British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) will begin 5x weekly flights from London Heathrow to Austin-Bergstrom International, Texas onboard its newly arrived B787-8s with effect from March 3, 2014. Thereafter, the route, Austin's first intercontinental service, will go daily with effect from May 5. According to Bloomberg Business, British Airways chose the city owing to its growing economic and cultural importance. However, when asked if the airline is getting any type of incentives from Austin for the route, Simon Brooks, BA’s senior vice president for North American sales, declined to answer.