Transatlantic Hops: These Are The 6 Busiest US-Europe Routes

Europe and the US are as closely linked as two regions can be. The two areas have huge populations, strong economic ties, and are also relatively close to one another. As such, there is a huge demand for flights, and so airlines provide an abundant supply of flights across the Atlantic. For large US airlines, Europe is typically their largest long-haul region, and the reverse is true for most legacy European carriers.

The Atlantic is dominated by three joint ventures made up of airlines in Star Alliance (United, Air Canada, Lufthansa Group carriers), SkyTeam (Delta, Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic), and oneworld (American, IAG carriers, Finnair). Using data from Cirium, an aviation data analytics company, what are the top six routes between Europe and the United States?

Boston Logan International Airport To London-Heathrow

Credit: Shutterstock

There are five airlines operating up to eight daily flights between Boston and London-Heathrow: American Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and Virgin Atlantic. In practice, however, American and British Airways are in a metal-neutral joint venture, and the same is true for Delta and Virgin Atlantic. As such, this route really only sees competition from three entities, with JetBlue being the odd one out.

British Airways operates three daily flights between the two cities in the summertime (one of which uses the Airbus A380), while American Airlines flies a daily Boeing 777-200ER, despite not having a hub at Boston-Logan. Delta flies a daily Airbus A330-900, while Virgin Atlantic operates two daily A330neos between the two. As such, oneworld is the dominant group on this route, primarily due to British Airways’ presence.

JetBlue is a low-cost carrier, but the carrier has long portrayed itself as more premium than traditional budget airlines like Spirit or Frontier. Rather uniquely for a low-cost carrier, it operates a daily flight between Boston and London-Heathrow (two major business hubs) using an Airbus A321LR configured with a huge amount of lie-flat business class suites with doors. JetBlue’s presence is a tiny drop in the water, but it’s a low-risk aircraft and a low-risk route considering JetBlue’s market position in Boston.

Newark Liberty To London Heathrow

Credit: Shutterstock

New York and London are ranked as the world’s only Alpha++ cities. These are the world’s two most economically influential cities, and their relatively short distance, along with close business and cultural ties, means that the two cities are connected by an incredible number of flights. Newark Liberty International Airport is one of three major airports serving the New York metropolitan area, and it’s notably home to a fortress hub for United Airlines.

American and Delta benefit from having joint venture agreements with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, but United does not have a London-based partner airline. As such, it has to operate all of its flights to London on its own metal. From Newark, United operates up to seven daily flights, all using its Boeing 767-300ERs in the “76L” configuration. These planes are famous for featuring 46 Polaris seats and a total of only 167 seats.

However, while foreign carriers usually prefer John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), British Airways also serves Newark in addition to its JFK flights. It flies two daily flights, making for a total of up to nine daily flights between the two airports. British Airways utilizes the 777-200ER and the Boeing 787-10. While both of these are large aircraft, British Airways configures its planes with large premium cabins, and it offers first class on both of its flights to Newark.

Chicago O’Hare To LondonHeathrow

Credit: Shutterstock

Just like the route from Newark to London, the route from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to London Heathrow Airport sees up to nine daily flights. However, this route has more total seats than the route from Newark, making it the fourth-busiest route connecting Europe and the US. Furthermore, while Newark is a fortress hub for United, Chicago-O’Hare is a major connecting hub for both United and American Airlines.

American Airlines is the weaker of the two in Chicago, but its partnership with British Airways means that the oneworld alliance carriers are strongest on this route. As previously mentioned, United does not have a joint venture partner based in London, so it has to use its own aircraft to London. American and British Airways act as one in their metal-neutral joint venture, and they fly a total of six daily flights between the two cities during the peak season.

United Airlines flies three daily flights between Chicago and London-Heathrow, all of which use the “76L” fleet. These are small, but cost-effective planes that are paid off and have huge amounts of premium seats, perfect for this relatively short route. American Airlines, meanwhile, uses its new 787-9s coded as “78P” with 51 business class seats and only 244 seats total, while British Airways uses a mix of the Boeing 777-200ER and the Boeing 787-10, while also offering first class.

Los Angeles To London Heathrow

Credit: Shutterstock

Los Angeles is interesting in the US airline industry because all three major US carriers have modestly sized hubs here and none of them has a sizeable advantage over the other. When looking at the route to London, however, oneworld has the advantage due to the presence of British Airways, which partners with American Airlines. In total, there are nine daily flights between the two airports, and American Airlines and British Airways have the largest presence.

In total, American and British Airways operate five daily flights on this route. British Airways flies three daily flights in the summer season, two of which use the Boeing 777 and one of which uses the Airbus A380. American Airlines, meanwhile, flies two daily flights, one of which uses the Boeing 777-200ER and one of which uses the Boeing 777-300ER. As American still offers first class on the 777-300ER, this means that both oneworld carriers offer first class on this route.

United flies a single daily flight using the Boeing 787-9 on this route. Delta, meanwhile, does not operate this with its own metal, but it does sell tickets on Virgin Atlantic’s three daily flights between the two cities. Virgin Atlantic flies this route with the Airbus A350-1000, its flagship aircraft, and this is the only SkyTeam presence on this route. Delta previously flew its own planes on this route, but it was determined that letting Virgin Atlantic take over would be more cost-effective.

Connecting New York To Paris Charles de Gaulle

Credit: Shutterstock

The route between New York and Paris is dominated by the Delta-Air France joint venture. Combined, these two operate nine out of 11 daily flights between the two airports during the summer season. This is the second-busiest route between the US and Europe, but as New York-JFK is a major Delta hub and Paris is the main hub for Air France, there’s little room left for anyone else. Due to the metal-neutral nature of the joint venture, it’s primarily Air France performing the heavy lifting.

Air France operates up to six daily flights between New York-JFK and Paris Charles de Gaulle during the summer season. During this time, four of its flights will use the Boeing 777, while the remaining two are scheduled to use the Airbus A350-900. Delta, meanwhile, operates three daily flights between the two airports during the summer, operating one flight with the Airbus A330-300 and two with the Boeing 767-400ER.

Competing against SkyTeam on this route are American Airlines and JetBlue, but both of these airlines have a comparatively weak presence. American flies a single Boeing 777-200ER on this route, which it maintains throughout the winter season. JetBlue, meanwhile, operates one of its Airbus A321LRs. Not only is this a small aircraft, but JetBlue configures the plane with just 138 seats, made up of 24 Mint suites and 114 economy seats. This is nearly half the capacity of American’s 777-200ER.

The Number One Route Across The Atlantic

Credit: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

New York John F Kennedy International Airport has long been the dominant long-haul airport in the New York metropolitan area. While Newark sees huge flight numbers, it’s dominated by United Airlines, whereas JFK is home to sizeable hubs for American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, which both have joint venture partners in London. As such, there are significantly more flights between London-Heathrow and New York-JFK than between London-Heathrow and Newark.

This route sees intense competition between the SkyTeam joint venture and the oneworld joint venture. On this route, it’s American and British Airways competing against Delta and Virgin Atlantic. The oneworld carriers operate up to 13 daily flights, while the SkyTeam airlines fly up to eight daily flights. While Delta is the larger of the two in New York, it’s oneworld that is the dominant airline on this route, with British Airways contributing most of the flights.

Then, there’s the little fish in the pond: JetBlue. JetBlue only operates two daily Airbus A321LRs (as opposed to the widebodies flown by its competitors), but although the carrier has a small presence and is generally struggling, it’s been reported that its transatlantic operations have been successful. When you add these flights, you get a total of 23 daily flights between the two airports.