British Airways has announced a new target to remove more than 700 tons of single-use plastic on board its flights in 2020, amounting to more than a quarter of a billion individual items of plastic and equivalent to more than 30,000 suitcases full of single-use plastic*, even more than the number of bags customers check in with the airline at Heathrow on an average day.

The airline has already rolled out initiatives to remove 25 million individual items of single-use plastic on board each year, equivalent to 90 tonnes, and has now set itself an ambitious target to increase this by more than 700%.

British Airways has been working closely with its suppliers to identify alternatives to single-use plastic items, and this year it will replace as many as possible with recyclable or re-usable items or items from sustainable sources. To date, the airline has achieved the following plastic reductions:

• Swapped plastic stirrers with bamboo alternatives
• Reduced plastic packaging on Club World amenity kits
• Swapped plastic wrapping for all bedding and blankets for paper wrapping (currently being rolled out across all cabins)

• Removed plastic wrapping on headsets and instead placed these inside paper charity envelopes in World Traveller cabins
• Water bottles on board are made from 50% recycled plastic
• Removed inflight retail plastic bags

The target also includes finding alternatives to single-use plastic cutlery, tumblers, cups, toothpicks and butter packaging on board. The airline described the process of making these changes as complex, with a significant amount of research required to ensure that the alternative products sourced are credibly sustainable, offer the same hygiene levels as their plastic counterparts and do not outweigh the items they replace.

Kate Tanner, British Airways’ Customer Experience Manager said:

“Our customers have told us that they want to see these changes and we’re pleased to have made real strides in our journey to becoming more sustainable. We’ve spent a long time researching how to make sustainable changes without causing environmental impact elsewhere. For instance, we are looking at the amount of water and detergent needed to wash metal cutlery and how often it needs to be replaced versus using plastic or bamboo cutlery.

“We’ve looked at how we ensure blankets and other items can be kept clean without a plastic covering and the lifespan of all the new items compared to the existing ones. Some potential replacement options may be heavier, which would then have an impact on the weight of the aircraft and therefore on our emissions, so we must ensure we are making the right choices on all replacements.”

The airline has a team of more than 170 War on Waste cabin crew champions who promote best practice among crew and identify potential new initiatives to improve waste reduction and recycling practices on board. British Airways says it now expects its suppliers to offer sustainable alternatives as standard and will be making continual changes to its onboard products as they become available.

To mark the new target British Airways commissioned eco-artist Sarah Turner to create a giant suitcase made from a thousand pieces of waste plastic, including 160 spoons, more than a dozen plastic stirrers, drinks lids, plastic wrap, bubble wrap, catering dishes and covers and bottles. The sculpture, which represents the 30,000 suitcases worth of plastic waste being removed, is currently on display at British Airways’ Headquarters near Heathrow.

British Airways is committed to reducing its environmental impact. In October 2019, the airline committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.  From January this year, British Airways began offsetting carbon emissions on all its flights within the UK and is investing heavily in new, more fuel-efficient aircraft and in the development of sustainable aviation fuels.

NOTES:

• *Figure based on suitcases weighing 23kg.
• The target of removing upwards of 700 tonnes of single-use plastic equates to more than 30,000 suitcases (23kg) – more than the combined weight of all baggage checked in with British Airways at London Heathrow each day.

More information on British Airways’ sustainability plan can be found here.

Cape Town Sunset Panorama

British Airways is adding more flights to some of its most popular destinations in the US and South Africa from April*.

The airline will be increasing its services from Heathrow to Miami, Seattle and Cape Town, offering those customers who want to travel during the busy spring period more flexibility.

British Airways recently announced that it would be increasing services next  winter from Gatwick to Cape Town, St Lucia and Cancun. The airline will also be launching six new European routes starting from July from Heathrow to Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Montenegro and Turkey.

*Increased services will vary by destination and may be subject to change:

·       Cape Town will increase by three services a week From March 30 until April 19

·       Seattle will increase by a daily service from May 1 until May 31

·       Miami will increase by a daily service from April 1 until May 31

British Airways customers travelling to hot-spots St Lucia, Cape Town and Cancun from London Gatwick will have even more flights to choose from next winter.

British Airways is set to be the only airline with a regular multi-weekly scheduled service between the UK and St Lucia, following Virgin Atlantic’s decision to stop serving the route after  June 8, 2020.

Ocean view with mountains in Saint Lucia. Overlooking a balcony at the Grand Piton.

Customers will now be able to choose from nine flights per week – two more than the daily flight British Airways flew last winter to the paradise island and matching the number of flights available to travellers over the Summer.

The additional flights will take off on Wednesdays and Saturdays, coinciding with popular travel days and enabling holidaymakers to make the most of their time off.

Customers traveling to Cancun from December 6, 2020 will also be able to make the most of an extra weekly service to the Mexican holiday capital departing on Sundays, taking the number of weekly flights up to six.

