British Airways announces new Pittsburgh route with excellent Avios availability

British Airways has announced a new route to Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh will become the 26th (!) US city to be served by British Airways.  It has flown the route in the past but the service was discontinued in 1999.

The route will launch on 2nd April 2019 and will operate four days per week, all year round.

It will operate from Heathrow Terminal 5 and will use a new Boeing 787-8, which means there will not be any First Class seating.

The new flights will run on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday with BA0171 departing from London Heathrow at 5pm and landing into Pittsburgh at 8.15pm.  BA0170 will leave Pittsburgh at 9.50pm, arriving into London at 10.25am the following day.

Apparently ….

Harper’s Bazaar named Pittsburgh one of the “Best Places to Travel in 2017”.

Visitors can also explore the Carnegie Museums of Art, Natural History and Science, meander around the Botanical Gardens or soak up the lively strip district. Pittsburgh has also been labelled the ‘Best Sports City in the US’, and is home to three professional teams, the Steelers (American football), the Penguins (ice hockey), and the Pirates (baseball). The Steelers became the first team in NFL history to win six Super Bowl titles.

Pittsburgh is the ‘City of Bridges’, with more than any other city in the world at nearly 450.

The area is also home to 90 universities, colleges and career training schools and has one of the fastest growing millennial markets in America.

As usual with new routes, Avios availablity will be excellent.  The route was only opened up for sale yesterday and at a minimum the guaranteed two Club World and four World Traveller seats will be available on each flight.

How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (December 2021)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points, such as:

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios:

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus:

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.

(Want to earn more Avios?  Click here to visit our home page for our latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios this month from offers and promotions.)