BA has proposed flying Airbus A318 aircraft (which it doesn't yet have) from London CITY Airport to New York (probably JFK) in an all club class configuration. These flights are widely expected to stop at Shannon airport westbound (as the A318 couldn't have enough range with the weight restrictions applying at LCY to make the trip) to refuel, but fly non stop on the return leg.
Now this does have three possible appealing qualities:
1. Avoiding Heathrow. Despite the purported improvements to be brought in weeks by Terminal 5, it is still easily a 45 minute-1 hour trip from the City to Heathrow, with a minimum 1 hour checkin at best. City airport is less time to reach with shorter check in thresholds (BA proposes 15 minutes!). Essentially an easier airport all round.
2. More pleasant flight. A small all business class plane will quickly fill, disembark and luggage will come off it quicker too. With all business class there should be less bewildered tourists to have to worry about holding the flight up.
3. Westbound avoiding US immigration/customs. Now this is a trickier one. Shannon airport has full US immigration/customs facilities, so offers travellers the prospect of clearing US entry requirements at a relatively quiet airport before reaching NYC (where arrival could be treated as a domestic entry). How this works in practice is another thing, but it could prove to be worth the hassle of early disembarkation.
Now this does have three possible appealing qualities:
1. Avoiding Heathrow. Despite the purported improvements to be brought in weeks by Terminal 5, it is still easily a 45 minute-1 hour trip from the City to Heathrow, with a minimum 1 hour checkin at best. City airport is less time to reach with shorter check in thresholds (BA proposes 15 minutes!). Essentially an easier airport all round.
2. More pleasant flight. A small all business class plane will quickly fill, disembark and luggage will come off it quicker too. With all business class there should be less bewildered tourists to have to worry about holding the flight up.
3. Westbound avoiding US immigration/customs. Now this is a trickier one. Shannon airport has full US immigration/customs facilities, so offers travellers the prospect of clearing US entry requirements at a relatively quiet airport before reaching NYC (where arrival could be treated as a domestic entry). How this works in practice is another thing, but it could prove to be worth the hassle of early disembarkation.
Mark Frary at the Times thinks it could be a great idea.
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