Business class is a great way to travel – but on a handful of flights every day, it’s the only way to fly: quite literally, because there are no first class suites onboard, or any seats further back in premium economy or economy.
Welcome to the all-business-class flight, a rarity in today’s skies – and among that handful, British Airways’ flagship BA1 service from London to New York.
Both the flight number and the aircraft are special.
In a nod to the 1980s era of high flying, this route adopts the same BA1 flight number as the Concorde, another all-business-class jet which darted between London and New York.
Photos: reliving the British Airways Concorde dream
These days, BA1 is flown by an Airbus A318: a tiny single-aisle jet that's certainly no Concorde.
The smallest member of the Airbus A320 family, and sometimes called the 'Baby Bus', this jet is dedicated to BA's London-New York route and has just 32 business class seats across eight rows, making for an experience which BA likens to flying in a private jet.
If you're thinking that an all-business-class flight would feature the very latest in luxury seating, BA1 will surprise you.
The seats are arranged in pairs at either side of the aisle, so there's no direct access to the aisle for the window passengers – although on the quiet Sunday morning when I flew there were just 18 passengers aboard, so most guests had a pair of seats to themselves.
The seats lack many of the mod cons you'd take for granted, including personal video screens. The crew offer iPads pre-loaded with content but most passengers seem to watch video on their own tablets or laptops.
However, the seats do fold down into flat beds.
Something else that's unique about BA1: it runs from London City Airport instead of Heathrow. London City is close to the city’s financial and business district, including the financial hub of Canary Wharf, which underscores BA1's corporate travel cred.
Ironically, this business traveller-friendly airport doesn't have any lounges.
British Airways shouts all BA1 passengers a complimentary meal at the airport's Pilots Bar & Kitchen restaurant, although you can take care of your own breakfast and arrive at the airport to check-in for the flight to New York as late as 15 minutes before departure.
When it’s time to board, there’s no announcement in the terminal: just a few spoken words at the gate, and as everybody is in business class there’s no priority boarding lane: all the passengers simply wander to the aircraft in no great hurry.
There's one more wrinkle to come: because London City Airport’s runway is very short, the A318 can’t take off with the full load of fuel needed to fly all the way to New York.
BA's novel solution: a stopover en route in the Irish town of Shannon.
This might take the shine off notions that an all-business-class flight would zoom you directly from A to B, but British Airways makes it work by letting passengers clear United States passport control and customs on the ground at Shannon while the A318 is fuelled up for the seven-hour flight ahead.
That means you arrive in New York as a domestic passenger with your passport already stamped.
(Notice "SNN" at the top of the stamp, denoting entry to the United States offshore in Shannon.)
If you've have no checked baggage, you can walk straight out of the terminal at New York's JFK Airport and make your way into the city (and if you do have a bag, because there are so few passengers on this flight, every suitcase comes out within minutes and you’re also good to go).
Compared to a non-stop flight, the Shannon detour does add around 90 minutes to the trip, but as a US visa holder who can’t normally use the time-saving passport kiosks, having no queue at passport control compared to the normal 90-odd minute wait for manual processing renders this a non-issue, and makes the flight a very attractive way to enter the United States.
On the quick hop between London and Shannon, there’s time for Champagne and a quick round of sushi…
… and once we’re back in the sky, it’s lunch: then the rest of the 7.5-hour flight is yours to work or sleep, before a spot of British afternoon tea closer to arrival…
… and a touchdown in New York in time for dinner, before you return to the airport on your day of departure and do it all again on the non-stop overnight BA2 from JFK to London City.
Also read: British Airways' all-business-class flight review, London City-New York JFK
Chris Chamberlin travelled to New York as a guest of British Airways.
Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
02 May 2018
Total posts 3
Interesting - I've never heard of this unique service. My question is, if you need to clear customs in Shannon if your luggage is checked? do you need to collect it and re-check it?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Feb 2017
Total posts 13
No need to collect luggage. You get questioned as to their contents but as long as no red flags are raised then they are not examined by customs. I have used us immigration in Shannon numerous times having checked in luggage prior to the immigration and iv never seen anyone have to get their luggage out of the Holdto have it searched
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2441
It's unique in that you don't touch your suitcase: you first go through normal security screening on arrival in Shannon, and then when you get to passport control, the CBP agent pulls up a photo of your bag on their screen and you confirm that it's yours - they can then hit the green button on their screen to clear your bag and that's it: it arrives on a carousel at JFK and you walk straight out.
QF
04 Apr 2014
Total posts 209
They use the same ‘photo of your luggage’ at Montreal and other Canadian preclearance ports. As you go through US immigration they pull up a photo of a your bags.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2441
Interesting: whenever I've done that (in Vancouver and Toronto), I've had to physically pick up my bags, walk them through US passport control and then drop them back off again (where I've taken a connecting flight).
17 Sep 2015
Total posts 388
There isn't a photo of the lunch.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2441
Full details including meals will be covered in a separate flight review of the service, when published.
23 May 2014
Total posts 119
Sounds like a great way to get to NY from the City or Canary Wharf. Are those two snack meals all that is served on board though? Would expect a more elaborate meal somewhere on a 1+7 hour biz class flight...
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2441
Full details including meals will be covered in a separate flight review of the service, when published (so no, there's more to the meal service than that).
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Mar 2015
Total posts 94
In all flights into the US this was the best arrival ever. I too was not aware of it, but price and time worked then when I went to seat selection I seriously thought there had been an error! And LCY reminded me of airports in a much friendlier age.
20 Apr 2015
Total posts 10
I took this flight on Tuesday of this week. There were only 13 passengers on board... needless to say, it was a unique experience, not least because there was an outrageous crew-to-passenger ratio. The arrival into JFK fully pre-cleared was a dream: I climbed into my taxi exactly 13 minutes after touch-down. I can highly recommend it.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
11 Apr 2016
Total posts 7
The BA Concorde was sold as an all-First class flight if I recall (seating was more J style, but booked into an F bucket).
16 Nov 2011
Total posts 595
Never flew Concorde, but having been in one, seating looked more like Y on a Dash 8. But fit for purpiose.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Oct 2011
Total posts 461
I did fly (once) on Concorde. It actually reminded by of the old DC 9 (or today's B717). You were paying for speed, not luxury. And it was so LOUD inside when in flight!
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2441
Yes, it was sold as Concorde Class, but I'd say the seats really were more like economy, given nobody needed to sleep on such short flights!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
14 Mar 2018
Total posts 25
I flew Concorde in the late 1990s, part of a RTW paid F ticket. Had to pay a surcharge of AUD2000 for the unique pleasure.
Still have the Corcorde wallet and writing pad handed out on the flight. Seats terribly narrow, but who cared. Most people trooped up and back to the cockpit for a look-see. Happy flight crew and special feeling onboard. Different era.
29 Jan 2012
Total posts 175
This product looks like a dream. Relaxed airport departure, simple but effective service with a streamlined arrival in the US. For a J class fare, this service looks spot on.
Given BA"s lacking in its general J class, this one is definitely a winner. Would be nice to see it expanded to other key routes.
As someone said earlier, a travel experience from a friendlier era.
20 Dec 2012
Total posts 4
Took BA 1 a few years back. Definitely the most civilised boarding process I have seen. Crew are all of the most senior of BA and extremely friendly. A few small downsides: the iPads they offer are some of the older generations; the seats are a bit on the narrow side esp. in fully-flat mode but spacious enough if you can score one with no one sitting next to you.But again, arriving at JFK as a domestic flight with a quasi-business-jet feel is a no brainer.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 May 2017
Total posts 84
Great option if you live in London
08 Feb 2018
Total posts 162
If it’s so good I wonder why it appears to have light loads and there aren’t heaps of daily flights? What’s the downside?
