British Airways has announced that Portland is the latest destination to be added to the British airline's growing route network. The UK flag carrier will launch flights to the west coast destination from the 1st of June 2020.

It has been a busy year for British Airways as far as routes go. The flag carrier of Britain had, before today, announced 15 new routes throughout the course of the year. Of course, with the addition of Portland, this has risen to 16. The airline announced a host of these routes, short hauls from London Heathrow, last week.

The new Portland service

British Airways' new service to Portland, Oregan, is set to take to the skies from the 1st of June 2020. Coincidentally, this is the same day that Aeroflot will launch their London Airbus A350 service. The aircraft will be operated by the Boeing 787. While the airline hasn't mentioned which of the three variants it will use, Head For Points thinks it will be the smallest of the family, the 787-8.

British Airways, Boeing 787, Portland
The flight will operate 5 times per week. Image: GCMaps

Additionally, the new route will not be daily. Instead, the airline has told that the flight will be operated five times a week. It will depart from London Heathrow on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. According to the airline, the flights will operate to the following schedule:

  • BA299 will depart from London Heathrow (LHR) at 15:05. Following the almost 5,000 mile flight, the Boeing 787 is scheduled to touch down in Portland (PDX) at 16:55.
  • The aircraft will then remain on the ground for 1-hour and 50-minutes.
  • BA298 will depart from Portland at 18:45. Following an overnight flight, the Boeing 787 will touch back down in London at 12:10 the next day.

In total, it will take the Boeing 787 21 hours to travel from London Heathrow to Portland and then back to London Heathrow.

Key to joint business strategy

According to Neil Chernoff, British Airways’ Director of Networks and Alliances, the new route to Portland will be key to the airline's joint business strategy. This strategy has been agreed with American Airlines, Finnair and Iberia, who are also launching more flights. British Airways yesterday announced a separate joint business agreement with China Southern.

British Airways, Boeing 787, Portland
Portland is the airline's 16th new destination this year. Photo: British Airways

Mr Chernoff said:

“Portland will be a fantastic addition to our route map. As a major technology and innovation hub the city is drawing ever-increasing numbers of international visitors. Since 2015 we’ve launched routes to Pittsburgh, Charleston, Nashville, New Orleans and San Jose, and this is key to our joint business strategy which is growing across North America. We’re confident the route will be warmly welcomed by both business and leisure travellers.”

Will you find the new route to Portland Handy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!