BA announces premium A318 service

[Jet-fighters.Net]

Scheduled to start in 2009 between London and New York City

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles...york-link.html

[DAL767-400ER]

Now that's a surprising announcement, but certainly a very smart one. Business travellers prefer LCY to all other London airports because it is essentially smack in the business district. As long as no one copies this idea, BA will print money with this route.

[HalcyonDays]

I don't think you can fly an A318 non-stop off the LCY runway to New York, so I assume they'll have to stop somewhere on the westbound, eg. Stansted or Shannon (where it has been suggested they could make good use of the pre-immigration service the Americans operate in Ireland). This may still be a better offering from the City than a trip to and the hassle at Heathrow, assuming a 45 minute technical/immigration stop. Eastbound, of course, would be non-stop. I think it's an absolutely spendid idea.

[FlyingPhotog]

Isn't there already a long list of premium narrow-body airlines that have tried and failed that concept?

[HalcyonDays]

Isn't there already a long list of premium narrow-body airlines that have tried and failed that concept?

I can think of only one that has failed (MaxJet), and there were specific factors for that one. There will certainly be stiff competition between these operators, but the concept at least is sound, I think. This new British Airways idea seems an order of magnitude different, however, and I think it could well be popular - its likely market out of LCY (64 seats a day) will likely be small yet high yielding.

[DAL767-400ER]

Isn't there already a long list of premium narrow-body airlines that have tried and failed that concept?

None have tried flying out of LCY yet . Granted, Maxjet has failed, and Silverjet has a doubtful future, but their disadvantage is that they use second-hand 767s and 757s and operate out of airports (LTN, STN) that are even further from London's business district than Heathrow, and as said, City Airport is more or less directly at the front door of the business district and also has its own rail connection. So in essence, biz people can now take a 5-10 minute trip on the train and be at their empty terminal instead of a 1-hour train ride and be at a terminal filled with LCC folks. Plus of course, if for some reason BA's LCY flight(s) is cancelled, they can always put you on one of their many LHR flights, so you won't risk being stuck in NYC. Not to mention you earn miles as well .

[CathayPacific]

I don't think you can fly an A318 non-stop off the LCY runway to New York, so I assume they'll have to stop somewhere on the westbound, eg. Stansted or Shannon.

But that would take at least an hour more on the trip though. And passengers will be disturbed to go thru the take-off and landing procedures. LCY and NYC has a great circle distance of about 5500km and A318 has the range of 6000km, so eastbound is definitely OK. Is it possible to fit an auxiliary fuel tank in the belly of the A318 to boost the range to say 6500km? Then it can do westbound non-stop.

[FlyingPhotog]

Will this be different than their "Open Skies" airline? Or this just an announcement that the A318 will be their fleet type?

[Vishal Jolapara]

The good thing about it is that a legacy carrier like BA is attempting this.

Unlike fresh entrepreneurial airlines, BA can (not saying tht it will or should) fail miserably on this idea & still have a neglible to nil impact on its balance sheet, unlike newbies who just cannot afford a mistake or a failure like this.

Also interesting choice of an airplane to operate this route - A318.

If someone asked me about it i'd perhaps think a 757, but there'd be smarter & more experienced people who would have thought and planned long & hard before making an announcement like this.

Coming back to the point, does an A318 really have the range to do a LCY to NYC with a full load of its 32 lie-flat seats ?

[HalcyonDays]

But that would take at least an hour more on the trip though. And passengers will be disturbed to go thru the take-off and landing procedures.

Sure, the extra stop is a drawback, no doubt about it. But the airline may be gambling, as I said above, that avoidance of the Heathrow hassles, not to mention getting there in the first place, could be attractive, plus more time saved on pre-clearance immigration if the stop were made in Shannon might also be an appeal. Plus, the market for such a flight is a mere 30 minutes from the City financial district (or increasingly a mere 10 minutes from the new Canary Wharf secondary financial district), LCY is a business focused airport anyway, and just 30 passengers who would generally be experienced travelers and not get lost in the duty free and with hand baggage only, it could work well. I am sure BA have done their research.

[HalcyonDays]

Will this be different than their "Open Skies" airline? Or this just an announcement that the A318 will be their fleet type?

I think it is separate from the new "Open Skies" operation, yes.

[HalcyonDays]

Is it possible to fit an auxiliary fuel tank in the belly of the A318 to boost the range to say 6500km? Then it can do westbound non-stop.

It may be possible, though it's not a range problem but a runway length problem at LCY, so adding weight wouldn't exactly help.

[DAL767-400ER]

If someone asked me about it i'd perhaps think a 757, but there'd be smarter & more experienced people who would have thought and planned long & hard before making an announcement like this.

757 is too big for LCY. Its fuselage is too long, its wings too wide and its weight too high. And even for a rocketship like the 757 the runway is too short.

[Vishal Jolapara]

757 is too big for LCY. Its fuselage is too long, its wings too wide and its weight too high. And even for a rocketship like the 757 the runway is too short.

Yes sorry abt tht mate, realised abt London City's runway length just after posting.

A320's were approved there lately as just about a year or so ago isnt it ?

[HalcyonDays]

A320's were approved there lately as just about a year or so ago isnt it ?

The A318 is the largest type currently approved.