Sharil Abdul Rahman 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 I found this reference to the new BA A318, bound for a LCY-SNN-JFK-LCY route soon. And i found a picture of it at aviation-community.de. This must be the shortest plane ever to cross the big pond. ans quoting someone in a.net - i just want to tickle the plane's chin - its so cute! Credit ju52 @ aviation-community.de Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C.Foo 3 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 Do you mean shortest plane to cross the atlantic, or shortest plane to cross the atlantic non-stop Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 Perhaps the shortest passenger plane to cross the Alantic non-stop. Here is an a.net pix at London City airport. Note the definitive reggo of this plane, G-EUNA: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sharil Abdul Rahman 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 (edited) Do you mean shortest plane to cross the atlantic, or shortest plane to cross the atlantic non-stop Both in this case, seeing the route is LCY-SNN-JFK-LCY. And its as exclusive as that SQ346 to the US as the BA318 is a business-class only plane. And another trivia - the flight number is BA001/002.Last used by the Concorde. Edited September 21, 2009 by Sharil Abdul Rahman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 SQ operates the A345. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Waiping 12 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 No emergency doors? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
H Azmal 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 (edited) Slightly offtopic but somewhat related: Does anyone know the route that MH's B732 took on their delivery from Boeing to Malaysia in 1972? All I know is that it made a stopover in LHR also - so it must have also crossed the Atlantic. Edited September 21, 2009 by H Azmal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 No emergency doors? There are only 32 pax and a short fuselage - evacuation should not be a huge problem, even if it is carrying a full load. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C.Foo 3 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 The longest transatlantic plane is VS, IB, SA, and LH A340-600 shortest/first with stops NC-4 shortest/first without stops Vickers Vimy Hope it helps Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 You mean the shortest passenger/commercial transatlantic plane ? Yes, she is... How about the Cessna 750 Citation X ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hakan 2 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 maybe we can say "smallest airliner" instead "shortest" I really don't know what wants BA to do with this A318 on transatlantic flight?!? what they think about to get profit of per milage/seat on this route? -there is no room belly cargo -probably uncomfortable flight with a small airplane in turbulances at transatlantic flight levels (if you want to fuel economy another question, how A318 gets ETOPS certificate? looks very limited performance as an airliner for crossing north atlantic! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Azman MN 1 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 Plenty of all-business class A319/A320s and 738s cross the atlantic. Some have quite long routes, such as AMS-HOU. Lufthansa operates several of these all business flights from various cities in Germany to the US. I've been on the Swiss one (operated by Privatair) and I must say it feels a bit strange to be in a small plane over an ocean. But then again, I don't think that the flight is more than 1 hour away from the nearest land on most north atlantic routes. The BA service will need to refuel in SNN as the runway in LCY is too short for a full load of fuel. But the time spent there will be used to clear immigration and customs. Plus the fact that LCY is only 15 minutes from the City compared to 1 hour to Heathrow! I remember discussing this in a meeting with Virgin... maybe 5 years ago. Apparently Branson toyed with the idea of having in flight-refueling ... he must have been in one of his creative moods... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sharil Abdul Rahman 0 Report post Posted September 21, 2009 The longest transatlantic plane is VS, IB, SA, and LH A340-600 shortest/first with stops NC-4 shortest/first without stops Vickers Vimy Hope it helps Ah. Not the A345. Sorry about that. You mean the shortest passenger/commercial transatlantic plane ? Yes, she is... How about the Cessna 750 Citation X ? maybe we can say "smallest airliner" instead "shortest" I really don't know what wants BA to do with this A318 on transatlantic flight?!? what they think about to get profit of per milage/seat on this route? -there is no room belly cargo -probably uncomfortable flight with a small airplane in turbulances at transatlantic flight levels (if you want to fuel economy another question, how A318 gets ETOPS certificate? looks very limited performance as an airliner for crossing north atlantic! Maybe i made it to literally. And