[BusinessTraveller]

Business Traveller replies:

You’re in good company VintageKrug – our editor Tom Otley is also on the flight and is gradually posting his report at

http://www.businesstraveller.com/tried-and-tested/airlines/british-airways/tried-and-tested-ba-a318-london-city-to-new-york.

Tom’s tweets can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/btuk

[VintageKrug]

I am often in good company and today is no exception….!

Mr O is in the loo right now…..

Looking out onto the apron at the baby airbus G-EUNA.

It’s a very small toolbox for a very large engine….!

Sandwiches have been summoned, but I rather like this intimate lounge, and the Ayala slips down nicely.

[Tom Otley]

Let’s just set out some rules here….

[Tom Otley]

Interesting to compare with what we’ve just been given:

MENU: FROM LCY to JFK

London City – Shannon
Shortly after take off, we will be serving you an appetiser and drink service on our short journey to Shannon.

Appetiser
Welsh Carmarthen ham with Cox’s apple potato salad with pea shoot

Shannon – New York
Shortly after take off, whilst we prepareyour lunch order, we will be offering you a selection of drinks from the bar to enjoy with your meal.

Lunch
Dedham Vale Farm fillet of beef with Scottish girolles and Madeira sauce
British corn-fed chicken cooked in a Somerset cider sauce
Grilled sea bass served with a roasted fennel and caper dressing
Penne pasta in a courgette and aubergine tomato sauce with chestnut mushrooms and Berkswell cheese
Inverawe smoked salmon and prawns with new potato and horseradish salad

Dessert and Liqueurs
We will be pleased to offer you a liqueur to savour with your chosen dessert option.
Eton mess
Cornish Yarg and Cropwell Bishop
Stilton with Bath Oliver and Orkney
oat biscuits

Working Lunch
If you prefer to eat later whilst you finish off some work, we will be happy to serve you a main meal salad together with your choice of dessert from the lunch menu.
Inverawe smoked salmon and prawns with new potato and horseradish salad

Club Kitchen
After lunch, please help yourself to a selection of tasty treats including crisps, chocolates and biscuits
available in the forward galley area for you to choose from.
Drinks are available throughout the flight.

Afternoon Tea
We will be serving a traditional British afternoon tea service approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes
before our arrival into New York.

Sandwich Selection
Roast beef with horseradish cream and beetroot chutney
Smoked salmon with cream cheese, mature English farmhouse Cheddar with tomato or
Laverstoke Park Buffalo Mozzarella with roasted figs and Port reduction
A selection of plain and sultana scones served warm with English preserves and Cornish clotted cream
Afternoon Tea cake selection of coffee éclair and lemon tart

Drinks
Tea, ground coffee or decaffeinated coffee
Selection of herbal teas includes green tea with jasmine, peppermint, blackcurrant
and camomile with honey

[VintageKrug]

Lots of people having a chat by the steps – will we be leaving shortly I wonder…..?

[VintageKrug]

Boarding now..

[VintageKrug]

Was impressed by the personal telephone call to warn of the delay – this has been minimised, seems we will now land at 1815, about an hour after schedule, despite the actual delay being 1h40m.
Much Twittering on board, we all seemed to be glued to iPhones and Blackberries at SNN and many in flight as well.

Liked the little lounge arrangement at Gate 24. Proper BA Galleries style chairs for 32 people exactly, and didn’t feel at all like the usual LCY “Pen”. Free wifi and a table of drinks, crisps and chocs with sandwiches arriving once the delay lengthened; personally I think there should be sandwiches delay or not, and perhaps a healthier spread such as crudités and dip, for instance.

Ayala champers was plentiful, of which I am becoming a fan.
Boarding when called was rapid, Mr Otley hardly being able to shut down his laptop in time!

Cabin is much more airy than appears in the photos, and I really like the new seat, which looks very smart and modern, encased in a Space 1999 style white plastic shell.

Flight about 85% full, a typical load factor these days. Bumped into a former schoolmate who happened also to be on the flight. Small world, indeed!

We pulled off from the gate and almost instantly in the air, a very spirited take off! Nice view of the Olympic site.

