British Airways Pulls Out of DFW, Cedes All Flying to American Airlines

While the handover happened two weeks ago, British Airways has officially pulled out of the Dallas-Ft. Worth market. As of March 31, 2025, the flag carrier of the United Kingdom transferred its sole remaining route between Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW) and London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) to American Airlines.

British Airways Shifts DFW Flying to American Airlines

Prior to British Airways pulling out of the market, American Airlines operated four daily flights between DFW and London with British Airways operating a single daily flight between the two cities. British Airways used an Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger jet, on this route though that is unsurprising considering it connected the largest hub of each carrier.

The London based carrier initially planned to swap the A380 with an Airbus A350-1000 on this route at the beginning of the summer travel season, but elected to hand over the route to American instead.

Now, the route has essentially been taken over by American with the hometown carrier flying 5x daily flights between the two airports. American Airlines is operating a mix of Boeing 777-200 and 777-300ER aircraft on the route.

Though you won’t see any British Airways planes at DFW for the foreseeable future, this change will have little to no impact on passengers. British Airways and American Airlines are part of the OneWorld Transatlantic Joint venture and both carriers sell tickets on each other’s flights, marketing them as their own.

The Joint Venture Partners are Streamlining Capacity on Multiple Routes

With Heathrow Airport being slot controlled, I’m assuming that British picked up another route from American instead of transferring the slot. We’ve seen more alignment and coordination from the carriers in recent years as they look to streamline their operations for passengers. The two carriers exclusively operate Boeing 777s on the JFK-LHR route and British Airways has moved to double daily service at nearby Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)

The only difference will be the onboard product, especially for Business Class passengers. While British Airways’ A380s have the old, outdated Club World “coffin” seats, the A350 features its new Club Suites Business Class.

We know that a new seat is coming for American’s long haul aircraft and, with the demand between DFW and London, I’d imagine we’d see that appear on at least one frequency once they are rolled out.

Even with the loss of DFW flying, British Airways will offer more flights between the United Kingdom and the United States than any other carrier this summer. During the peak of the schedule, the carrier will operate more than 400 direct flights per week to 25 different US destinations.

Summary

As of March 31, 2025, British Airways no longer flies between London Heathrow and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. The flag carrier of the United Kingdom has ceded the route to joint venture partner American Airlines, which will operate it 5x daily.