The number of flights (not seats) between 
London Heathrow Airport and 
New York JFK Airport is currently at an all-time high. It is one of the world’s most lucrative routes, and several airlines offer multiple daily flights to cater to the ever-growing demand. Infamously, this includes British Airways, American Airlines, JetBlue, and Delta Air Lines.
However, several perhaps unusual players served the market in the past. Of course, there were airlines like Pan American World Airways that flew the route back when they were still alive. Barring those that no longer exist, and looking exclusively at players that flew the service in the last two decades, there are still a few interesting entries.
Three Standouts
Back in 2004, there were six players on the LHR-JFK route compared to five today. Of those six, only half of them still serve it. For most, it is almost inconceivable to imagine that they might reopen the route today. Current-day market dynamics, technological advancements, and intense competition make any such services unlikely.
|
Unusual Airlines That Flew JFK-LHR |
Start Year |
End Year |
|---|---|---|
|
1960 |
2008 |
|
|
1980 |
2015 |
|
|
|
1991 |
2006 |
United AirlinesOver the decades, many airlines have served the route of course. The above represent just a fraction of those carriers, and are just a sample of some of the wild and weird airlines that have connected London to New York. Indeed, United Airlines is the least unusual: it previously had an important base at New York’s JFK Airport and flew to Heathrow after acquiring Pan Am’s access to the English airport.
Air India and Kuwait Airways both took advantage of so-called fifth freedom traffic rights, allowing an airline to transport passengers between two cities, neither of which is located in its home country.
Air India’s Transatlantic Adventures
The carrier began the route in 1960 with its Boeing 707s. On May 21, 1971, the carrier debuted its Boeing 747 into commercial service with four weekly services between Bombay (present-day Mumbai) and London. In fact, the inaugural 747 flight was meant to route to New York, but this was canceled. Instead, the jumbo jet launched on the transatlantic leg of this flight a few days later, on May 26.
Air India ended its flights between New York JFK and London Heathrow back in 2008. Indeed, as United ended flights on the sector in 2006 and with Air India set to join Star Alliance in 2009, it was hoped that this connection would provide a foothold for the group in a very competitive market.
Ultimately, higher fuel prices, market deregulation (and the Open Skies agreement), and weakening revenue, the carrier was unable to sustain the operation. It is also particularly difficult for a non-home carrier to fly such a route, particularly from a market awareness standpoint. According to Business Traveller, the airline offered extremely attractive prices for both economy and business travelers as a result of this non-home dimension. Load factors in 2006 and 2007 averaged circa 60%, and dropped to 56% in 2008.
Kuwait Airways & Its Legal Battle
Kuwait Airways launched the leg in 1980. Similarly to Air India, given the geographical distance from the United States, a fuel stop was necessary to reach places like New York. It made sense, therefore, to land in London, refuel, and unload/load passengers. It is not immediately clear if the service did well, though data from the US Department of Transportation shows loads averaged less than 70% in the final few years. This suggests that, given the empty seats, revenues were not sky-high.
The route was suspended in 2015 after the carrier faced legal action for refusing to sell a ticket to Israeli citizen, Eldad Gatt. Kuwaiti law stipulates that those holding an Israeli passport or visa stamp in their passport are not allowed entry into the country.
The airline argued that this was not a discrimination case, as it allows access to anyone whose passports are valid in Kuwait. As such, the legal case in the US leaned on flights that did not touch Kuwaiti soil, namely the London-New York route. The carrier resolved the case by suspending the route altogether. Naturally, the flight has not returned as that law remains in place.
