British Airways has confirmed it will coordinate its transatlantic schedule with American Airways this summer.

From March 27th, American Airlines and British Airways will effectively create a transatlantic shuttle service on the top US-UK routes by aligning the timing on their schedules.

The biggest change is on the Heathrow – New York route.

Previously, of the 11 daily flights to New York, five left Heathrow at almost exactly the same time, leaving gaps of up to three hours between services.

Now flights will depart every hour, on the hour between 13:00 and 20:00 from Heathrow.

There will also be a maximum of only an hour and a half between morning departures.

The carriers hope this will improve services for customers.

Chicago

Chicago flights inbound to London previously had four flights departing the Windy City at similar times around 17:00 and 20:00.

Now the flights will be evenly spaced, departing at around 17:00, 18:00, 19:00 and 20:00.

Two of the three Miami flights from London clashed around 10:00, and these have now been split to leave at 10:00 and 11:00.

British Airways confirmed the joint business will also now give customers the chance to fly direct between New York (JFK) and Budapest starting from April 5th, and between Chicago and Helsinki, both seven times a week on American Airlines from May 1st.

International Airlines Group

British Airways’ partner in International Airlines Group, Iberia, has also launched the only direct flight between Spain and California; flying between Madrid and Los Angeles three times a week from March 28th.

There will be an additional flight between July and September.