British Airways have cancelled their flagship service, the BA1 from London City to New York JFK. With the Airbus A318 out of operation for over five months, now would be an excellent time to upgrade the plane.
The exclusive all business class flight is the closest thing to a private jet you’ll ever get. Outbound, the flight stops in Shannon, Ireland to refuel and passengers go through US Pre-clearance, meaning they arrive in the USA as domestic passengers. Return flights are non-stop, thanks to the long runway in New York.
Why This A Great Time To Upgrade The Plane
The first flights took to the sky on 28 September 2009 and the aircraft have had the same cabin since. Business class products have moved on somewhat, so it’s high time to bring things into the new decade.
With seats arranged either side of the aisle in pairs, it is no longer up to par. Most airlines today have individual seats on either side, so there is more space and everyone can access the aisle without climbing over someone.
Since the flight is now cancelled thanks to the current pandemic, it provides a perfect opportunity to upgrade the plane. This could mean a cutting edge on board product and no doubt fast Internet. A redesign of the food and beverage offering could also take place.
Overall Thoughts
Of course, British Airways may choose to axe the service altogether. The second pair of flights, BA3 and BA4, have already gone, and the aircraft sold off.
This is a great opportunity to upgrade the service and I certainly wouldn’t want to see it go. Even if the flight from London City is no longer viable, surely a cabin refit and transferring the flight to London Heathrow might be a winner. Anything is possible, but here’s hoping they keep it going.
Have you flown on the service from London City to New York JFK or vice versa? What did you think of it? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image by Alan Wilson from Stilton, UK via Wikimedia Commons.
This article is hilarious. Is the author unaware of the fact that there have been huge flight cancellations, unbelievable loss of revenue, incredible lack of cash flow? Where does he think that BA would get the money to revamp an airplane???
Yes, this was written a week ago, before the everything hit the fan so completely. Such is the fast moving world of global pandemics! Thanks for reading!
Why not buy a new A319NEO? I know the costs of having just 1 plane can’t be that economical, but 1 NEO can’t be much higher than having 1 A318 besides acquisition/lease costs. Could maybe put in some F seats with the extra length of the 319.
I believe the Airbus A318 is the largest aircraft approved to use London City, so it would have to be something smaller due to the constraints of the facility. Otherwise, it’s entirely possible that something else would be used instead for fleet commonality. Thanks for the comment!
With the Coronavirus in full bloom in the US, BA needs to focus its resources where it can do the most good, which is at LHR. I agree that the product is dated and could use a refresh, but I would imagine that refitting it with the new ClubSuite on the A318 would add a ton of weight to the aircraft and therefore increase the cost of operation.
If that flight can not maintain a profitability based on a 50 load factor, I doubt the route will return.
An A321LR could probably pull off an all ClubSuite product, but unless you could get US Customs pre clearance for the UK (possible now that the UK is out of the EU), it still wouldn’t make economic sense.
I agree with you on the Club Suite. There could be other seat types that might maintain the exclusivity and yet upgrade the product though. Even things that are off the shelf or those operated by other IAG airlines. Ultimately you’re right, it needs to be profitable in order to stay, and that remains to be seen nowadays really. Thanks for the comment!
Nows the time to conserve cash and NOT do upgrades. What an idiotic suggestion. We will see airlines close their (boarding) doors and never reopen during this coronavirus situation. The Aviation landscape will look much different a year from now.
Well, if we were talking about Norwegian here, or one of the other severely cash strapped airlines, I would not have suggested it. However, we’re talking about British Airways here and one aircraft. They have plenty of cash on hand to ride out this storm, believe me. Thanks for your comment!
No, they do not. There’s no telling how long this will last. No airlines are thinking about this time as an opportunity to make investments. Open your eyes. The chance of Norwegian going bankrupt is 100%. BA having more liquidity means they may only have a 50% chance of default. But who knows?
We’ll have to wait and see, won’t we? Interesting times ahead all round though!
It won’t happen. Firstly it’s not possible to do in such short timescales, secondly, BA is doing everything in its power to save cash, not launch new projects.
You’re probably correct, however it would be nice, wouldn’t it? Thanks for the comment.
BA have been launching new products on long-haul routes left right and centre. However, this is probably not the aircraft that needs the most investment. I really want to seem them update their mid-range A321. My mum makes 5-10 business-class return trips to Moscow on these aircrafts per year. Given premium pricing (1250-1800 return in business) for an incredibly short flight and the competition from Aeroflot’s wide-bodies, the hard product on these planes is shocking. I only fly once a year. Even so, last time I flew, my seat was malfunctioning (the seat part of the seat stayed deflated throughout the flight) on the return leg to Heathrow and another seat in the cabin was marked ‘out-of-order’.
These are the ex-BMI aircraft with the different business class seats, aren’t they? Yes, I’ve seen the high prices on these and it’s a lot of money considering the aircraft you get. I think Moscow used to have a widebody on at least one flight and at one stage even First Class. It’s a shame they aren’t on the route any longer. Let’s hope they do some work to get those A321s up to standard! Thanks for the comment, great to hear some first hand experience and opinions.
I agree – any idea if the 777/787 will return to this route? I used to love it for an avios redemption.
I doubt it will be for a very long time, considering demand right now.
Flew on it a fortnight ago, it was a joy. Impossible to update an aircraft at this short notice, even if you just look at lead times on the product never mind design of the fit. Service on board is the same as the revamped Club World around the fleet so this is already done. Lastly the clientele using the service largely work in the city right next door with a 20 minute check in to boarding time available, something impossible at LHR. I certainly hope it will be back.
Glad to hear you had such recent experience with it. When I was writing it, I also thought the same with regards to lead times and what not. However, since it’s just one aircraft and with a small number of seats, perhaps it may be possible to do a refit in the short time frame. You’d hope that at the very least they would be able to upgrade the Internet. Cross fingers it stays in service, regardless of what happens! Thanks for the comment.