Heathrow-JFK Back in the Top 10 Most Profitable Airline Routes

International travel has always been the most lucrative route for the airline industry, at least until the coronavirus pandemic hit 18 months ago and all but obliterated business travel.

The most profitable of those routes, from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to London’s Heathrow International, was called “the world’s only billion-dollar air route” as recently as 2019 by the British-based air travel intelligence company OAG.

But the pandemic not only dropped the JFK-Heathrow route out of the No. 1 spot, but it also knocked it out of the top 10.

Until this month.

With the United Kingdom now accepting visitors from the United States, the route between London and New York on British Airways is back in the top 10 at No. 10 among the world’s busiest international routes, according to CNN.

And 10th is about the best the route can do at the moment. Although the United Kingdom is now accepting fully vaccinated Americans, the U.S. has not reciprocated yet.

At its heyday, the JFK-Heathrow route earned British Airways more than $1.15 billion between April 2018 and 2019. With more than 600 flights per month, that breaks down to an hourly revenue of $27,159.

OAG also provided data on the busiest airports, and there’s a New No. 1. This month, Amsterdam (AMS) moves into the top spot as the busiest international airport, up from second place last month. This means Dubai (DXB) moves into second place.