British Airways launches unique business class-only flights to New York City

In move that is being widely seen as a gamble in the current aviation climate, British Airways is defying recent trends to launch a business-class only service from London to New York City. The unique service, reminiscent of the Concorde flights between the two cities, will be launched tomorrow from the London City Airport.

With specially modified A318 aircraft that boast nothing but flat-bed seats — 32 of these — the airline will offer business class travellers a uniquely comfortable service- with a twist. The aircraft carrying exclusively premium class travellers will make a fuel stop within the first hour of take-off.

The flights will make a refuelling stop at Ireland’s Shannon airport, made necessary because the runway at the London City airport is unable to support full-fuel loaded A318 aircraft. Making the best of this sticky situation, British Airways will allow its passengers to pre-clear US Customs and Immigration procedures at the Shannon airport. The airline hopes that the passengers’ ability to speed through John F Kennedy Airport in New York upon arrival will more than make up for the 45-minute delay at the Ireland airport.

British Airways’ latest service is being regarded as an experiment to ascertain whether the airline can fill flights on the London – New York route without needing passengers from its feeder network of short-haul flights from Europe. These short-haul connections provide current British Airways flights on this route with travellers from the rest of Europe looking to make the journey to New York. British Airways provides the majority of connections between Europe and the US at the present time.

However, with stiff competition from budget airlines like easyJet and Ryanair, BA is finding it difficult to sustain profitable margins on short-haul connections to Europe. With this experiment, the airline will look to doing away with many of these short-haul routes, and to concentrate on long-haul flights in the future.

The business class-only flights are also an effort to boost the airline’s traditionally lucrative market. British Airways in the past has made most of its profits from its premium class cabins, even while they constituted only a fraction of the seats on each flight.