LCY-JFK time change
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: TLV/ATH/LON/EZE/NYC/UIP
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LCY-JFK time change
Got an email from BA overnight, informing me that my late October flight on BA001 now departs LCY at 0950 instead of 1250.
Had a quick look at other timings out of curiosity. BA003 is still at 1600. The return flights leave JFK at 1955 and 2255 instead of the current 1910 and 2150.
If this has to do with Shannon, surely the later flight should have been moved earlier too? And once moving it earlier, why not have it as early as possible to allow most of a working day in NYC? The inbound lands LCY at 0715, surely could be turned around in an hour... similarly why not make BA003 a little later if Shannon is still open, to allow a fuller day of work in London?
Had a quick look at other timings out of curiosity. BA003 is still at 1600. The return flights leave JFK at 1955 and 2255 instead of the current 1910 and 2150.
If this has to do with Shannon, surely the later flight should have been moved earlier too? And once moving it earlier, why not have it as early as possible to allow most of a working day in NYC? The inbound lands LCY at 0715, surely could be turned around in an hour... similarly why not make BA003 a little later if Shannon is still open, to allow a fuller day of work in London?
#2
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: LHR
Programs: BA Gold, TG Gold, HHonors Diamond, SPG Plat
Posts: 8,665
Maybe they are going to get US immigration staff to work mornings and evening with a long sieasta in between like the Spanish do.
The retiming makes BA1 a little risky given the LCY fog at certain times of the year. There is no time to relocate the plane for STN/LGW back to LCY.
Didnt the original BA001 flight take off around around 9:50 am from LHR as well?
The retiming makes BA1 a little risky given the LCY fog at certain times of the year. There is no time to relocate the plane for STN/LGW back to LCY.
Didnt the original BA001 flight take off around around 9:50 am from LHR as well?
#3
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 5,656
Very odd in that it still seems to return at the same time. From a quick perusal of BA's online timetable at BA.com, some days of the week it's at a 12.50 departure and some days it's 09.50. I'll do some digging with some sources of mine.
#4
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: London, UK
Posts: 5,656
Ok, so putting two and two together and making five, if it's leaving three hours earlier, it's theoretically got three hours "spare" at JFK to fly somewhere else. That means basically an hour each way. Where is an hour's flight from JFK? Onwards flights to DCA?
#9
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Gold, IHG Gold Ambassador
Posts: 142
I got caught out with this change yesterday as I was looking to incorporate BA1 into an itinerary for late November, and on ITA Matrix it showed a 12.50 departure but then when I phoned BA, they told me it departs at 0950 (and they had no knowledge of a schedule change). It has made a real mess of what was an ideal itinerary to hit the GUF2...
#12
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#14
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: London, England.
Programs: BA
Posts: 8,476
BA 2 inbound often arrives a good 30 minutes early, sometimes as soon as the airport opens at 0630. I hear the thrust reversers from the house, it's one of the few aircraft into LCY that uses them. A useful supplementary alarm clock !
When foggy they divert to Gatwick which is where the pilots report for departure, at the moment they wait to hear the inbound has made it in before their car leaves to take them over to LCY, otherwise they ferry the aircraft over later in the morning. It was for this reason that the pilots change over in Shannon. Pilots are effectively paid by the flying hour, so it makes little difference to costs how you organise them within their monthly hours allowance.
The logic behind the westbound timetable was that it facilitated either a morning in Canary Wharf or most of a day before departure. I wonder how many going to New York actually go to the effort of heading for the office for a couple of hours first. Of course, it prevents any going in to the New York office in the afternoon, so maybe demand is for that and this is behind the change.
Once upon a time there was a BA 3 that allowed you to do both !
When foggy they divert to Gatwick which is where the pilots report for departure, at the moment they wait to hear the inbound has made it in before their car leaves to take them over to LCY, otherwise they ferry the aircraft over later in the morning. It was for this reason that the pilots change over in Shannon. Pilots are effectively paid by the flying hour, so it makes little difference to costs how you organise them within their monthly hours allowance.
The logic behind the westbound timetable was that it facilitated either a morning in Canary Wharf or most of a day before departure. I wonder how many going to New York actually go to the effort of heading for the office for a couple of hours first. Of course, it prevents any going in to the New York office in the afternoon, so maybe demand is for that and this is behind the change.
Once upon a time there was a BA 3 that allowed you to do both !
#15
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Gold, IHG Gold Ambassador
Posts: 142
I've just noticed on the BA website that pre-US immigration clearance at Shannon will be available only on BA1 from 28 October, so it seems moving the flight 3 hours earlier was the only way BA could get the US authorities to play ball.
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...n/public/en_gb
Doesnt this take the shine off this unique service??
GD
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...n/public/en_gb
Doesnt this take the shine off this unique service??
GD