Fresh from arguing that Heathrow's expansion is an economic necessity, British Airways is to launch a business-only service from London City Airport.

BA said yesterday that it would launch the first business-only service from the airport in 2009, offering a door-to-door service to New York that is aimed at the bankers and lawyers in the City and Canary Wharf. BA will operate a 32-seat, twice-daily service on Airbus A318 aircraft.

The move comes after news that BA plans to fly to the United States from mainland Europe.

The business-class niche has been fought over ferociously in the past year, with MaxJet falling victim to the tough competition. Eos, the American airline, and Silverjet, a British rival, have said that their trading has been strong since MaxJet went into administration in December.

“I think this is a bullet aimed squarely at Eos, targeting travellers from the City,” Andrew Lobbenberg, an analyst for ABN Amro, said.

However, Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA, said: “We are doing what's right for our customers. We are not interested in what our competitors are doing.”

The new service promises a 15-minute check-in designed to attract workers from the financial services sector. However, BA's aircraft will be delayed by the need to stop for refuelling on the west coast of Ireland as the Airbus 318 will be unable to take-off with a full fuel load because of the short runway at City.

BA's decision to launch a niche business service came as it revealed that long-haul premium traffic continues to be strong. Revenue in the third quarter rose by 4.7 per cent, although revenue for the full year was only 0.9 per cent higher.

Operating profits for the first nine months to the end of December were 22 per cent higher at £623 million.

BA shares fell by almost 5 per cent to 315p, because analysts were disheartened by the airline's warning of the impact of rising fuel costs in the year ahead.

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