British Airways All Business Class Flights London City to New York
British Airways operates an all business class flight service from London City airport to New York JFK targeting high-revenue passengers from the financial district around Canary Wharf. |
British Airways uses 2 Airbus A318 aircraft with 32 lie-flat seats in a 2-2 configuration. All the seats are forward facing unlike the normal Club World seats which have a forward-rear combination. There is a privacy screen between the seat pairs.
The flights started on September 29th 2009 - with 2 daily services (except Saturday) running as follows:
London
City LCY to New York JFK
BA0001 Departs 1250
Arrives 1715
BA0003 Departs 1600 Arrives 2025
New
York JFK to London City LCY
BA0002 Departs 1830 Arrives 0715(+1)
BA0004
Departs 2150 Arrives 1025(+1)
"BA0001" used to be the Concorde flight number.
Passengers departing City Airport will be able to check-in bags at the terminal entrance up to 20 minutes before departure. This will be seen as a big selling point to those coming from the City financial district which is only a short hop away by car or Docklands light rail - thus avoiding the longer cross-town journey to London Heathrow.
The minor downside is that a stop in Ireland is needed on the outbound leg. Due to the short length on City airport's runway, the A318 needs to refuel at Shannon airport and all passengers must disembark for around 45 minutes. However passengers can clear US customs at Shannon and then arrive at the domestic terminal in JFK. The return leg from New York is flown non-stop.
On-board service: Drinks and appetisers are served on the short hop from London to Shannon. From Shannon to New York lunch is served - the menu has been developed by Roast, a popular restaurant based at Borough Market in London. Afternoon tea is taken around 1.5 hours before landing at JFK.
On the New York - London flight, a "night-cap" food service is provided and then breakfast around 1 hour before arrival.
Passengers can make use of a small personal media player (stored in the armrest) and have access to onboard email, text and web services. They will also have Terraces lounge access at JFK where pre-flight dining and an Elemis spa facility are available. Note, there is no official BA lounge at London City but the flight has a dedicated gate (24) at the airport with free WiFi and some drinks/snacks/newspapers available.
Returns are currently available for around £2,500 / $4,500 return. You can also mix these flights with other BA services - so you could fly non-stop from London Heathrow and return to London City if you wanted to avoid the refuelling stop. It depends on personal preference - whether flying to / from London City is more convenient and whether you prefer to fly on a small aircraft with less passengers on board.
The London to New York route used to be served by all-business carriers Silverjet, Maxjet and EOS Airlines all of which went bankrupt - so this BA service is the only UK all business class flight. British Airways also operates "OpenSkies", which flies between New York and Paris with a two-class 757 configured to business and premium economy.
We shall see in due course whether BA's City service will become a success in this tough market.
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