BA reveal more details of New York flight plans
16.05.08
British Airways’ new all-business flights from London City Airport to New York will use their forced refuelling stop to speed up the immigration process in the US, the airline's head of sales told delegates.
BA's Head of Sales, Drew Crawley, said the 32-seater flights will use a stop in Ireland for immigration and customs so the flight can land as a domestic flight in the US. He also revealed that fares for the service, which is due to launch next summer using Airbus A318 planes, would be pitched between current business and first class prices.
This seems high to us, with other all business carriers looking to undercut the business class price, rather than add to it. However, Mr Crawley said: ‘The banking sector is desperate for this product. They are more than willing to pay the price we have described. The idea is proving very popular.’
The flight will be non stop on the way back from the US and would take up to 8.5 hours, compared to a large jet’s 5.5 hours. This would mean passengers would get a decent amount of sleep - one of the key issues for business passengers - he said.
The service will be to New York City but BA have not confirmed to which airport yet. By landing as a domestic flight, BA has opened up the number of airports including JFK, Newark and even La Guardia. Given the target audience though, we would be surprised if it is not JFK, where BA has its own terminal and can make a fuss of the passengers. It would also offer more support in the event of plane problems, as the airline could offer alternative flights to Heathrow.
Add to: del.icio.us | Digg it | Newsvine | NowPublic | Reddit
To book hotel near london city airport or car parking london city airport at the lowest price, click on these links to two great london city airport car parking and london city airport hotel price comparison pages.
