British Airways To Launch Luxury NYC-London Flights
It was an idea that flopped phenomenally in the past (see Silverjet, MaxJet and EOS, three business-only London to NYC flight companies which all folded) but now British Airways is giving luxury all-business service between London and New York a shot. However the fact that the airline will fly just 32 passengers on an aircraft normally fitted for 100 people doesn't sit well with some environmental groups. The Guardian reports that environmental group Plane Stupid will stage a protest at London City Airport tomorrow as the maiden flight launches, angered by the fact that recently British Airways CEO Willie Walsh had pledged that the airline would do its part to fight climate change. The layout of the plane means that each passenger is basically responsible for three times the emissions of a regular flight.
British Airways will offer twice daily service on Airbus A318s with flat beds and access to the internet. Round-trip fares will start at around $3,00 but go up to nearly $8,000 for more flexible tickets. Flights leaving from London will be forced to make a brief refuelling stop at Shannon airport in the west of Ireland because the London City airport's runway is too short to handle an A318 aircraft with a full fuel load. In order to ease the journey, BA is arranging for passengers to use the Shannon stop to clear US customs and immigration.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jasonfgd Sep 29th 2009 12:06AM
that's interesting; you can clear US customs from outside of the country. that must be a first.
R Kenigsberg Sep 29th 2009 7:46AM
Cruise and ocean liners use customs onboard when they do transatlantics. They will probably have an immigration officer(s) onboard the flight.
Lisa Sep 29th 2009 9:37AM
There's actually customs & immigration at Shannon airport. There are in several places outside the US where there are a lot of travelers - it allows flights to go to airports that don't have Customs. Toronto also has it which allows flights from Toronto to go to non-international airports in the US