Delicious starter served en route to SNN – Welsh Carmarthon ham with Cox’s apple potato salad with pea shoot – though lack of corkscrew (someone in LCY catering has been take out the back and shot apparently!) meant we had to rough it with champagne only on offer. A tough life indeed.

Shannon was a steep approach after about an hour in the air.
Customs and Immigration takes place in a brand new, relatively large hall, officials very jokey and pleasant.

There is a small Duty Free office which is opened specifically for this flight; I requested some large bottles of ‘poo be brought over, as they only stocked miniatures and they said tomorrow they would have a wider selection for purchase, based on my feedback.

Onboard wifi is going OK, sometimes v fast, sometimes not, but I think this will be ironed out as the service beds in. Innovation always comes at a price!

Super fast WiFi in the holding area, which is similar in nature to the Gate 24 set up, but without refreshments today (there was champers yesterday). Hardly any time to set up though, as onwards we pressed…..

Back on board within 25 mins and on our way, with an even more aggressive take off, perhaps pilots practicing their steep take off. The closest I have been to a Concorde like take off in a long time…..

Lots of derelict aircraft littering SNN, quite a sad little airfield, though on my last visit I was impressed by the Irish breakfast offered in the little airport hotel; most satisfactory!

From a seatmap perspective, note that row 2 seems to be missing a window, and rows 5 and 6 have a restricted view due to being over the wing. Would not recommend row 1 as it is near the loos.

Rows 7 and 8 would be my preference, and Mr Otley has scored well on this front!

Lunch coming round now so will adjourn…

[VintageKrug]

Lunch was scrumptious!

Super-fresh salad with a bread roll, butter nicely malleable.

Had Dedham Vale farm fillet of beef with Scottish girolles and Madeira Sauce – A Triumph!

Pud is en route…..

[VintageKrug]

Crisis!

No pudding wine!

This will be incorporated into official crew feedback, I am told, as lots of us are requesting it.

There is Port, though!

Camomile tea has arrived, and the cheeses are excellent, my seatmate enjoying, with lightning speed, an Eton Mess.

[VintageKrug]

Crisis!

No pudding wine!

This will be incorporated into official crew feedback, I am told, as lots of us are requesting it.

There is Port, though!

Camomile tea has arrived, and the cheeses are excellent, my seatmate enjoying, with lightning speed, an Eton Mess.

[VintageKrug]

Was rather relaxed after lunch, so drifted off to sleep on the fully flat bed for about three hours, which set me up well for the evening ahead.

Dealt with some emails from the office on rising, OnAir was certainly faster towards the end of the journey, perhaps as fewer of us passenger logged on.

Very helpful to be able to email ahead and warn those meeting me that I would be just 50 minutes late after all. The little A318 and her crew had done well to make up time, reducing a 1h 40m delay by half en route.

This would have been even less had the Irish Authorities not decided to inspect the aircraft during the stop.

Straight out of the aircraft after a rather bumpy landing (!) and managed to get into Midtown Manhattan for 7.30pm, which would have been unthinkable on a normal flight with the immigration formalities still to be taken care of.

Return flight called, so must away.

Intending to sleep on board as have a conference to present at in London tomorrow, so unlikely to have a further update this evening.

[VintageKrug]

Splendid flight; departed shortly after midnight UK time, and landed a half hour ahead of schedule, at 0645.

Now at desk, haveing showered. In office time was 0730, impressive by anyone’s measure.

[Tom Otley]

The return flight review for this new service is now live here

http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/tried-and-tested-ba-a318-jfk-to-lcy

[VintageKrug]

And The Telegraph also reviewed the same flight:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/northamerica/usa/newyork/6251996/London-City-vs-Heathrow-the-race-to-New-York.html

[VintageKrug]

There has been some suggestion that I am in some way connected with British Airways in a professional capacity.

I *am* a shareholder, and I use the airline, as well as other airlines, almost weekly.

However, I am not, nor ever have been, employed or remunerated in any way by British Airways, nor have I or my family any connection with the travel industry more broadly.

I met Mr Otley (for the first time) on this trip, and introduced myself to him.

Full, detailed Trip Report to follow in stages.

[Author]

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