LCY submits application to accommodate the A320 Neo

London City is known for being in the middle of London, a few DLR stations away from the financial centre of the UK’s capital.

Inaugurated on October 26, 1987, the airport saw fantastic growth over the years, starting with turbo-prop airliners of yore to today’s modern A220. One of the most famous routes on this airport was BA001/002, covering the flight between London to New York with a stop at Shannon, Ireland (BA001), and then a direct return trip (BA002). This flight was orignally flown by the Concorde from LHR.

However, growth has been hampered by the need to keep the noise as low as possible. For that, a steep approach flightplan was introduced, first being of 7°, now reduced to 5°. In order to keep growing, LCY authorities have reached to the Civil Aviation Authority to make plans to prepare LCY for the A320 Neo. As such, a new RNP is being considered to make the glideslope shallower, which would permit the operation of the bigger A320, compared to the current A220s, E190s and lesser sized commercial airliners.

Things are still in the works, but the future of LCY is looking bright.

https://www.londoncityairport.com/media-centre/press-releases/london-city-airport-submits-application-to-accommodate-the-a320neo

P.D: Now all of us will be able to use the A320 Neo (when it comes) without the risk of angering the realism police that sometimes show up on the forum.

8 Likes

I saw this - absolutely huge news!

Could we see the return of LCY-JFK (via Shannon) in a premium layout A320neo 👀

6 Likes

I hope so, I was fascinated on how an A318 could fly over the Atlantic for that long.

2 Likes

That would be a nice replacement for the A318. I did the first leg of BA001 only till Shannon, when IF didn’t have time compression.

1 Like

Does it also mena the MAX can operate there? As the 737 serires in general have good performance on hot-high and short field performance?

1 Like

Don’t know, maybe the B737-7 Max could fit into LCY. I think the Max 8 is a tad bigger than the A320 Neo.

That may be true. But the 737 MAX 8 has a lower operating empty weight than the Neo and a higher maximum takeoff weight than Neo if I am not mistaken. Ryanair would be a possible competitor if the MAX werr allowed

1 Like

Would it be profitable for Ryanair to move some aircraft to LCY from STN? The people that fly off LCY are mostly business oriented clients (I think), and they wouldn’t trade comfort for cheaper tickets.

The NEO is already on 7.5-8 hour routes in regular configurations. It’s possible a NEO with premium layout could make it year round without stopping.

1 Like

Wouldn’t the runway be too short ?

1 Like

Yes thats what I thought if the Neo gets certified there then maybe the MAX also have chances. And additionally we can see other carriers not flying there regularly or never can open routes that have never been flown out of the airport

Oh that would be important wouldn’t it. Totally blanked my mind lol.

Yes, probably too short.

2 Likes

Not only is the runway short, you also have to climb like a rocket due to noise restrictions.

I saw this about wanting to accommodate larger aircraft. Definitely exciting to hear and would be a game changer for London travel especially given its location

1 Like

A320 NEO carrying 40 pax and their bags going to JFK weighs like around 152k lbs, which is the same as reasonably full A320 NEO going to Zurich or Milan or something. Not inconceivable that it could climb out like a rocket, but I’m not an A320 pilot so I’m not sure.

2 Likes

can’t wait to see people in IF flying in with A320neos in the future lol

1 Like

But would those same noise restrictions be as strict with an aircraft such as the A320Neo, which already has a huge reduction in noise when comparing it to other aircraft? I mean, sure, it’s not silent, but it’s definitely not as loud as some of the other aircraft out there

1 Like

Billy Bishop airport didn’t allow the E2s, which are the quietest jets out there, so…

Flaps 3 would be the pilot’s best friend then.

1 Like

Well, that’s a fair point. But that’s Canada, not the UK, so the standards may not be the same.