With the peak end-of-year holiday season fast approaching, airlines are rushing to launch new routes or resume popular ones suspended during the pandemic. This week, it was the turn of British Airways to resume a route that has been out of service for more than four years.
On Tuesday, British Airways flight BA2231 touched down in Bangkok to reopen a route that was suspended in 2020 during the pandemic, resuming nonstop flights from London to the Thai capital. The service will initially operate three times weekly, increasing up to five times weekly in January and February 2025 and four times per week in March 2025.
On October 28, British Airways (BA) flight BA2231 departed London Gatwick Airport (LGW) at 22:00 and, after a flight of 10:55 hours, landed in Thailand at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport at 15:55 on the following day. The flight was operated with a 1999 Boeing 777-200ER, registration G-YMMA and MSN 30302, which, despite its age, is a regular long-haul choice for flights from London to New York JFK, Orlando (MCO), Las Vegas (LAS) and Cancun (CUN).
Three classes of travel on a loyal BA servant
According to Flightradar24, British Airways has a fleet of 43 Boeing 777-200ERs, ranging in age from 15 to 28 years, showing that even older generation aircraft can fill a role within BA’s large fleet of around 300 aircraft. On Tuesday, this 777-200ER departed Bangkok at 23:21 and landed in Gatwick at 04:52.
London to Bangkok cheap flights nonstop
Passengers on the inbound flight were greeted on arrival by traditional Thai dancers, flower garlands and local gifts. BA Chief Planning and Strategy Officer Neil Chernoff said the airline knows that Bangkok has been a highly anticipated route restart by customers, who have the choice of traveling in World Traveller, World Traveller Plus and Club World cabins.
“Not only does Bangkok itself have so much to offer our leisure customers, but it is a gateway to some of the most beautiful parts of Southeast Asia and we are proud to make these more accessible to the UK market.”
Expanded codeshare opens connections
British Airways recently announced its expanded codeshare agreement with Thailand’s Bangkok Airways, opening seamless connectivity to more popular destinations in Southeast Asia for BA travelers arriving in Bangkok. They will have the opportunity to connect seamlessly from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to five holiday destinations in Thailand and Cambodia.
Its existing codeshare partnership with Bangkok Airways has been expanded to open up five new destinations across Thailand and Cambodia, allowing customers to connect seamlessly in Bangkok onto:
Phuket (HKT), Thailand
Koh Samui (USM), Thailand
Chiang Mai (CNX), Thailand
Phnom Penh (PNH), Cambodia
Siem Reap (SAI), Cambodia
Making the offer even more attractive is that customers can add make a stopover in Bangkok and then continue on to their final destination on the same ticket. BA Exceutive Club members will earn Avios and Tier Points when flying on Bangkok Airways on a British Airways codeshare journey.
