transatlantic a318

It was always said that the narrowness of Concorde was negate but the short sector time.

Might be different to sit in that for 8-10 hours, but a quick whizz cross the pond with plenty of attention in a plush seat…well I think I could rough it :very_drunk:

I’ve been in the display Concorde at Duxford and remember thinking how cramped it must have been to fly – certainly more so than an A318 – but there would have been so many other exciting factors that I’m sure they would have compensated.

It is my great regret that I never flew on one, as it is that I never went on a cross-channel hovercraft.

I suppose you didn’t have time to get uncomfortable.

But they do not get in Concorde Room.

It is Concorde that is a small aircraft:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-France/Aerospatiale-British-Aerospace-Concorde/2310556/L
Concorde was designed for midgets, preferably midgets without any hand-luggage. There were surprisingly few complaints about the poor headroom and tiny seats because the overpaid employees whose tickets were being paid for by their companies didn’t want to lose face in front of the economy class tourists who had twice the room on a 747 for a tenth of the price.
A318 is huge:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/British-Airways/Airbus-A318-112/1748083/L
even bigger than 747 cabin:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Delta-Air-Lines/Boeing-747-451/2188425/L

That’s funny because I’m 6 foot tall and I had no complaints. Plus I was not an entertainer or a high paid business man I bought my own ticket from my savings. Yes the seats were narrow but the legroom was fine and nobody complained because the service on board was superb so, as far as I am concerned, your remarks about midgets and rich people are a load of nonsense. By the way, did you ever fly on Concorde or was that beneath your dignity

thanks all for the replies , i was looking for things like if engines where changed and other design mod’s it seems ot be hard to find out if they have done any mods or not to the a318 i cant find anything on the net.
thankyou for the response to all !!
just to say for a bit of information for anyone , bruce dickinson is looking to create his very own airline !!! i am lucky where as i live in south wales where there is alot of aviation companies and he is one of them !! will be applying for an apprenticeship in there soon !!

The A318s were flown by British Airways in an all business-class configuration from London City Airport to New York JFK, if my memory serves me correctly. The flight numbers are the old Concorde flight numbers: BA001 etc. They were intended for wealthy business people who needed to fly out of LCY to New York on a frequent basis.

But they do not get in Concorde Room.

You’re right that the A318 is a small aircraft on which to cross the Atlantic.

It is Concorde that is a small aircraft:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-France/Aerospatiale-British-Aerospace-Concorde/2310556/L
Concorde was designed for midgets, preferably midgets without any hand-luggage. There were surprisingly few complaints about the poor headroom and tiny seats because the overpaid employees whose tickets were being paid for by their companies didn’t want to lose face in front of the economy class tourists who had twice the room on a 747 for a tenth of the price.
A318 is huge:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/British-Airways/Airbus-A318-112/1748083/L
even bigger than 747 cabin:
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Delta-Air-Lines/Boeing-747-451/2188425/L

Indeed, I know that United fly the 757-200 on a number of their transatlantic routes into the UK…at BHX, EDI, GLA, MAN and LHR.

We often get strange looks from passengers when they board and the occasional question as to whether the aircraft is large enough to fly over the Pond.

For the past few weeks though we’ve had a 2-class 767-300 operating on the 1600 departure, and apparently from next year (date tbc), we’re going to be using 3-class Boeing 767-300’s on most of the LHR-EWR flights.

In a relative sense yes.

Folk sometimes fee the 757 is small for TA yet that is almost a latter day 707 as far as cabin dimensions go.

KLM, Swiss and Lufthansa used to used Boeing 737s with reduce luxury seating. Owned and operated by Privatair.

I did the tranatlantic haul on a 757-200 and I thought that was small.

The A.318 is not that small for the trip.

When you consider though that airlines have B747’s/777’s and A330/340’s flying on the London to New York route, the A318 is a relatively small aircraft to operate on such a route. That said, the airlines that fly the larger aircraft cater for both business and leisure travellers, whereas the A318 service caters for a very niche market; usually the financial services sector whose executives fly regularily between the two cities. Most of these people will work in the Canary Wharf/Docklands area so London City is obviously a better airport for them rather than having to trek over to LHR.

Small??…Learjet go Transatlantic often and Cessna Citations and in years gone by executive Viscounts, later One-Elevens and DC 9 would make the trip.

The A.318 is not that small for the trip.

Air Canada use A.319 on pax services to LHR.

Its fitted with 2 ACTs… but not the normal 2 ACTs that extended range A319/20/21s have.

Its a f**king disaster as the balance is all wrong leading to too much trim drag.

I’d say this route is a sure fire one for the CSeries in a few years.

I had read that the 318 wasn’t the most comfortable Aircraft to fly in

Its fitted with 2 ACTs… but not the normal 2 ACTs that extended range A319/20/21s have.

Its a f**king disaster as the balance is all wrong leading to too much trim drag.

I’d say this route is a sure fire one for the CSeries in a few years.

It can’t take off from LCY with full fuel the runway is too short, it does sound a nice way to get to New York, as a matter of interest Privatair were operating for various Airlines non- stop Europe to New York using low density 737-800s, don’t know if it’s ended

Hi jshjosh,

Firstly, welcome to the forums.

Yes, the flights do still operate with the A318; 0950 & 1600 departure from London City. It is the only aircraft within the A320 family that has the steep approach compatibility.

Like mrtotty, I’m not too sure about any specific modifications that were made to the aircraft from an engineering point-of-view…however the way they manage to do the trip on the way there is with a technical stop via Shannon in Ireland. The aircraft stops for fuel and the passengers get off and clear through US Preclearance, thus allowing a much easier and faster arrival in the US.

The aircraft, which can normally accomodate 107 passengers, has just 32 seats in an 8-row, 2+2 all business-class cabin configuration.

For a better look, see this link: http://www.seatguru.com/airlines/British_Airways/British_Airways_Airbus_A318.php

as far as I know they leave LCY with minimum fuel and go to Shannon where they refuel and the passengers clear US customs

Welcome to the forum.

The A318s were flown by British Airways in an all business-class configuration from London City Airport to New York JFK, if my memory serves me correctly. The flight numbers are the old Concorde flight numbers: BA001 etc. They were intended for wealthy business people who needed to fly out of LCY to New York on a frequent basis.

I couldn’t tell you whether the aircraft had extended fuel tanks or not, but they seated a small number of passengers, obviously premium.

I’m not sure the flights still operate. Perhaps another forum member will know.

You’re right that the A318 is a small aircraft on which to cross the Atlantic.