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Flight Review: Onboard BA001, British Airways' All-Business-Class Baby Bus to JFK

Back in the day (though not all that long ago), there was no more exclusive way to travel from London to New York than on BA001, the British Airways flight number for Concorde. With the supersonic jet now retired, BA uses this famous flight label for the next best thing: one of its two daily all-business-class flights from London City Airport to New York JFK.

We recently flew this interesting service, which not only has the benefit of just 32 full-flat seats on a tiny Airbus A318, but also offers pre-clearance of US immigration during a brief refuel stop in Shannon, Ireland. We’ll give you the full breakdown of the BA “baby bus” experience below.

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Meet British Airways' Secret Weapon: Captain Dominic Howard-Jones

Dominic Howard-Jones. The embodiment of BA’s "To Fly, To Serve" slogan

Zany cabin crew might be par for the course these days (if you fly Southwest or Jetblue at least), but it’s not often you get a pilot who gets the whole plane laughing, especially if you’re flying fusty British Airways, right?

A huge exception would be the man, Captain Dominic Howard-Jones, who flew us from Pisa this last week. Or, as he would say, “drove the beast” down to Pisa. From boarding to disembarkation, he kept us entertained (though never irritated), doing the usual piloty announcements with his own personal twist, as if he was actually happy to be leading this flight, rather than going through the motions.

For example, the cabin crew were “gallant staff,” the plane became “the beast,” the co-pilot was “driving us” and, at Pisa, we may as well sit down again because the jetbridge was making “excruciatingly slow progress” towards us.

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What Happens in Vegas Comes to London-Gatwick with British Airways' New Route

Showgirls in their scanties and an open champagne bar aren’t what you’d normally expect at London-Gatwick Airport at 9am on a Monday, but what happens in Vegas came to London this week, as Gatwick came over all Sin City in honor of British Airways’ inaugural LGW-LAS flight, which left on Monday.

Showgirls, Cirque du Soleil-style performers, a pianist and a bar, Oscar’s—named after former mayor and Vegas man about town Oscar Goodman—were doing their stuff in the check-in hall, while, through security, an Elvis impersonator (attended by two more showgirls) took up residence at Duty-Free. There were speeches from Silla Maizey, BA's Gatwick Managing Director, as well as the Vegas tourist board. There was even a cake cutting ceremony! Unsurprisingly, most people gravitated to the sequins and champagne.

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Concordes and Jumbos and the Worldport, Oh My.

Terminal 7 -- British Airways, with a single Concorde

Okay okay. We'll admit that we've been having a bit of a love affair with the history of JFK Airport lately. In all fairness, we've also had spells with Singapore-Changi and Amsterdam-Schiphol, but there's just something about JFK...

Maybe it's the sleek design of the TWA Flight Center or the fact it was one of the coolest places to be in all of New York City for a time, but we can't get enough.

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Surprisingly Yummy Airline Meals: British Airways' Filet Mignon

We have all had a terrible meal on a flight before. In fact, we have shown you some of the sadder trays slid in front of us. With this new series of amazing airline meals, we can revel in the airline culinary delights and give kudos to the airlines that got it right.

British Airways has put forth a lot of effort to revamp their service and reputation lately, even completely overhauling their menus to include an homage to British-y home classics.

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British Airways Now Checks You In for a Flight Without Having to Ask

The ability to check-in online has been pretty darn awesome. Not only can we ditch the traditional paper boarding pass, but checking in from the comfort of our mobile device usually saves time and an extra stop at the airport. Now it looks like British Airways is taking things one step further, and they’re doing so by kind-of eliminating the idea of online check-in.

No need to start clicking away 24 hours before your flight, as now British Airways is testing a new system where you’re automatically checked-in for your flight. Testing begins this month—mostly in France—where passengers are magically registered for their flight, assigned a seat, and they’re even sent over an electronic boarding pass. It’s all done behind the scenes without the need to log-on, touch, tap, or click.

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Duty-Free Shopping Must-Haves: Ways To Ease Your Arrival

If you're anything like us, you probably think that the in-flight duty-free shopping catalog can eat up a good chunk of time on long-haul international flights and provide a few giggles or unique gift ideas. This week, we'll dive into the pages of some favorite airline shopping magazines and highlight our picks for the just-can't-live-without items.

Today, we bring you our recommendations from in-flight catalogs around the world that ease the pressures of traveling to a new land. No matter how many times you get your passport stamped, it is just a little stressful waiting in immigration lines, collecting luggage and getting to your hotel as quickly as possible. Some airlines will help you relieve some of the stress and all you need is a quick browse of their duty-free magazine.

