# British Airways' winter 2026 schedule: more Baltimore, Houston and New Orleans, plus Colombo BA is flying 9% more long-haul flights from London this winter. Most changes start October 25, including more flights to Baltimore, Houston and New Orleans. By Patrick Karsh · Lounge Frog Published: 2026-10-07T01:14:02.030221Z Updated: 2026-10-14T23:43:10.433003Z Canonical: https://www.loungefrog.com/news/british-airways-winter-2026-schedule-us-caribbean-colombo Cite citation_url. Preserve source links, dates and qualifications. date_modified is an edit date, not proof that every claim was rechecked. Third-party images and quoted material retain their own rights. Resolve relative links against https://www.loungefrog.com/news/british-airways-winter-2026-schedule-us-caribbean-colombo. British Airways' winter schedule starts on October 25, and it's a big one. In [its March 16 announcement](https://mediacentre.britishairways.com/pressrelease/details/24981), BA said it would fly 9% more long-haul flights from London than last winter. That counts the number of flights, not seats. Here is what changes, and where you can wait before you fly. ![Photo from British Airways Media Centre's coverage of 24981.](https://pub-fac99da959e344fe99d810d309cef7df.r2.dev/photos/article/eaf58455-f7fc-4eac-84eb-4da132f5196e/d957d3aae31661fcd6da16b35bf14f75.jpg) ## More flights to three US cities Three US routes to Heathrow get more flights from October 25: - **Baltimore** goes from six flights a week to daily, the same as in summer. BA lists the Boeing 787-8 on the route. - **New Orleans** goes from three to four flights a week, also on the 787-8. - **Houston** goes from 11 to 12 flights a week on the 787. A daily Baltimore flight is the practical win here. Six a week meant one day with no nonstop, which pushed some travelers through Washington or New York. Now every day of the week has a flight. On the ground, BA does not run its own lounge at any of the three airports. Our directory tags the [Chesapeake Club](/lounges/bwi-chesapeake-club) at Baltimore for BA and oneworld passengers, though readers rate it only 3 out of 5. In Houston, the [American Airlines Admirals Club](/lounges/iah-american-airlines-admirals-club) is the oneworld option. In New Orleans, [Priority Pass](/programs/priority-pass) holders have [The Club MSY](/lounges/msy-the-club-msy), rated 4.2. See our [British Airways page](/airlines/ba) for every lounge BA runs. ## Two new long-haul destinations **Colombo, Sri Lanka** starts on October 23, 2026. Flights leave London Gatwick three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. BA2045 leaves Gatwick at 5:30 p.m. and lands in Colombo at 9:00 a.m. the next day. The return, BA2044, leaves Colombo at 11:00 a.m. and lands at Gatwick at 5:00 p.m. The route runs only in winter. It has three cabins: Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller. There is no First. In Colombo, our directory lists the [Lotus First Class Lounge](/lounges/cmb-lotus-first-class-lounge-terminal-1), tagged for oneworld access and Priority Pass, and the [Palm Strip Lounge](/lounges/cmb-palm-strip-lounge-terminal-1), which takes Priority Pass and [DragonPass](/programs/dragonpass). Neither has reader ratings yet. **Melbourne, Australia** follows in January 2027. It runs daily from Heathrow with a stop in Kuala Lumpur, on the 787 with four cabins including First. [We covered that route separately](/news/british-airways-melbourne-return-january-2027). ## The Caribbean and Latin America BA is adding more winter sun, mostly from Gatwick on the Boeing 777-200: - **Barbados:** a new daily winter route from Gatwick starts October 25. Some flights continue on to Grenada, Guyana and Tobago. The existing Heathrow to Barbados route keeps flying. - **St. Lucia:** becomes a daily nonstop from Gatwick. It no longer shares a plane with other islands. - **Kingston, Jamaica** and **Punta Cana, Dominican Republic:** both go from three to four flights a week from Gatwick. - **San José, Costa Rica:** moves from Gatwick to Heathrow and goes from three to five flights a week, on the 787-8. The San José move is worth noting if you have status. Heathrow Terminal 5 has BA's best lounges, so a Costa Rica trip now starts in a better spot. ## Africa, Asia and the Middle East - **Cape Town:** a third daily flight starts December 13, on the 787-9. - **[Tokyo Haneda](/airports/hnd):** stays at twice daily all winter, a level BA reached at the end of March. - **Delhi:** stays at three times daily, as it has been since the start of the summer season. - **Abu Dhabi:** returns as a daily flight from October 25, as planned. The announcement came while fighting in the Middle East had disrupted BA's network. BA said it had added seven extra return flights to Bangkok and Singapore, with more than 3,300 seats, between March 10 and 19, to give customers other ways home from Asia. BA notes that the final schedule depends on airport slots. Check your booking if you're counting on one of the new flights. ## Where to wait in London Most BA long-haul flights from Heathrow leave from Terminal 5. Club World passengers, BA Silver members and oneworld Sapphire members can use the [Galleries Club lounges](/lounges/lhr-british-airways-galleries-club-north). The North lounge has six showers and rates 4.7 with our readers. First passengers can use the [Concorde Room](/lounges/lhr-british-airways-concorde-room), which has six showers and a cocktail bar. Many of the new winter routes leave from Gatwick, including Colombo, Barbados, St. Lucia, Kingston and Punta Cana. BA's [Club Lounge (South)](/lounges/lgw-british-airways-club-lounge-south) is one of the highest-rated BA lounges on Lounge Frog, at 4.9 out of 5. It opened in 2022 when BA moved its Gatwick flights into the South Terminal. It has runway views, two showers, a kids' playroom and a mezzanine, and it opens at 5 a.m. The [First Lounge (South)](/lounges/lgw-british-airways-first-lounge-south) serves First passengers and oneworld Emerald members, though it has no showers and rates 3.5. Both are on the mezzanine after security; follow the lounge signs rather than the escalators down to duty free. I'd check your boarding pass for your terminal before you head to a lounge. See every lounge at [London Gatwick](/airports/lgw) and [London Heathrow](/airports/lhr). ## Related reading - [British Airways adds a Hoppers Sri Lankan menu to Club World on its new Gatwick–Colombo flights](/news/british-airways-hoppers-club-world-menu-colombo-october-2026) - [The 12 best British Airways lounges, ranked: 2026](/news/british-airways-lounges-ranked-2026) - [British Airways adds Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar from Gatwick, plus a nonstop to Buenos Aires](/news/british-airways-kilimanjaro-zanzibar-summer-2027)