I used to work on this route as cabin crew and all the issues that have been highlighted all boil down to one thing; weight. Traditional business class seats and IFE are all very heavy and more weight means more fuel and that’s the issue here. The aircraft is tiny and can only hold so much fuel. So why not fly a larger aircraft from LCY? You can’t. The runway is very short and only smaller aircraft can use it. The reason the flight stops in Shannon is because it wouldn’t be able to take off from LCY with full fuel tanks (the aircraft would be too heavy for such a short runway). I used to fly LGW JFK too and skipping immigration at JFK was always a joy. We just picked up our bags and walked out the door. Bliss. This route also became known as the Barclays Bus as it seemed to be the preferred method for a lot of their execs in Canary Wharf. That said it was nearly always the case that the flight out to JFK was half empty, whereas the flight back was full, for the simple reason that it was just a very different experience. Passengers on the flight back were allowed to use the first class lounge in JFK which was a big plus for many, in that they simply loaded up on food and drink before boarding and then got on board and went straight to sleep as most of them were walking off the plane and into their offices. It’s was very common on that flight home for the service to last about 5 mins i.e. handing out the odd night cap. Next thing, they woke up at a tiny airport in central London where they could go from plane to office in about 20 mins. There was a breakfast service for those that wanted it although most went with the breakfast to go that we offered which was a brown paper bag with pastries and fruit. We also did coffee to go. One thing that I do remember was the turbulence. I don’t know if I was particularly unlucky on this route but we did seem to get kicked around a fair bit coming across the Atlantic. And Atlantic turbulence on such a small aircraft certainly felt, erm, different. Not that the passengers ever seemed to mind. I remember not having been able to get out of my seat for over an hour due to very heavy turbulence and decided to crawl down the aisle to check on people, and they all looked at me like I was mad. Most weren’t the least bit bothered and just said “Erm, shouldn’t you be strapped in?” They were right of course. My point is they were very seasoned fliers. The crew absolutely love this route. It became a fleet within a fleet at LGW and we did feel very privileged to fly it. The flight back into city will always remain popular but the outbound route has always struggled and with the advent of crossrail this seems set to worsen. BA may have to think about moving the outbound flight to LGW or LHR although that’s not without it’s complications either.
Jeb Brooks Aw thanks fella. You’re ever so welcome. You might like this too. I do remember there was one passenger who did get scared during one of those bouts of bad turbulence I mentioned. I was trying to reassure her and during the conversation she asked how many people were on board the aircraft and I told her there were 29 passengers and 5 crew. To which she responded “No I don’t mean in business class, I mean on the whole plane”. “Erm, that is the whole plane ma’am”. “But what about downstairs?” What followed was 10 seconds of us both looking at each other like the other was crazy. But it became apparent that she was genuinely under the impression that she had somehow boarded the upper deck of either a 747 or an A380. And she point blank refused to believe me when I told her she was on a much much smaller aircraft. Once the seat belt signs were finally switched off I had to take her on a little tour of the aircraft (duration 35 seconds). Whilst she had been scared before, it bubbled up into absolute terror when confronted with the proof that she was indeed in a tiny plane over the Atlantic. This wasn’t helped when other passengers got wind of what her issue was and found it hilarious. “What’s up with her?” “She thought she was upstairs in a jumbo and now she’s bricking it” What?? Ha ha ha. dizzy cow. Was she smashing the champers in the lounge?” All said in posh English accents too, which made it even funnier and even harder to remain sympathetic to her plight. She had the good grace to look a bit sheepish as she got off bless her. But I didn’t see her again on that service. Not surprisingly really.
dijox There is no love lost between me and BA so I would never seek to defend them. I was just explaining why things are as they are on this flight. BA would have regular seats and IFE if they could but they can’t because of weight issues. It’s not nonsense. Just fact. And the IPads are fully loaded. They can’t store anymore films and TV programs than they already do. Again that’s not in BA’s defence. It’s just the truth. As for storage people tended to use the area under the foot rest but it wasn’t ideal. But everyone had their coats hung up in a wardrobe by us before take off and handed back to them before landing so that was one less thing to store and every passenger basically had an entire overhead locker to themselves too.
It's also because the plane doesn't have the fuel to get to New York direct due to prevailing headwinds. There are tailwinds on the return allowing a direct flight.
The fuel issue is a misconception. The aircraft could quite easily make it from LCY to JFK without refuelling. The issue is due to the take off angle at LCY which the aircraft can’t do with a full tank - hence the refuelling stop at SNN. Back when BA ran 2 of these services per day the 2nd service arrived into SNN after CBP preclearance had closed and therefore arrived at JFK like any regular international arrival.
