London City gets a direct flight to New York.

British Airways is to launch a transatlantic business class only service next year from London City Airport to New York using A318 aircraft with just 32 business class seats. This will be the first time that the British flag carrier has ordered A318 aircraft, although it is unclear whether they are new or leased machines. There will be a 15 minimum check in time.

BA's new A318 service to the US will have to stop en route due to payload restrictions at London City Airport which has just a 1,199m runway. Shannon in Western Ireland is a possible re-fuelling point, with the potential of passengers using the time to clear American immigration as the airport has a deployment of US Customs and Border Protection officers.

It takes about 40min to refuel, so all in all with descent and ascent time it might add an hour to the journey. Return flights will be direct, given the decrease in weight on arrival.