At the end of one such trip, we landed at 09:03 and I was home in Brick Lane at 09:37. I was on the inaugural eastbound BA 2 (which could operate nonstop, no issues with the runway length at JFK) on September 29th 2009 and I made the trip a few times since. The flight numbers were BA 1 and BA 3 outbound and BA 2 and BA 4 for the return, the old Concorde flight numbers and a worthy successor. This meant that upon arrival at JFK passengers would arrive as domestic passengers, having ‘entered’ the United States in Ireland, they could then proceed directly to baggage claim, or if travelling with only hand luggage to the taxi rank, as opposed to wasting valuable business man time standing in line for two hours. The runway at London City is too short to lift 7+ hours of fuel, so the plane would stop at Shannon on the west coast of Ireland, where there is a US customs and immigration post, so passengers could clear formalities while the jet was refuelled. British Airways A318 All Business Class Interior British Airways A318 All Business Class Interior British Airways A318 All Business Class Interior The British Airways Business Class product (the first in the world to have fully flat beds) is branded Club World, on this particular route it was known as Club World London City. In 2009 British Airways announced a new service from London’s financial district to New York, using a pair of specially configured A318s. The A318, which is the smallest Airbus and is a shrink of the A320 family, failed to find a significant market with only 80 built, but its diminutive size made it possible to fit into London City airport. The airport is famous for its steep approaches and a 1,500 metre (5,000 foot) runway, too short for even narrowbody jets and hence only capable of providing service to local destinations using regional jets and props. London’s financial districts, The City and Canary Wharf, are at the opposite ends of town from Heathrow, requiring a 90 minute journey by road or rail, but are right on the doorstep of the postage-stamp sized London City Airport.
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