British Airways is launching twice daily business class-only flights from London City Airport to New York next year.

Flights will operate on an Airbus A318 aircraft with 32 seats on-board.

The new route will mark the beginning of another exciting chapter in London City Airport's success story, with two firsts; the first scheduled transatlantic flights from the airport and the first service from the airport for the Airbus A318.

Passengers who enjoy London City Airport's fast, convenient service and unique London location for their European travel will be able to enjoy the same benefits when flying to New York on this new service. The Airbus A318 is the latest generation airliner in the 100-seat class to be able to operate out of London City Airport and has the widest and most comfortable cabin of any single-aisle airliner.

Richard Gooding OBE, chief executive of London City Airport, said: “This is a fantastic development for the airport and we welcome British Airways' continued commitment to their growth at London City Airport. This announcement comes at an important time for the airport as we prepare for the next stage of our development and continue to be the hub of choice for London's business travellers”.

Willie Walsh, British Airways' chief executive, said: “This niche service will fly passengers between the heart of the two largest financial centres in the world. London City Airport is located minutes away from some of our key corporate customers and is in one of the fastest growing areas of the capital.

“We will offer a 15 minute check-in for customers in both London and New York. London City's size means that it is a quick and easy airport to use and, with a maximum of 32 passengers on-board, getting on and off the aircraft will be a smooth process. Once on-board, customers will experience all the benefits of our business class cabin including a fully flat bed”.