Admiral_Awesome the plane has enough fuel to make it nonstop, the reason is that the A318 wouldn’t be able to suit the takeoff at such an airport like London City
You've completely missed the big plus of this flight. Because you clear customs & immigration at Shannon you land at JFK as a domestic passenger. Clearing at Shannon means you have, at most, 31 pax in front of you. Given JFK, like MIA, is one of the busiest ports of entry to the US this is a fantastic advantage which saves a huge amount of time and stress.
Cleaning customs in SNN is the best part. I remember my days working at JFK Terminal 7. The A318 will arrive at Gate 1, 11, or 12 and once you disembarked the aircraft, you were curb side in under 10 minutes. Bypassing the rush hour customs crowd from the arriving BA,IB,NH,FI inbounds
Used to work for a US bank with London offices, and this route was a popular choice - London office was much nearer to LCY than LHR so quicker overall. I never got the chance unfortunately.
Just an interesting fact, the A318 can fly from LCY direct to JFK, but it's the take off performance required on LCY's short runway that is the reason for the stop-over at Shannon. The A318 would be too heavy to gain the performance required to take-off on the short runway at London City. Given that this is a business class only flight, it's designed for ease of use for business customers, therefore London City is the ideal location for them to depart from whilst also benefiting from US pre-clearance while refueling at Shannon. It's also worth noting, the stop-over is only on the LCY->JFK flight, not the return :)
At first I thought, how could an A-318 fly that far against the wind. But then I realized its small size and reduced payload would give it sufficient range. Thanks for this unique trip Jeb.
It might be 'tired' but its a better experience than the 'standard' business class BA seats.! When I found out about this flight, I made sure it became our honeymoon flight to New York. A great way to take the wife to NY for the first time.
I’m a 13 year old avgeek, and I just flew a British Airways flight form LAX to Heathrow. I flew business on a 747-400 and it was the greatest experience of my life! Greats vids bro! Much love from Cali🤙🏼
Have used this flight since 2012. Not fussed about a lounge, I use it for convenience. Little waiting time, short immigration stop in Shannon then off to jfk. Once it took me 14 minutes from doors open to sitting in a cab after landing at jfk and id collected my bags. The ife is weak, I noticed that last year but I had my phone and tablet loaded up Food is ex excellent, crew are fantastic. Never had a bad flight in over 8 of them. Nice review.
Had absolutely no idea that this babiest of all Airbus 3's could ever make it across The Pond, let alone that this is regular BA Trans-Atlantic Metal?!? Seeing a Wide Body style (albeit older) business class seat on a diddy A318 just blew my mind, WOW!!! GREAT VIDEO :))) Edit... London City a great airport, now I know this exists will definitely consider it on any future LDN/NY Trip... thanks Jeb!
Back in the Piston Days all West Bound flights stopped at either Shannon or Prestwick in Scotland to top of for the flight to the US due to Mercator winds which make the trip West burn more fuel. Many a Concorde arrived in JFK on fumes or had to stop in Nova Scotia. That was her biggest commercial failure, lack of range.
Nothing will ever replace Concorde. I'm gutted that they killed it off before I could save up enough to afford the fare. It used to fly almost directly over my house every evening (just outside Camberley) regular as clockwork and with its unique distinct engine noise. Gone but not forgotten
For city types this is a great option and designed for them; straight from the office to JFK and arriving as a domestic flight so no queues at either end - THAT’S what makes it work for the business travellers who use it.
This is a really cool flight... I've been on it a few times. The plane could actually make the flight to JFK without refueling... if it took off from a different airport. Runway and climbout restrictions at London City Airport prevent the airplane from departing with a full cabin and a full load of fuel, though. The stop in Shannon with Preclearance really makes the flight unique. It's nice to be able to just walk out of the airport in New York.
Oh my god I’ve actually taken the same exact route with a British Airways a318 in the all business configuration except the only difference was it was from New York to London. I personally had an amazing time especially because this was my first time in business class
Those Sennheiser PXC 550s are WAY better than those Bose earphones you used in this video, especially regarding their noice cancellation capability which you always hammer on about. Understandable you want your Bose commission, but don't start stating biased nonsense.
