LONDON (AP) - British Airways plc. (BA) said its planned business class only flight from London's close-in City Airport to New York will allow passengers to save time by completing US arrival checks in Ireland.

The airline said that the route's refueling stop at Shannon airport, in western Ireland, will double as the port where passengers will go through US immigration checks, meaning they'll be able to skip them when they land in New York, and speed straight into town.

BA said that travelers from London's financial district would also save time because they will only be required to arrive at City Airport, quickly reachable by train, 15 minutes before departure time.

"Many city workers will be able to get from desk to aircraft in as little as 30 minutes," said BA's commercial director Robert Boyle.

The airline first announced plans to launch twice-daily business class flights between London City and New York in January, using a single-aisle Airbus A318 with 32 seats.