[AMcWhirter]

Titan asked BA whether or not “there was potential to wind it down.”

It’s reported that when Titan leases the A318 it will, initially, retain the 32-seat configuration before changing the layout to 112 economy seats.

[Intheair]

I think part of the issue for this service is global entry.

When the LCY to JFK service was set up, global entry for non-US citizens was uncommon and therefore this service was very attractive to save the long queues into the US.

Many UK and EU citizens who regularly travel to ths US now have global entry, which allows for incredibly quick clearance – the attraction of this service is now less as the total combined flight time is much longer than the flight from LHR.

I used to use this service regulalry, but much less now. Many of my colleagues are of the same mind.

It was always a fun way to get to JFK but LHR to JFK with global entry is even better.

I agree with the views of many above that the service will probably be discontinued at some point.

[transtraxman]

The end of this service must be on the cards.

Initially IAG/BA buy only two A318 to operate a business service to New York from London City. Now they have cancelled the second flight per day and sold off/leased out the second A318. I would have thought the purchasers of such aircraft would look at alternative operations in case the business case falls flat on its face.There are many destinations where an A318 can fly without refueling from LCY. I would have thought that a network would have been thought out for its use then a manageable number of aircraft could be bought to cover all eventualities.

That seems to be the case now with the Embraer planes. LCY shuts down over part of the weekend so instead of them standing unused on the tarmac they are now flown on leisure routes from Stansted, Birmingham and Manchester.That is a logical case of “sweating the assets”.Thus a number of aircraft are available for all services in case of losing one or another for technical reasons.

As IAG has not indicated it is going to buy any more A318s then it can be assumed safely that it will be withdrawn from service in the short-mid term. Another question is if the LCY to JFK service continues with a different aircraft. This apparently could be Bombardier´s CS100 as has been mentioned earlier in this thread. That begs the question again of how many would be needed and for which routes for the reasons I mentioned before.

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