BA ends London City - New York Service

British Airways’ London City-New York service has been scrapped, the carrier has confirmed.

The all-business class service had operated since 2009 under the flagship BA1/BA2 code previously used by Concorde.

BA said: “As we adapt to the decrease in passenger demand as a result of the Covid-19 global pandemic we can confirm that we will no longer operate our business class-only flights from London City to New York, JFK via Shannon.

The service, which flew on a specially built 32-seat Airbus A318, was originally twice daily, but one frequency was scrapped in 2016 after issues with US immigration clearance during the Shannon stopover.

The A318 aircraft was uniquely suited to this service due to its capability of steep landings, which are a requirement at London City.

Due to the short take off it could not carry enough fuel for a nonstop flight to New York so a refuelling stop was required,  BA therefore chose Shannon as passengers could clear US customs and immigration during the refuelling and therefore the flight would be classed as ‘domestic’ on arrival at New York, reducing time on arrival.