British Airways is hoping to draw business travelers who want to stay away from London's crowded Heathrow Airport and instead fly into the smaller airport near London's financial district. Because of the size of the airport, the airline said, passengers have the convenience of checking in just 15 minutes before departure.

The service will be on Airbus A318 aircraft configured to fit just 32 business-class seats.The plane, usually used by low-cost carriers, has about 100 coach seats.The flights will be the first long-haul international service to operate from London City Airport, the closest airport to the city. In a nod to aviation history, the flights will be dubbed BA001 and BA002, codes that were used by the supersonic Concorde before it was grounded in 2003.

(latimes.com)