British Airways expands capacity on Denver-London flight (Slideshow)

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Mark Harden | Denver Business Journal

The Palace of Westminster (commonly known as the Houses of Parliament), London. On the right is Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben is the name of the bell, not the tower).

Ed Sealover

Reporter- Denver Business Journal

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British Airways will increase the capacity on its daily flights between Denver and London and will add first-class travel to the three classes of cabins that fliers now can occupy — another boost for international travel from Denver International Airport.

The airline announced the move Tuesday, saying that it will begin flying a Boeing 747-400 between DIA and Heathrow Airport beginning in March. That plane will increase capacity on the daily flight from the current Boeing 777-200 aircraft by 23 percent, offering a total of 337 seats.

British Airways has offered the flight since September 1998, supporting 1,300 jobs annually and generating a yearly economic impact of more than $2.2 billion to the state's economy.

Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. leaders have said the direct connection to one of Europe's most important cities has been key to local aerospace, bioscience, energy and information technology companies.

Boosting the capacity of the flight will allow more convenient access to England and to connections to other European cities. There are only two other direct flights from DIA to Europe — a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, Germany, and an Icelandair route to Reykjavik, Iceland.

Nearly 2.5 million passengers have flown on British Airways to London since 1998. Kim Day, DIA's CEO, said the company is expanding its capacity in response to strong market demand.

"London ranks as Denver's largest market in Europe and BA's hub at Heathrow is a key component of our global connectivity," Day said.

- SLIDESHOW: Click on the image at upper right for a tour of London.

Ed Sealover covers government, health care, tourism, airlines, hospitality and restaurants for the Denver Business Journal and writes for the "Capitol Business" blog. Phone: 303-803-9229.