With the UK and the US being two of the world’s major aviation powerhouses, it is unsurprising that air traffic between the two is so high. Nowadays, most US-bound flights from the UK depart from hubs such as London’s Heathrow (LHR) and Gatwick (LGW) airports. However, this wasn’t always the case, as we shall now explore by examining several former US routes from secondary airports.
Bristol (BRS) – Newark (EWR)
Bristol Airport is a key focal point for flyers not just in the southwest of England but also in the south of Wales. With its catchment area including cities such as Cardiff, Bath, and Bristol itself, the facility has no shortage of potential customers on its doorstep. Today, the airport primarily handles low-cost and leisure traffic, with KLM and Lufthansa among the airport’s few full-service carriers.
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Photo: Bjoern Wylezich | Shutterstock
As a result, Bristol’s present route network has a distinctly European focus, but if we cast our minds back a little over a decade, the airport had more of an American flavor to it. Most notably, for just over five glorious years at the start of the 21st century, Continental Airlines flew non-stop from Bristol to Newark Liberty International Airport, using Boeing 757s to directly link the southwest to the US.
According to Bristol Airport, the route began in May 2005, and the services were the first-ever non-stop transatlantic flights to serve the region. Continental’s introduction came at a time of exciting growth for the facility, as just three years later, in 2008, the airport’s annual passenger figures exceeded six million for the first time. The flights operated daily and featured a two-class layout.
According to Business Traveller, the flights were popular as they removed the need to travel to London to fly to the US. Furthermore, due to Bristol’s westerly location, they offered shorter journey times. Despite this, the airline announced in April 2010 that it would be cutting the route in November of that year, potentially due to low yields (despite high demand), bringing the story to a close.
London Stansted (STN) – Minneapolis/St Paul (MSP)
Situated to the north of the British capital, London Stansted Airport is another facility whose operations primarily consist of low-cost and leisure flights to and from European destinations. That being said, the facility has a bit more history regarding long-haul operations, having previously handled AirAsia X flights to Kuala Lumpur and Air India to Mumbai. Today, it also sees Emirates services to Dubai.
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In years gone by, however, the Essex-based airport also had a short-lived direct link to the United States. Specifically, budget operator Sun Country Airlines operated a summer of seasonal flights between Stansted and Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in 2010, with Travel Papa noting that these flights ran from June 15th to August 11th that year using Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
While the Sun Country Airlines of today is an all-economy ultra-low-cost carrier, its business model in 2010 was somewhat different, with the 737s used to serve the route to Stansted also offering a first class product. As reported by Live & Let’s Fly at the time, the flights operated on a weekly basis, leaving Minneapolis on Fridays and returning on Sundays in order to be able to use one crew for the trip.
Related Throwback: When US Budget Carrier Sun Country Airlines Flew Transatlantic To London Stansted The airline utilized a Boeing 737-800 for the route, marking a rare transatlantic service with this aircraft type.
Sun Country’s flights between Minneapolis and Stansted were also notable due to their en-route stop in Gander, Canada. However, as this was only an operational formality for refueling purposes, tickets were not sold from Minneapolis and London to Gander. The route was ultimately a one-season wonder. Stansted has yet to see further US connectivity except for a brief period of Primera Air flights.
Liverpool (LPL) – New York John F Kennedy International (JFK)
While we have focused solely on airports in southern England thus far, the country’s north has also seen an interesting range of transatlantic services over the years. While these are largely concentrated nowadays at Manchester Airport (MAN), the mid to late 2000s also saw such action just down the road in Liverpool, where John Lennon Airporthad a direct link to New York JFKwith Flyglobespan.
According to Holiday Extras, the first of these flights took to the skies in May 2007, with 202-seat Boeing 757s serving the route. The services commenced with considerable fanfare, and Yoko Ono, the widow of former Beatles member and famous Liverpudlian John Lennon, was among the speakers at the launch event. Flyglobespan also began flights from Liverpool to Hamilton, Canada, that year.
Unfortunately, Flyglobespan’s flights from Liverpool to New York ended up being a mere flash in the pan. As reported by the BBC at the time, the airline announced in July 2007 that it would be suspending the route in October of that year, citing low demand and technical difficulties as contributing factors. It was hoped that the route would restart the following summer, but this never happened.
Flights Seats Available Seat Miles 95 19,367 64,240,339
(Data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, showing Flyglobespan’s 2007 LPL-JFK operations)
Throwback: The UK-US Routes From Secondary Airports That Were Lost To History
