British Airways ups India–UK summer flights

British Airways is adding India–London Heathrow flights for summer 2026, pushing its India schedule to as many as 70 weekly services. (thehindu.com) The biggest change is Bengaluru: British Airways will run an extra daily Heathrow flight from June 1 to October 24, 2026, taking that route to 14 weekly flights on Boeing 777 aircraft. (thehindu.com) Delhi is also getting more lift. A third daily Heathrow service that is running from April 7 to May 31 will return in peak summer, and British Airways said in October 2025 that a third daily Delhi flight was planned for 2026, subject to regulatory and capacity approval. (thehindu.com) (britishairways.com) Hyderabad will see a bigger aircraft rather than more frequencies, with Boeing 777s replacing Boeing 787s for the summer and adding 68 seats per flight. Delhi also shifts to the larger Airbus A350 from June 1, adding 59 seats per flight and British Airways’ Club Suite business cabin. (thehindu.com) Mumbai is getting a smaller timing change but still more seats: the route’s third daily flight, first scheduled only from May 15 to May 31, has been extended through June 19. British Airways said last October that it was already operating 56 direct weekly services from five Indian cities and wanted further growth as trade between India and Britain increased. (thehindu.com) (britishairways.com) The airline said it saw a 196% jump in travel searches and is adding more than 7,000 seats a week from India. British Airways sells nonstop Heathrow flights from Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai on its India site. (thehindu.com) (britishairways.com) The timing also reflects a wider network shift. Reuters reported on April 9 that British Airways is cutting Middle East flying, dropping Jeddah and reducing Dubai, Doha, Tel Aviv and Riyadh service, while redeploying aircraft to India and Africa through the summer season ending October 24. (reuters.com) That puts British Airways into a broader scramble for nonstop India traffic. The Hindu reported that Lufthansa, Air France, KLM, Air Canada and Air India have also been adding India-bound capacity as disruptions in West Asia make one-stop Gulf itineraries less reliable. (thehindu.com) British Airways says its timetables are revised twice a year and can still change with operational requirements. For now, the carrier is betting that summer 2026 demand between India and Britain will absorb more flights, more seats and bigger aircraft. (britishairways.com)