Global Connectivity Takes Flight at Growing Global 2026

World Trade Center St. Louis event highlights connecting St. Louis to global opportunities

World Trade Center St. Louis (WTC), the international division of St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, hosted its annual Growing Global luncheon on Sept. 22 with the event focusing on connecting St. Louis to global opportunities. Held at the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton, Mo., the theme for the event was Global Connectivity: A conversation with executives from Air Canada, British Airways, Lufthansa Group and Southwest Airlines, which highlighted recent new international direct flights to St. Louis.

“Having a direct connection to our international partners is crucial to the St. Louis economy,” said Tim Nowak, executive director of WTC. “These flights serve as a bridge from St. Louis to our international partners who bring new business and jobs to our region.”

St. Louis is already seeing the impact of stronger global connections. New nonstop routes to Frankfurt, London, Los Cabos, Mexico, and Montreal have broadened access to international business centers and opened new opportunities for companies across the region. Industry research and peer city benchmarks show that nonstop service to Europe alone can generate between $50 million and $100 million annually for a metro economy. Direct international flights bring stronger global business ties, new tourism revenue and a greater ability for St. Louis to compete on the world stage.

Speakers at the event included:

• Hubert Frach, vice president of sales for North America at British Airways
• Vincent Gauthier-Dore, managing director for Canada and U.S. sales at Air Canada
• Dirk Janzen, vice president of the Americas at Lufthansa Group
• Daniel Jones, vice president of network planning at Southwest Airlines

Each speaker discussed their airline’s presence in St. Louis and the impact these flights have brought locally and internationally.

Today, British Airways announced a major expansion of its new St. Louis-London Heathrow service for Summer 2027, introducing daily flights for more than four months of the season and increasing the number of seats on the route by 80 percent compared to Summer 2026. St. Louis’s direct flight to London on British Airways debuted in April 2026 at four flights per week.

The Lufthansa Group expanded its nonstop service between St. Louis and Frankfurt from three days to five days a week this summer due to its popularity. Air Canada operates seven nonstop flights between St. Louis and Montreal every week. Southwest Airlines offers one direct flight to Los Cabos, Mexico, a week with many more indirect flights between the two destinations.