Repooc17

For a mere 600 more miles and extra segment each way, the tradeoff being significantly longer travel time (vs. nonstop between SFO and LHR), and assuming same day return, not getting to SFO until around midnight.

SFO_FT

How so? You thinking they'll launch a late night BOS-SFO on a 763 (eg, 10pm)? Far too premium-heavy for that time of day considering all of the capacity--including on other carriers--at more decent times. Would expect instead they'll have a plane that came in from SFO at 7pm or so and then overnights going back to the West Coast in the AM. Ensures having a plane at BOS to protect the LHR flight when it goes IRROPS or gets delayed inbound from LHR. Most carriers do everything possible (eg, have another aircraft on the ground) to ensure on-time departures when serving premium-heavy LHR routes. Even more important when your company's flight is the last of the day!

PsiFighter37

Combined with UA announcing SNA-HNL, and their suite of spoke-spoke routes to Florida this winter...it feels like a combination of retaliation vs. B6 and trying to figure out what might work. It feels/seems readily abundant that the pre-COVID playbook is basically never going to come back. EWR/ORD-LHR, and EWR/ORD-ZRH all on 46J planes? Not happening for years, if ever again...Zoom has stolen many of those dollars for good.

That said, I am glad UA is getting more creative on route planning, and I do hope that when things come back to a new 'normal', whatever that ends up being, that UA sticks to some things. Building out the Hawaii franchise (e.g. EWR-OGG, ORD-KOA and SNA-HNL) seems wise. I would not be surprised if Hawaii is a hotter-than-usual destination for domestic holiday traffic for several years to come.

worldtrav

I 100% agree with you, they may as well set fire to the cash.

joachimm

The LH lounge in Terminal E is adequate for Polaris customers IMO. This would satisfy folks who really care about a premium lounge experience even if the LHR flight leaves from Terminal B, which it probably will. Most customers outside of FT would probably be fine with the domestic lounge in Terminal B, which has great views but pretty mediocre food and beverage. Maybe they'd upgrade F&B or have a separate Polaris section, it's a good size lounge and usually pretty empty the few times I've been there so there could be room for a mini-Polaris lounge.

The OW BA lounge in E is very nice, a slight step above the LH lounge IMO. It factors in (minimally) to my decision to switch my flying to AS/AA, on the assumption that AS MVP Gold/OW Sapphire will have access to this lounge on international OW flights.

BOSskier

I believe Massport is in the process of connecting terminals C and B airside, so in theory, once that's complete (slated for late 2021), one could use the LH lounge prior to the UA flight and at least not have to re-clear security when schlepping from Terminal E to B. So maybe timing works out here? Either way, will be nice to see a UA widebody at Terminal B again!

RJNYC

I've heard from my friends at BA that the BOS-LHR route is a remedy slot unrelated to the ANZ transaction.

Indeed, here is the relevant language from the UK Competition & Markets Authority's May 2020 decision:

https://www.gov.uk/cma-cases/investi...ness-agreement

The interim measures which have been imposed effectively extend the terms of the 2010 Commitments for an additional 3 years until March 2024. Airlines currently operating slots on London to Boston, Dallas and Miami routes pursuant to the 2010 commitments will continue to operate these slots for an additional year, until March 2022.

A tender process will take place in March 2022 for these slots for the remaining two years. A tender process will be undertaken this autumn [Fall 2020] in relation to a second slot on the London to Boston route.

CALMSP

or the 46J EWR-NCE

I do wonder, would UA backtrack and reduce J again? Back to the lower density? Would PP expand at a cost of reduced J? I was only on the 46J once from LHR last year, it really was a great plane/layout, didn't feel like there were a million people in the gate area either.

DMPHL

No, the slot isn't a BOS-LHR slot, it's a LHR arrival/departure slot pair. It's more accurate to say that AA was planning to use one of its LHR slot pairs for a BOS-LHR flight, but then decided not to and will use the slot for service to/from another market.

If this launches, UA will be either purchasing a new slot pair from another airline (probably not), or just utilizing an already existing LHR slot pair in its portfolio.

EWR764

I've heard nothing about a UA application for any of the remedy slots, and as far as I know, a decision hasn't yet been rendered on allocation of the 2 LHR-BOS slots. Last I read, it was only B6 and DL applying.

The uncertain start date, lack of a public application and somwhat-surprising announcement suggests to me this is just a deployment of one of UA's own slots. Now that Norwegian is exiting TATL (they held the other 2010 remedy slot with DL), it's almost a fait accompli that B6 will get at least one of the remedy slot pairs, so UA appears to be preempting JetBlue in this market as part of a broader competitive attack.

RJNYC

Correct. DL/VS are keeping 1 of the BOS-LHR remedy slots. UA was just awarded the other.
The ANZ slot purchase you mentioned was used to make DEN-LHR year-round instead of seasonal.
At least, this is what I'm hearing from the people at BA who had to give up the slot.

aindfan

Was this route ever added to the schedule? I searched around a bit but didn't see any hints of it being available to book.

cfischer

the announcement said 'later in 2021'. My guess is post Labor Day at the very earliest and with TATL demand still weak, in particular LHR demand ... might be later

dkc192

As things currently stand I would not expect this route to launch until spring 2022. That said, the wildcard here is B6 IMO: if they launch sometime in 2021, UA might be compelled or incentivized to follow or even one-up them.

Fanjet

Nope. B6 just announced a few days ago that BOS-LON service will not begin until 2022. As opposed to their planned start of this route in September.