Trip Report: London City to New York JFK BA1 All Business Class A318

well here we are in the early morning about to head off to new york from london but unusually when we're hopping over the pond this time we're going to be going from london city airport which means an early morning ride on the docklands light railway there it is looking absolutely delightful in the early morning sunshine how we're getting there is on one tiny airbus a318 and with it the unique ba1 flight number it's in an all business class configuration shuttling between london city and new york jfk with a refueling stop in shannon along the way now the docklands light railway chugs its way right to the platform here at london city airport and check-in is swift even if traveling over to new york really quick in fact london city is designed for speedy departures even if you're checking in a bag on the jfk flight you only need 20 minutes before the departure time then you can get straight through into the very busy and very cramped terminal the downside is a british airways doesn't have a business class lounge to hang out in instead ba1 passengers get a free meal at the pilot's bar and kitchen at least it is some variety on the heathrow galleries lounge and the food dare i said just a little bit better it is also insanely busy so i ended up wedged up at one end of the bar now with a ba1 ticket you get a hot breakfast and three drinks from the bar although it was a little early even for me and there's our first sight of the very small a318 for the long hop over the atlantic doesn't it look small because it also took ages to get through security i only had a few minutes of the pilot's bar before signs indicated i'd got 30 minutes before boarding so rushed along to the gate expecting the usual crush and checks before a transatlantic flight now instead of the vast crowns of the gate for a normal transatlantic flight there were just eight passengers milling about it turned out that was the entire compliment of the flight for when i asked if i could change seats they not only obliged but mentioned there were more deadheading crew on board than passengers absolutely amazing another fun thing you can do is walk to the aircraft and give it a good looking over this particular aeroplane is entirely one-of-a-kind it's the only all-business-class aircraft in british airways fleet as well as the only active ba a318 there used to be two but for now only g dash e u n a is left aldi is very swift all eight of us walk to the aircraft oh yes thank you good morning now once i hopped up the steps it was clear that this was an aircraft like no other the crew gave me a personal greeting as i boarded the aircraft and there we go that's a cabin just 32 seats in total arranged in a 2-2 configuration and spread between eight rows the seat is so unusual with just one of british airways aircraft fitted with it it comes with its own manual the seat controls can be found on the outside armrest of each seat and are pretty basic but they still manage to get the seat into a variety of comfortable positions including that fully in the cabin flatbed is billy and his team of uh jeffrey and joey well we are just about ready for departure now slightly ahead of schedule unfortunately we do have a little bit of frost on the aircraft wings this morning from its last flight inbound overnight from jfk we do need to get this removed before we depart the dic team are doing that for us as i speak that should take just five minutes or so so hopefully we'll still be ready for the project just about on schedule in another five or seven minutes from now short texture part drama here taking off for the wesley direction before turning to the uh north west towards shannon on this first leg of your journey flight time today one hour and five minutes to shannon once in shannon was supposed to be on the ground there for about 45 minutes or so before departing again for jfk whether in shannon on arrival quite different to here in london it's cloudy with a chance of a little bit of rain and temperatures around about four degrees celsius so speech again now once we airborne with a bit more uh information on our arrival time into shannon but for now please make yourselves comfortable and enjoy the five years today british airways bought two new airbus a318 aircraft to serve the route when it started in 2007 and they were fitted with the unique seats indeed there is that ottoman [Music] the wine list looked very good too and the cocktail list well it's something else if you actually plan to eat as well well starters were salad or cauliflower soup main courses were lamb cutlet chicken and rice or mushroom burgundy it ended with creme fraiche a watermelon or the cheese board but forget all that for the moment because here we have volume one of the wine list only two champagnes on board though with a rose of blended champers and a fifty percent pinot noir two white wines plus two reds and a port yep we might just survive this flight alas it's not too extensive a wine list that's to save weight on the aircraft which is crucial because takeoff restrictions at london city airport mean that the a318 is not able to take off with full tanks of fuel instead the a318 has to make a 40 minute refueling