Shannon Airport (SNN) is one of those jewels in the crown of aviation. It was the FIRST....yes, the 1st airport in the world to offer duty free. Also, from the 1940s to the 60s....early 70s, many international carriers had to stop here to refuel between Europe and the Americas. Going through this airport is a pleasure....no queues, no hassle....when you collect you luggage on arrival, then immigration and customs.....come into the arrivals hall.........you walk through the doors......and all you can hear is the birds singing, and that fresh Country air.........and Galway City only 45 mins up the M18 motorway. They had a photo exhibition a while back, showing pictures of the airport of decades gone by.......EVERY major Hollywood star from from the Golden era had to stop here to refuel, so they'd all be drinking in the airport bar and restaurant.....i saw Tom Hanks at the bar last year, he was refueling his private jet, on his way back from a family holiday in Greece
My first transatlantic flight was British Airtours Boeing 707, Manchester to LAX via Bangor Maine in 1983. That was a narrow body with no inflight entertainment. The aircraft was scrapped 3 months later
I got completely distracted by the cadence of your speech during the review of the seats as it reminded me of Patrick Bateman describing his ablutions. “I believe in taking care of myself, and a balanced diet and a rigorous exercise routine. In the morning, if my face is a little puffy, I'll put on an ice pack while doing my stomach crunches. I can do a thousand now. After I remove the ice pack, I use a deep pore cleanser lotion. In the shower, I use a water activated gel cleanser. Then a honey almond body scrub. And on the face, an exfoliating gel scrub. Then apply an herb mint facial mask, which I leave on for 10 minutes while I prepare the rest of my routine. I always use an aftershave lotion with little or no alcohol, because alcohol dries your face out and makes you look older. Then moisturizer, then an anti-aging eye balm followed by a final moisturizing protective lotion.”
32 seats in total on a flight from London to New York? Either the A318 is insanely efficient, or the average ticket price gotta be up there. Nice review of the route, cool to see a medium distance plane being used across the pond :-)
This flight was mostly meant for use by businessmen who worked in central London. Who wanted to not travel far away from the city centre of London and the business district or London. To go to New York on a frequent basis. Hence them using an A318 with only business class seating.
I have taken that flight from LCY to JFK and was fortunate enough to have no seat mate. Other than the lack of entertainment I thought it was great, except for the lack of entertainment. But like you, I had a few movies on my laptop for such a time. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
I wish avgeek youtubers like you were around when the concord was flying . Wow that would have been tremendous. But even youtube wasn't around then , even the internet was pretty young when the last concord flight took place in 2003 .cheers to you .
Actually, the other reason for the Shannon stopover is because the runway at London City Airport is too short to take off with a full load of fuel. The plane would be too heavy to get off the ground. Shannon has a longer runway, allowing the plane to get up to the takeoff speed required when fully loaded with fuel.
I landed at london city once from geneva with swiss air, when my alitalia flight was cancelled. I knew nothing about the airport, and the weather was very low visibility. I was genuinely scared on approach to the runway because it looked like we were going to land on water. Strange little airport.
I love your flight reviews. Your enthusiasm and positive attitude are great and I get so excited when I see you have a new video. Keep up the great work!
Hi Jeb, thank you for this great video. I really enjoyed learning more about this very unique service, and the detailed and enjoyable manner in which you presented it. Thank you as aways for the time and effort you put into your videos, much appreciated!
When Norwegian still operated from Edinburgh, I flew the 7 hour, 40 minute flight from Edinburgh to Providence on a 737-8MAX. Was a fantastic flight. :)
A reminder how much we miss the future that we used to have. Nine hours and a refuelling stop versus London to New York direct by Concorde in three and a half hours, arriving at JFK in the morning local time, earlier than you left from London, fresh and ready to do some business. I know which I'd prefer. Imagine the excitement of an SST takeoff, as the sleek delta wing design shoots into the sky, watching the machmeter in the cabin rise above 2.0. Seeing the curvature of the Earth from 60,000 feet! Then settling down with the paper for an hour, having a chat with a fellow passenger, spotting the celebrities, then a 1st class meal with china and silver service, with complimentary champagne, then reading some work brief and after just 220 minutes flying time you're already landing in the States.
@@brunobastos5533 The 7 aircraft in the BA Concorde fleet were making more profit than the whole sub-sonic fleet combined. It was AF that couldn't make a profit from Concorde and because Airbus is French owned they decided to discontinue manufacturer support, thus grounding the whole Concorde fleet. A totally political decision, nothing to do with safety. Airbus could still have broke even with only BA operating Concorde, but AF refused to hand their remaining aircraft to BA. It was just another EU balls-up to add to the substantial list.