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2441
The loads were examples only on the days I was travelling (which were deliberately chosen so as to not book flights which were full) - leaving London on a quiet Sunday morning, and returning from New York the next day (Monday night), when demand isn't as high as it's the beginning of the working week.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 Aug 2014
Total posts 214
Really quite a fascinating operational concept for BA. And given the fuel issue, the decision to still push ahead anyway with LCY departure is interesting. I'd love to have been a fly on the wall during the corporate deliberations of pros and cons, especially given the route carries their flagship BA1 flight code.
A question about the US customs outpost in SNN: were the CBP staff processing entry US citizens? Or local Irish staff?
Also: are the lie-flat seats angled (like QF SkyBed Mk1), or are they 180° horizontal?
Great article!
12 Dec 2012
Total posts 1027
The US preclearance ports are staffed by CBP agents on assignment from the US.
Do they still operate BA3/4?
They had 2 flights doing this run, but had to keep pulling one of the flights whenever heavy maintenance on the A318s was due.
They also had some issues with the SNN preclearance only being open for one of the flights.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2441
They're fully-flat beds, and as Himeno has replied, the CBP staff are from the United States.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
22 Jul 2015
Total posts 219
Would love to try this one day. LCY is very civilised and minutes to our London office. If QF were to fly to CDG then it becomes viable to jump into London via LCY. Anything to avoid LHR and the aggravation that goes on there.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
13 Jan 2018
Total posts 43
Absolutely LOVE this service. It's almost like flying in the 1950's or 1960's. As it is all one class there's no priority anything, everyone is treated with priority. The small number of passengers means really personal service (if you want that). It's unique - even the friendly and chatty US CBP people at SNN are chatty and friendly. Many passengers pass the time in SNN by engaging with the CBP officers who are (unlike most of the Stateside officers) willing to oblige.
27 Aug 2017
Total posts 23
The A318 isn't wide enough for sufficient herringbone seating. Fit young long legged passengers should be given the window seats as they are better able to climb over sleeping fellow passengers.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
27 Mar 2015
Total posts 13
Thanks for this info - Id love to give it a shot. However I assume one would need to make sure your visa is all correct before leaving London? My wife is a Chinese national
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2441
It's no different to any other US-bound flight: if you don't have the required USA visa or ESTA for your journey, the computer won't issue your boarding pass and you won't be able to travel.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
23 Mar 2012
Total posts 211
I had a great flight on a Qatar all business Airbus a319. Very relaxed and great service on the flight from Doha to London. Very much like you're own private jet with only 40 seats.
Air Canada - Aeroplan
02 Sep 2015
Total posts 16
May be of interest to note that C Series has already demonstrated London City to JFK nonstop, and apparently can carry about the same number of pax as 319. I flew Concorde to JFK and found seating perfectly comfortable for short flight. With excellent catering and in flight service I was quite disappointed to get of!
04 May 2015
Total posts 262
Out of curiosity, what's the "I D/S" on the passport stamp? Normally I get WT/WB (then they circle tourism or business), and then a date.
24 Apr 2012
Total posts 2441
"I" means entry to the US as a member of the foreign press when the trip is to generate news coverage, and "D/S" means "duration of status", indicating that you can remain in the United States for as long as you like in that capacity without being kicked out, rather than having to leave by a fixed date.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
12 Jan 2017
Total posts 23
Have flown BA1 in this format, with a delayed takeoff - the inbound flight was diverted to Gatwick because of fog at London City. Passengers were given the option of deplanning at LGW, or waiting for the fog to clear for the short hop to LCY.
Have also flown the La Compangie all "business" 757 flight from London Luton to Newark. The LTN flight has been stopped, and they only run from Paris Orly now. Seats were like J class in the early 90's (not flat) but quite roomy.
My wife has also flown the Scandinavian all business flight from Stavanger in Norway to Houston - surprising for it to originate from such a small town, but connects the two oil hubs.
07 Jan 2017
Total posts 30
The BA A318 fleet has been reduced to a single aircraft !.
BA Gold
01 Apr 2012
Total posts 192
@ ian_sh: 'Crew are all of the most senior of BA '.
07 Jan 2017
Total posts 30
The Concorde class of travel was R class.
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