From January 10, 2021, there will also be two extra flights a week from London Gatwick to the ever-popular Cape Town, which enjoys beautifully warm temperatures for the first three months of the year.  The new services will mean that customers can choose from 19 flights a week to Cape Town from London to suit their schedule, with the outbound and return flights overnight to maximize time in South Africa, alongside 14 to Johannesburg, again overnight both ways, and three to Durban.

British Airways flies to more than 70 destinations from London Gatwick, offering a variety of routes to suit both business and leisure travellers. As always, members of the British Airways Executive Club  can earn Avios on their British Airways booking.  Avios can be spent on Reward flights, upgrades, hotels, car rental and cutting the cost of a flight. When using Avios part payment, customers can pick from a range of savings by destination and cabin and they still collect Avios and Tier Points on their bookings.

British Airways aircraft photo gallery (Airbus):

British Airways has issued this statement:

Newquay, United Kingdom

British Airways is exclusively trialling an automated cocktail maker in its San Francisco and Newark lounges. Cocktails are dispensed in under 45 seconds, adding a new dimension to the food and drink available for customers.

Available until March 2020, British Airways’ First and Club World customers travelling from San Francisco and Newark will be able to choose from a selection of 30 cocktails and customisable drinks from the robotic device. This includes locally-inspired cocktails that British Airways has created – Silicon Galley and Echo-Whisky-Romeo.

The machine has been created by mix-master Barsys using Artificial Intelligence (AI).  As British Airways is the first UK airline to trial the technology, it gives the airline’s customers a first chance to try this autonomous machine.

Customers simply order their drink by clicking one button on the app, then place a glass on the conveyer belt and let the AI do the work.

British Airways has made this announcement:

“We have suspended all flights to and from mainland China with immediate effect following advice from the Foreign Office against all but essential travel,”

British Airways operates from London (Heathrow) to Beijing (PKX) and Shanghai (PVG).

British Airways has made this announcement:

British Airways has made thousands of hand-baggage-only flights to Europe available for £40 or less each way*. Customers can choose from a wide selection of over 70 routes across the airline’s comprehensive European network including Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Kefalonia, Faro and Verona.

The airline is also including domestic flights between London and UK cities in its offer, such as Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, Belfast City and Jersey. British Airways is now offsetting carbon emissions on all its flights within the UK, as part of the airline’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The seats, based on return fares, are available for travel on select dates until 31 December 2020. The low fares are on offer from London Heathrow and London Gatwick, while availability lasts.

Further destinations available include:

• Bilbao
• Geneva
• Ibiza
• Milan
• Oslo
• Paris

As always, members of the British Airways Executive Club can earn Avios and Tier Points on their bookings. The Executive Club is free to join and Avios can be spent on Reward flights, upgrades, hotels, car rental and being used for part payment, allowing customers to cut the cost of future flights. When using Avios part payment, customers can pick from a range of savings by destination and cabin. In doing so, Members can still collect Avios and Tier Points on their bookings.

British Airways has committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 through a range of initiatives, including offsetting emissions on all flights within the UK, flying more fuel-efficient aircraft, investing in sustainable aviation fuel and changing operating procedures, in addition to working with stakeholders and governments to strengthen global climate policy. The airline and its parent company, IAG will invest a total of $400m on alternative sustainable fuel development over the next 20 years.

British Airways has made this announcement:

• Airline to make all flights within the UK carbon neutral from 1 January 2020
• British Airways to invest in verified carbon reduction projects
• British Airways’ parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) recently announced commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050

From January 1, 2020, British Airways will begin offsetting carbon emissions on all its flights within the UK, as part of the airline’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Customers flying within the UK on flights operated by British Airways will have the carbon emissions from their flights offset by the airline and invested in the highest quality, verified carbon reduction projects around the world. These will include quality assured projects such as renewable energy, protection of rainforests and reforestation programmes.

British Airways operates up to 75 flights a day between London and 10 UK cities including Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, Isle of Man, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Belfast City, Inverness and Jersey.

British Airways has committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 through a range of initiatives, including offsetting emissions on all flights within the UK, flying more fuel-efficient aircraft, investing in sustainable aviation fuel and changing operating procedures, in addition to working with stakeholders and governments to strengthen global climate policy. The airline and its parent company, IAG will invest a total of $400m on alternative sustainable fuel development over the next 20 years.

Customers flying beyond the UK can reduce their impact on the environment by using British Airways’ carbon offsetting tool. The tool enables customers to calculate their emissions and make their flight carbon neutral by choosing from the highest quality, verified carbon reduction projects in Peru, Sudan and Cambodia through its partnership with not-for-profit charity Pure Leapfrog.

Using the tool, a customer will pay around £1 to offset a return flight from London to Madrid, travelling in economy, while from London to New York in business class will cost around £15.

Top Photo: Airbus.British Airways aircraft photo gallery (Airbus):