberia. Finnair flies direct between Helsinki and Osaka with up to 10 direct services a week.
| Flight number | Sector | Dep Time Local | Arr Time Local | Days of Week |
| BA19/JL7078* | LHR-KIX | 14:20 | 09:50 (the following day) | Mon, Weds, Fri, Sun |
| BA20/JL7079* | KIX-LHR | 11:30 | 15:50 | Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sat |
*Japan Airlines codeshare flight
