ISTFlyer

According to my source;

Early August -> JFK
Mid September -> BOS

The only bad thing that I heard would be for connecting pax as flights in both directions would depart about 9-11pm in from the USA and around 6pm from Heathrow; so on the way back, unless B6 reinstates their 10-11pm domestic banks from JFK and BOS. These flights wouldn't attract connecting passengers at the first point except for one-ways from the USA.

GW McLintock

I have been given this timeframe as well.

-J.

hi55us

That's such an odd schedule, I would think they wouldn't want to have the aircraft spending all day on the ground at LHR where they have limited mechanical staff.

I think what made them pick the 9pm-11pm departure time from the US is that out of Boston they have the 7:25am BA flight, the 7:30pm Delta flight and the 9pm Virgin Atlantic flight. I could see them doing a 11pm flight primarily going after O&D passengers. At JFK they have a ton more competition with AA/BA/DL/VS, so they likely are going to be gunning for a lot of connecting traffic, hence the late evening departure. What they need to do is improve the ground experience for Mint passengers at JFK since they should be laser focused on connecting passengers. It's a lot easier to compete with the legacy carriers on a CHS-JFK-LHR ticket than on a JFK-LHR nonstop.

tphuang

I think they are just taking what LHR slots might be available. Maybe they can get more and better slots if demand out of LHR continues to be weak. But it's hard to get your slots of choice right from the start.

Fanjet

They have no say in the matter. This is what LHR gave them to use until October 30th. And when you look at the slot pair times the other airlines (who will also be utilizing these temporary exemptions) received, it seems that the folks at LHR wanted to screw over B6. They have around 2-3 hour turnarounds at LHR. Not 8 hour ones.

hi55us

It was mentioned an 11pm Departure from JFK/BOS and a 6pm Departure from LHR, that would have the aircraft on the ground all day in London. Where are you seeing the 3 hour turnaround?

Adam Smith

I think the "they" of the 2-3 hour turnarounds refers to "the other airlines (who will also be utilizing these temporary exemptions)", not to B6

Are these temporary slots tradeable? I believe WestJet has some better timed slots for this summer (same temporary deal) and shows no signs of using them...

Fanjet

Yes. "They" refers to the other airlines which were given temporary access to LHR for S21 (like B6 was).Is WestJet not using their regular slots at LGW this summer, as well? They actually got the highly coveted slot pairs (in regards to TATL flying): AM arrival/AM departure. I just find it odd that LHR gave B6 not just one, but two slot pairs with 8hr layovers each. While the other airlines got ground times of only 2 or 3 hours for theirs.

wetrat0

Probably the only slots available. But it's not clear to me why they even need to rely on connecting pax when starting out with one flight. DI was filling multiple 787s on JFK-LGW without any feed... I think B6 can fill one non-dense A321 on JFK-LHR with purely O/D pax, and do it with significantly higher yield than DI (LHR preferred over LGW, lie-flat versus recliner, "Mint" already has a premium brand identity, existing B6 FF base at JFK, etc).

Assuming the reopenings in NYC and LON continue as planned, the demand will be there. There are plenty of flyers on this route who are willing to jump ship especially for improved comfort at a reasonable price (I'm one of them).

Adam Smith

WestJet is scheduled to resume daily service to LGW (from YYC, at least) on June 5. But they are not marketing flights to LHR at all, which is why I mused that perhaps B6 could obtain those LHR slots, if it's possible to trade them. Seems like that could be a win for both sides - B6 gets better slots, WS gets a few bucks from B6 for an asset it wasn't going to use anyway.

Dave_C

Looks like fares seem to be filed now. £990 for a LHR-JFK return in Mint. One-ways seem not to be available and the best fares have a Saturday night stay requirement.

Duck1981

£990 vs roughly £800 for a PE return with BA seems a good deal to me.

Now I only need the States to let me in!

Dave_C

Fares are filed in the GDS for LAX as well, but doesn't appear to be bookable on the website yet. I randomly checked other markets like IAH and WAS, and they're not filed. I'm now contemplating the August Bank Holiday weekend in NYC - perhaps more fun than Manchester!

AutoSlash

Website undergoing maintenance right now, so this development combined with the LON fares being filed may be the event we've all been waiting for. Fingers crossed!

Dave_C

Just click the link above that says "Book" and then select "Flights", and you can still get to the booking engine.