American’s Nonstop Service From Raleigh to London Returns

Raleigh-Durham (RDU) has become North Carolina’s second airport to welcome nonstop service to London.

American Airlines restarted the route on June 3, 2022, after temporarily suspending it because of the pandemic in March 2020. The route is one of the airline’s last transatlantic hops to Europe to return and joins Charlotte (CLT) as the second North Carolina city with nonstop service to London (LHR).

Here are the details on American’s latest long-haul route resumption.

American Reconnects Raleigh-Durham With the U.K.’s Capital

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) serves both the cities in its name, as well as the region’s famous Research Triangle, which is nestled in between the cities and just a 10-minute drive from the airport.

American’s new daily service will be popular with both those wishing to visit the Research Triangle and those from North Carolina looking to head across The Pond to explore London and beyond.

The schedule for the route is planned as follows:

• Depart Raleigh-Durham (RDU) 7:20 p.m. — Arrive London Heathrow (LHR) 8 a.m. (+1)
• Depart London Heathrow (LHR) 10:05 a.m. — Arrive Raleigh-Durham (RDU) 1:45 p.m.

The aircraft chosen to operate the route is the airline’s Boeing 777-200. These wide-body jets have 146 regular seats in Main Cabin (economy), 66 regular seats in Main Cabin Extra (economy+), 24 seats with extra recline in premium economy, and 37 lie-flat seats up front in business class.

For an insight into what you can expect from a long-haul flight on one of American’s Boeing 777-200s, check out my colleague Chris Hassan’s review of his flight from Rio de Janeiro (GIG) to Miami (MIA).

Raleigh-Durham’s European Connections

American is the only airline operating between Raleigh-Durham (RDU) and London Heathrow (LHR), meaning that it has a monopoly on the route. This is reflected in the pricing as we’re seeing the cheapest return trip in economy at $1,561 and a whopping $7,674 in business class.

Hot Tip: Avoid spending thousands of dollars on flight tickets by using miles instead. You can easily earn a bunch of American Airlines AAdvantage miles and be on your way to London for next to nothing in no time.

American’s return to London (LHR) from Raleigh-Durham (RDU) is only the airport’s second European route, joining Icelandair’s new 4-times-weekly nonstop service to Reykjavik (KEF) that was announced in December 2021.

As of August 1, 2022, Delta will commence a third nonstop service to Europe between Raleigh-Durham (RDU) and Paris (CDG).

Final Thoughts

London is always a good idea.

The return of nonstop service between Raleigh-Durham (RDU) and London (LHR) is a sign that American Airlines is adding the final spokes to its pre-pandemic route network.

Let’s hope it’s back for good!