Transatlantic flights 'on the rise'

More travellers are opting to fly from Heathrow Airport to the USA, it has been revealed.

Transatlantic traffic from the hub has seen a significant increase in the last 12 months, according to Damon Hunt, a spokesperson for the airport.

Conversely, this has resulted in a decline in the passenger take-up of short-haul and domestic flights, he explained.

However, he admitted that it is hard to spot specific trends as Heathrow Airport continuously operates at 99 per cent capacity.

"We would definitely say there are a lot more people heading to the USA and potentially that is because of the exchange rate," Mr Hunt commented.

The forthcoming implementation of the EU-USA open skies agreement could result in more flyers travelling across the Atlantic. A number of airlines have announced new USA flights as a result of the pact, including Delta and Northwest Airlines.

• American Airlines business class promoted
• Alitalia could be relaunched within a month
• Gulf Air reschedules flights from London to Muscat
• Decade of Caribbean flights for Virgin Atlantic
• Star Alliance wins business travel award for third year
• Norway becomes member of UNWTO
• Virgin 'cuts Heathrow check-in time to 40 minutes'
• Etihad targets 25m passengers by 2020
• American Airlines to offer premium customer benefits
• South-east Asian 'triangle' focuses on tourism