stop in shannon a plus point of this is that shannon offers a u.s customs and immigration service allowing passengers to clear the u.s border in ireland and land in new york jfk as domestic passengers saving a three-hour cured immigration although the flight takes an hour longer it can take up to six hours if you take off that queue at jfk and the very fast check-in time so here we go about to use the entire length of the runway amazing really that a long-haul flight can take off from here stuck in this dingy part of the isle of dogs just clearing the end of the runway docklands light railway is down there looking resplendent and also east london in the early morning sunshine i've got a circle a bit to avoid canary wharf it's quite high right at the end of the runway and gain enough height before heading northeast to ireland and time to settle in and enjoy that large flat bed and bruise the wine list to select what we're going to kick off with [Music] now the service itself is also rather special food comes from dough and co but most vitally the bar is open just look at that cocktail list and that's simply on a short hop to shannon yep a gin zing or a johnny ginger will get breakfast off to a jolly good start now i certainly let the crew know i was going to kick off with my ambition to start off with a cocktail and then work my way through the list so here we go a quick snifter of the johnny ginger although it was only gone 9 51 in the morning followed by that i was going to check out both types of champagne in the wine cellar both whites both reds and then move on to the port the johnny ginger itself is a premium whiskey with orange juice and ginger ale ice and a slice then the promise starter before the main course or the snack this is an exotic fruit bruschetta basically a few slices of fruit on a stick there was also some sushi loaded as an alternative next the crew came around and asked if i'd like my nuts warmed as they mixed up my cocktail so i can investigate the cocktail tray ready for making a serious indent into the spirits on board the seat itself it comes with some fairly basic controls there's also a light for attracting attention when you're reading the various volumes of the menus and drink selection over the coast of wales now and about to begin a descent into ireland so just time for the first of many many glasses of champagne which i had to taste to ensure it was of the finest quality and as soon as it was uncooked just as we had cork in ireland [Music] there is a meal service served on both legs however there's just a welcome drink with warm nuts followed by a starter on the london city to shannon section which lasts about an hour it was tasty but really didn't hit the spot i was glad i'd had breakfast beforehand in the bar then the main meal and afternoon tea is served on the shannon to new york jfk section and with a total of three cabin crew looking after only eight passengers they seemed almost desperately willing to please just look at that empty cabin now ireland's looking very green a little bit damp and somewhat cold it's only four degrees and we've gone back in time back an hour so it's still only nine in the morning really took only 40 minutes or so before descending through the clouds into shannon there's lots of legroom and with eight passengers on board it felt really rather like a private jet shannon itself remarkable for the number of redundant aircrafts that are parked at the airfield and also for the vast lufthansa technical works it's much cheaper to get work done in [Music] ireland at the gate in shannon we had a salubrious visitor ahead of us a united states air force aircraft which had a notable security presence well there we go time to go through u.s immigration i'll be back in that seat in just a few minutes shannon airport itself a little large empty and really rather drafty airport it's rather like a hanger with a few cafes stuck around the perimeter another security check and then u.s immigration the guy at the desk asked me my route and then queried as to whether i was on some sort of crazy mileage run i told him it was all about status actually and he just nodded knowledgeably and let me on my way the complete opposite to the experience i've had at jfk before now this gave me the chance to spend a few minutes in british airways lounge at shannon which is a rather unique lounge you see ba have got a small seating area by the gate where the aircraft is being refueled all the furniture itself is second hand it's come from the old milan lounge and was very much the old gallery's style well there's our a318 again i was welcomed back on board with a water bottle and the amenity kit that was waiting in my seat created by the white company [Music] the amenity kit itself consists of the usual toothbrush and paste plus socks and an eye shade and a small packet with tubes of spa moisturizer [Music] time for a second takeoff no weight restrictions on this one very soon running along the runway and then up over the wild west coast of ireland now each pair of seats shares four universal power outlets two are built into the central divider and face away from the seats a little below knee height there are also small lights built into the headrest just aside