As predicted (see online news February 1) BA will use Shannon airport as a westbound fuel stop, when it commences all-business class flights from London City to New York next year.
The move will enable passengers to avail of a special arrangement allowing them to complete US arrivals checks in the Irish city, thus bypassing normal checks when they arrive in New York. Eastbound flights will be non-stop.
What’s not clear is whether luggage will have to be offloaded and re-checked in Shannon in order to comply with US immigration requirements, although a spokesperson for BA said the airline would be “working with Shannon airport in the coming months to design the best possible process for completing immigration checks”. BA has also not yet announced which airport in New York it will be using for its new flights.
The all-business class service is due to launch with twice-daily flights in autumn 2009. The route will be plied with A318 aircraft (the largest plane that can take off and land at London City) configured with 32 fully-flat beds “similar to that of British Airways’ Club World business class”.
The route will be the first long-haul offering from London City, and will indeed be the only all-business class transatlantic product serving London, after Maxjet, Eos and Silverjet all went bankrupt over the last six months.
For more information visit ba.com.