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Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue, and ANA Star in This Week's New Routes

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Virgin Atlantic:
Transatlantic flights—and beyond—are the first things that come to mind when you think of Virgin Atlantic and their route network, but the latest news out of the airline might just cause you to start thinking a little bit differently. Virgin Atlantic just announced their intention to start up their first domestic route, as the plan is to fly from London-Heathrow over to Manchester starting early next year.

If all goes according to plan the flights will operate three times per day between the two cities. They’ll be leasing some Airbus A319s to get the job done, and we even heard that they’re thinking about heading to spots in Scotland—Aberdeen and Edinburgh to be specific.

· British Airways:
British Airways just made it a little bit easier to get around the globe, as the plan is to start up some new service over to Sri Lanka. The plan is to link London-Gatwick with Colombo beginning on March 31 of next year.

Unfortunately this isn’t a nonstop option, as there will be a stop on the way over. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing as it sounds like the stop will be in the Maldives. Flights will run back and forth three times per week, and all the passengers will be riding aboard Boeing 777s. Apparently British Airways hasn’t visited Sri Lanka since like 1998, so it’s good to see that the planes are heading back over there.

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The Newbie Traveler in Prague: Red Roofs and Good Foods

What would your life be like if you hadn't yet traveled to Europe? If you'd spent years reading travel novels and fantasizing over guidebooks, but hadn't made the big leap? This is the case for Andy Miles, who in his late twenties just embarked on a trip to hit most of the cities for the first time. He's walking us through the emotions and observations of a true Newbie Traveler.

Since writing my very first Newbie Traveler article back in 2010, I have been to nine different countries. I'm actually starting to feel more like a seasoned traveler than a newbie, but I believe it's less about where you've been and more about where you're going.

I started off my most recent trip with a week's visit to London for a conference. All business. It was my third time in that beautiful city and as much as I hated to leave it, my itinerary this year was well worth leaving for. My girlfriend and I visited Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam and Bruges, all cities new to me.

After our all too brief week in London, we hopped a British Airways flight to Prague.

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Five Airlines Flying Special-Edition Olympic Airplanes

This week marks the moment most of us have been waiting for after the city announcement came in 2005. This Friday, London will be on center stage as it hosts the Opening Ceremonies for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Thousands of athletes from nations all over the world have already been converging on the British city, clogging up the airports with their gear bags.

It very common for the Olympics host country to give their national flag carrying airline a new paint job advertising the world's largest sporting event. We have already talked about what British Airways have done to some of their metal, but it is worth another mention, as well as a highlight of what other airlines are getting in on the Olympic spirit.

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It's Hawaiian Airlines, Volaris and Cape Air with New Routes This Week

Sometimes it’s hard to stay on top of all the new route announcements that come our way, so we’ve complied a little bit of a rundown below. As long as you can afford the fares, this should definitely help add to your passport stamp collection.

· Hawaiian Airlines:
It seems like Hawaiian Airlines is adding new routes at a pretty quick rate, and it’s not just between the islands and the mainland either. They’ve got plenty of international routes, and now it sounds like they’re ready to add one more. Hawaiian Airlines is sending some more planes down under, as the plan is to link Honolulu with Brisbane beginning on November 27.

The flights will do their thing three times per week in the fall, and all the flying fun will be aboard the carrier’s Boeing 767-300ERs. They’re actually the only airline based in the nifty fifty to offer nonstop service over to Brisbane, which is good news if you need to add a stop on your around-the-world itinerary.

· British Airways:
So this might not exactly be a new route announcement, as British Airways flies between Phoenix and London pretty darn regularly. However, the frequency of the route is getting a little bit of an upgrade. Just in time for the holiday season, the back and forth flights will become a daily option beginning in December.

Boeing 747s do the hefty lifting between the two cities, so there’s always a chance that you could sweet talk your way to the upper deck. Obviously visiting London this summer to check out the Olympics would be quite a score, but if not, it’s good to know there will be plenty of flights connecting these two cities after the games have run their course.

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British Airways' New Commercial Advertises a Route That Doesn't Exist

Good news and bad news! The good news: British Airways have launched a whole new TV commercial to promote its Olympic ties, complete with a "London Calling" by The Clash soundtrack, which pretty much never fails to get people to pay attention. The bad news: that airplane taxiing across Westminster Bridge is not real; it's computer-generated.

The fresh ad depicts a regular BA flight leaving from London-Heathrow, but then it goes on a driving trip through London, instead of up into the skies, with a final destination of the Olympic Stadium. The route obviously doesn't actually exist, though by god we wish it were possible.

The ad closes with the statement: "Don't Fly. Support Team GB." This doesn't mean don't travel at all, but instead attend the games or stay home and root for the Union Jack.

The full ad, right here:

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