i was amused that the crew commented that would be no hold luggage again it seems no one ever checks in a bag for this flight but why would you when you can pretty much take on board what you want to into the cabin the in-flight entertainment was also loaded i say loaded because it isn't as you would normally expect in the seat backs with a seat back tv screen oh no not on this flight no instead the crew have tablets that they hand out to the passengers they don't have a load of content but there are a fair few new films which are welcome the noise cancelling headphones are also pretty good but most crucially on this flight the bar was open from the second we hit the cruise [Music] back onto the wine list and after my nuts have been warmed for a second time i wanted to check out some alternatives including a gin fizz then on to the champagne and akira royale this is very much british airways signature drink for the front of the plane a little bit tart for my liking but that's very much a first world problem or rather a first class club world problem the meal service began again and i started off with a fresh seasonal salad however it was a pretty chilly morning so i quickly moved on to the cauliflower and almond soup which was lovely and had lots of flavor i do like the rolls ba serve on these services they come with three types of bread in a silver basket which looks pretty classy for the main i went for welsh lamb cutlet with braised lamb shoulder and polenta or grutten grilled vegetables lots of flavor there and great with a splash of red wine [Music] all the while the in-flight entertainment played on the ipad and the crew beetled around refilling my glass dessert next and the mango creme fresh it was absolutely brilliant i then swapped onto the clarity and asked if i could try the cheese board cheese included wookie hole cave aged cheddar sussex cannon bear and oxford blue cheese along with apple and pear chutney it was all washed down with a glass of port normally ba only serve a pudding or cheese but with so few passengers the crew didn't mind me trying both i was determined to try one of british airways special brew dog speed bird 100 isles built from the ground up for british airways to celebrate their centenary this ipa is as golden amber as a transatlantic sunrise it's specifically brewed to work perfectly in the air and adapt to the reduction in taste and smell sensitivities at high altitudes now by this time i was getting just a little bit tired as tired as a newt in fact so i tried out the reclining seat it was great inching back so i could watch the icebergs out of the window but i was determined not to sleep and why would i because there were cocktails including a cranberry blush with vodka orange and cranberry plus a dash of spritz a couple of hours before landing we were offered afternoon tea options were sandwiches or traditional ploughmans both served with lemon and date scones now i went for the plowmans it had wiltshire gammon ham cropwell bacon stilton cheese a scotch egg suffolk salami and chutney it was fantastic equally good the scones with dollops of clotted cream and strawberry jam next i moved on to the other champagne on the wine list this time the rose to celebrate passing into american airspace all too soon we were descending towards new york jfk airport or idlewild as i still like to be music crew by calling it which called for yet another cocktail johnny ginger this time amazing they were going down very nicely very quickly and down there that's newfoundland just time for another couple of bottles of wine and then we were landing now flight number ba1 used to be one of a pair of concord flights however that was retired in 2003. by 2007 it was relaunched by british airways in response to a sudden trend for all business class flights from european airlines look at them lufthandron swiss they operated business class flights to jfk along with the very briefly existing airlines eos and max jet now the idea and it seemed like a good one at the time was that with so many financial companies in docklands and the square mile flying people to wall street and back they wouldn't want to go to heathrow that's a good hour away to the west instead they could hop on a flight at very short notice from just a few minutes away indeed many would spend an hour at their desk in the morning run to the airport and thanks to the time difference still be able to spend a late afternoon in new york [Music] now on landing we walk straight out of the aircraft and into the terminal a really unusual experience and one that makes this journey worthwhile none of that hanging about for hours at immigration nonsense so the bottom line is this flight worth [Music] it well yes i've got to say so if only for the personal jet experience but also for the unusual almost one-to-one attention of the cabin crew the stop in shannon is a bit of a pain but it makes up for it by not having to hang around in acute immigration i love this flight and there are very few flights i can say that about [Music] you

Channel: loungeindex

Views: 141,388

Rating: 4.6510453 out of 5

Keywords: Business Class Lounge

Id: wAV8sy_EwrA

Length: 20min 58sec (1258 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 13 2020