[dutchyankee]

I hope so!! I mean, Austin is a lovely city (been twice) but just can’t see the draw for a direct route from London. Interesting to say the least! I hope some more exciting routes are up their sleeves !!!

[Bucksnet]

Lots of companies in Austin, plus there’s all the connections at Heathrow to Europe and beyond.

[dutchyankee]

@Bucksnet, no doubt there is business in Austin, but nothing compared to Pittsburgh or Portland or St. Louis etc. just seems a strange ‘first’ secondary city to choose.

[dutchyankee]

I remember a flight years ago with Southwest that stopped in El Paso and Lubbock, both of which have far more money than Austin. Should we look forward to a terraces Lounge in Lubbock soon?

[NameRemoved-18/12/14]

Does anyone know why BA’s 787s are not fitted with a First cabin?

In my experience, there is little difference in terms of comfort and privacy between F and CW.

[BA744fan]

The 787-800 is too small. Expect to see one on the 787-900.

[dutchyankee]

@Alexpo1

+1, very little difference, and when compred to some other J cabins, BA’s first is simply a good business class.

I think BA will have first in their larger 787-9 series, but I could be mistaken.

[Bucksnet]

@dutchyankee, apparently Austin is the largest city in the US without non-stop or even direct flights to Europe.

[Bath_VIP]

I for one will definitely be using the new Austin service to see my ladyfriend in San Antonio and vice versa!

Apparently the whole Texas triangle of Dallas to San Antonio to Houston is the fastest growing area in the US. San Antonio is less than an hour’s drive away from Austin airport so this is really a dual Austin/San Antonio route and completes the Texas triangle for BA. Somebody else can correct me on this but I got the feeling when I flew out of SAT in January that San Antonio’s runway is not that long which might be why they opted for Austin instead.

[dutchyankee]

@Bath_VIP

Both have long enough runways for widebodied equipment, but Audtin does have one runway in excess of 12000 feet, the other is 9000, while two of SAT runways are 8500+ feet.

@Bucksnet

Austin is no doubt a large city, the second or third largest capital city in the USA, but the Austin metropolitan are is 35 th in the USA, so on that score perhaps some of those in 1 through 34 would have made more sense, like the metro area of Kansa City being 29th in the US. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is exciting to see this new destination, and it shows the versatility of this new aircraft, it just took me by surprise. Connections in Austin will be very limited, so interested in how this point to point service will do, but I hope it is successful, and perhaps the vast connections at LHR will make this a success.

[sparkyflier]

Simmy700 credit must go to you for sharing your prediction on this Austin route before it was announced!

I look forward to more postings from you and you sharing more of your insight!

[Tom0706]

Just wondering,

Did BA offer up any commemorative gifts or anything of that sort to celebrate the first 787 long-haul flight?

The plane geek in me is thinking about hopping on board the first 787 flight from London to Newark if BA tries to make it a special experience in some way.

[AMcWhirter]

Hello dutchyankee

Correct. The key to the Austin’s route success will be the connecting flights to and from LHR. One of BA’s biggest selling points is that no rival (whether based in Europe or the Gulf) can rival its long list of N American destinations.

[JordanD]

@ Tom0706 – as per a poster on FlyerTalk who was on the inaugural YYZ (Toronto) – LHR BA 787 flight, pre-boarding gifts of a 787 model and a luggage tag were given to passengers.

[Tom0706]

Nice! Thanks…!! Sorry for repeating an already-answered question

[Author]

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