lacking some words. So Uncle Pieter's amendment is spot on. Also, i am talking about commercial. the Cessnas are mostly private ventures so its kind of not proper to fit in the theme. Also, the BA001/002 A318 flights are business class only - like LH's or SQ's long range business class only flights to the US. And BA has an advantage that their pond-hopping planes will cover a shorter distance than the bigger A340s. Also, from Wikipedia, All variants are able to be ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) certified. The A318 is available with a variety of different maximum take-off weights (MTOW) ranging from a 59 tonne, 2,750 km (1,500 nautical mile) base model to a 68 tonne, 6,000 km (3,240 nautical mile) version. So LCY to JFK is as easy as pie. Plenty of all-business class A319/A320s and 738s cross the atlantic. Some have quite long routes, such as AMS-HOU. Lufthansa operates several of these all business flights from various cities in Germany to the US. I've been on the Swiss one (operated by Privatair) and I must say it feels a bit strange to be in a small plane over an ocean. But then again, I don't think that the flight is more than 1 hour away from the nearest land on most north atlantic routes. The BA service will need to refuel in SNN as the runway in LCY is too short for a full load of fuel. But the time spent there will be used to clear immigration and customs. Plus the fact that LCY is only 15 minutes from the City compared to 1 hour to Heathrow! I remember discussing this in a meeting with Virgin... maybe 5 years ago. Apparently Branson toyed with the idea of having in flight-refueling ... he must have been in one of his creative moods... As you said - A319/320s, not A318s, so this is the smallest, commercial, collectible mileage points, legacy airline flight across the Atlantic in recent modern aviation history. (talk about specific points ) In-Flight refueling? Wow, what did branson smoke then? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hakan 2 Report post Posted September 22, 2009 Also, the BA001/002 A318 flights are business class only ahhh now it's ok as I thought,that is magic sentence Nevertheless, this is serious gamble for BA,especially at that time they announced loss of profit. As you remember ther was an airline which is only business service on board, Silverjet and they ceased operation at the end of 2008 due global crisis. BA is very smart that using smallest plane. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kee Hooi Yen 0 Report post Posted September 22, 2009 Why does it carry a Germany flag on its tail ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nik H. 3 Report post Posted September 22, 2009 Lucky Lindy's Ryan Monoplane. Length 27ft x span 46ft. This has got to be the shortest plane to fly non-stop across the Atlantic. He did it with less horsepower than a B737 APU. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
C.Foo 3 Report post Posted September 22, 2009 Why does it carry a Germany flag on its tail ? The reason is it has to compliy with local German law that states all german airplanes must have the german flag (Not like the germans want a british flag on there regestered aircraft). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KK Lee 5 Report post Posted September 22, 2009 Why does it carry a Germany flag on its tail ? Probably registered to Deutsch BA. After the WWII, only Allies airlines were permitted to service Berlin and BA had Deutsch BA subsidiary before is sold to Air Berlin. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted September 22, 2009 Why does it carry a Germany flag on its tail ? This is its pre-delivery test reggo. A-318's are assembled in Germany, so carry German test reggos. Its definitive reggo is G-EUNA. Please see pix above, where it is actually at LCY doing test flights from LCY. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Naim 6 Report post Posted September 23, 2009 I found this reference to the new BA A318, bound for a LCY-SNN-JFK-LCY route soon. And i found a picture of it at aviation-community.de. This must be the shortest plane ever to cross the big pond. ans quoting someone in a.net - i just want to tickle the plane's chin - its so cute! ... Hehehe, what a cutie, yes feel like tickling the chin too ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pieter C. 5 Report post Posted September 23, 2009 The reason is it has to compliy with local German law that states all german airplanes must have the german flag . Almost correct... All German registered aircraft must wear the German flag Since the test-registration was German, the flag had to be applied; once it became a G-registered plane, the German flag was removed... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sharil Abdul Rahman 0 Report post Posted October 7, 2009 Someone already tried the Flight service, and posted it on A.net http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/trip_reports/read.main/156980/ a 2-2 seating arrangement, and a walk-to-plane boarding. The seatbacks looks shiny white! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