@@barnseyfrommossley in the end i think that only 3 or 4 where flying, and i think they will stop the flight's long before the crash, what was a big trow back to what was probably the most safe comercial flights,
frglee I flew on Concorde five times, the fastest that I ever did it was 3 hours and 9 minutes. Just over 3 hours to do a 9 hour flight. God I miss it. Just to look out the window and see the black sky, and the curve of the Earth at 60,000 feet makes it worth it all by itself.
Bruno Bastos all 7 we're flying at the end. In fact in the last 18 months of travel they were making huge profit as every single flight was packed, due to the announcement that they were going to stop flying. Concorde made profits right from the mid 80s through to 2001.
I haven’t come across such a genuine and good video I rarely comment on videos but this was a brilliantly putt together video and I could tell you meant what you were saying keep it up
Absolutely no clue what you're even on about with those headphones, pxc 550 are specialised for travelling and absolutely smashes the QC20 in terms of sound quality and noise cancelling
This is indeed a very unique flight. Enjoy it very much and thanks! Your niceness and pleasant personality shine through your videos. So far, you are the only one who would recommend your audience to watch other youtubers' videos. The world will be a much better place if there are more people like you.
This is by far my favorite flight, it really is such a pleasant experience, even with the quirks. I preferred the (now cancelled) later one so never got to clear immigration in Shannon unfortunately.
This sounds like a 'ghost flight' - a flight scheduled just to keep the slot and they lose money on every flight. Ps. The food was not first class standard.
That's not what this flight is for. City Airport is right by Canary Wharf, the centre of finance in London to JFK. This flight is for high powered executives in finance. It's not built designed to be the highest of luxury, it's designed to get people from London to New York without having to fuck about for several hours getting across London.
As said, this is a flight intended for people who have to get from point A to point B in a time efficient way. It takes too long to clear customs at heathrow and take the train into London. Vice versa for NY.
Just stumbled across this video in my feed (you've gotta love an algorithm!) you have a great way of describing the experience you had on the flight.. very concise :) consider me a new subscriber.
A lot! When I did it in 2015 the base price for a return was around £4000. That's not what I paid but you to get a decent fare you need to do a bit of shopping around.
Aviation Channel I don't tell you how to live your life. Let him do what he wants. Also, there are some actual good games. You can't generalize because of one thing. That's just life. Good day.
good infomative video as always Jeb.. just 2 little comments, if I may : - a bit of graphics help, like map showing the flight route. London to Shannon to JFK. I'm particularly curious on which part of the Atlantic did this little plane cross. - you don't discuss financial do you? ordinary guys like us would love to know, how much its gonna cost us to follow you on one of your adventures. TQ
We flew BA001 in 2011. Back then there were 2 flights a day from LCY to JFK and there was a lounge specifically for those 2 flights. The ground , cabin and flight crew were fantastic, and on a 32 seater, with 12 of us on board, it did feel like a private jet. One thing to note. A few comments have been made about the duration, but please remember, that when you arrive at JFK, you are a domestic passenger, so no queuing for US passport control, which I know from experience can be a tedious event. That alone can save an hour or two. Great video Jeb.
This Was So Exciting to Watch! The Smallest A3__ Aircraft, This Is Amazing. Especially That Flight Number, Super Special! I Love Quirky Planes Like This! So Amazing! It Is Unspeakable! It Definately Leaves me Speechless. And We Always Need You To Discuss The Features!
You have to select business class because this is a business class flight. If economy class is selected, the website will automatically redirect you to LHR or LGW.
Great video Jeb. What a fun way to cross the pond. Food looked amazing. I have it on my bucket list to fly british airways someday. Thanks for sharing.
Narrow body flying across the Atlantic is becoming very common in recent years, although they will never match the comfort of this A318, e.g. Air Canada's A319 (now 737 MAX 8) on YHZ/YYT-LHR don't even offer a real Business cabin. Though the seats are not the best among other airlines, it's the best business class product within British Airways. I'd much rather fly this plane instead of their cramp wide body jets. Sadly the future of this route is in doubt, whilst they can still make money off this route, they have cut the other daily flight BA003/4 and crossrail will take away the remaining advantages of using LCY. SNN pre-clearance is nice but not necessarily, especially for frequent traveller (which this route is targeting) who are likely to have Global Entry already, the time saving won't be that significant. Anyhow, nice report. keep up the good work :)
@Kilo Byte any plane would have caught fire if a chunk of its tyre was sheared off and slammed into the fuelled wing. The next plane after that DC10 shed its part just happened to be Concorde. It could have been a 747 and we'd have been looking at 300+ deaths
