For the first time in over 3 years a British Airways flight has touched down in Beijing. A historical moment that marks the resumption of direct flights between China’s capital and the UK. So let’s take a closer look at what the news about British Airways flight BA89 is all about.
The First BA Direct Flight to Beijing Since 2020
The last flight to operate between London Heathrow (LHR) and Beijing Daxing (PKX) dates back to January 2020. From then onwards flights were forced to be interrupted due to the breakout of the covid 19 pandemic. Therefore there haven’t been any direct BA flights between the UK and China’s capitals since.
That has all changed on June 3rd 2023 with British Airways flight BA89 touching down at 10:22 in BDIA (Beijing Daxing International Airport). Flight are now available for booking and are regularly operating on the route.
Also onwards connectivity for passengers travelling to PKX on BA is offered by the airline’s business partnership with China Southern. The Chinese carrier also operates out of the new Beijing international airport. Therefore seamless travel to local destinations is available.
The Schedule for British Airways flight BA89 London to Beijing
Flights will operate with a 4 times weekly frequency, flying the LHR-PKX route every:
- Monday
- Tuesday
- Thursday
- Saturday
With the return flights departing Beijing the next day.
As for the timing of this resumed British Airways London to Beijing service, it’ll operate as follows:
- British Airways flight BA89 will depart London Heathrow (LHR) at 15:05 arriving into Beijing Daxing (PKX) at 09:35 the next morning. Estimated flight time is 11 hours 30 minutes.
- Return flight BA88 will depart Beijing Daxing (PKX) at 11:20 arriving back into London Heathrow (LHR) at 17:15. Estimated flight time 12 hours 15 minutes.
The Plane Chosen For the London Beijing Flight
British Airways has chosen to operate the flight with its Boeing 777-200. Specifically it will operate this route, which will soon return to be one of the highest demand connections, with 777s featuring their new Club Suite business class cabin. These are seats offering extra privacy thanks to a suite door and that all have direct aisle access. All airlines, including British Airways, are trying to get as close as possibile to the standard laid out by the QSuite.
These British Airways 777-200ER’s cabin features:
- 48 Club World Suites – Business Class Seats in a 1-2-1 layout
- 40 World Traveller Plus seats – Premium Economy in a 2-4-2 layout
- 184 World Traveller seats – Economy Class Seats in a 3-4-3 layout.
It must be noted that these are not the newest planes in the BA fleet. Some are even 20+ years old, just they had the new cabins fitted.
