Tag Archives: British Airways

British Airways adds the poppy decal to a Boeing 747-400

LONDON, UK:(L-R) Sophie Fox (Cabin Crew), Kai Burman (Flight Planner/RAF Reservist), Tom Deary (Cabin Mechanic/RAF Reservist), Andrea Popkiss (Customer Service Manager), Emily Rowlands (Cabin Crew) and James Hill (Fleet Planning Engineer) from British Airways in front of the Poppy which has been applied to a 747 to mark the Poppy Appeal ahead of Remembrance Sunday at Engineering, London Heathrow on 19 October 2018(Picture by Nick Morrish/British Airways)

British Airways has made this announcement:

British Airways proudly unveils a poppy decal on a Boeing 747 fuselage, as a symbol of remembrance for the fallen.

In the centenary year of the end of the First World War, the 8ft by 8ft poppy will be displayed on the aircraft as it flies to numerous British Airways destinations around the world.

Tom Deary, a British Airways Engineer, Sergeant in 381 Squadron and a former RAF Aircraft Technician, said: “It’s important that our aircraft carries the poppy as it is a national symbol of remembrance, and as a national carrier we should take pride in remembering those that have fallen in all conflicts, new or old, for our country.

“We have many colleagues that have served or are still serving in Reservist or Cadet forces roles and it is also a thank you to them for their hard work and dedication to the country.”

Every year, Tom co-rallies 100 volunteers from across the airline, alongside members of the armed forces, to sell poppies at Heathrow.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said: “We are so proud of the millions of people who represented Britain a century ago. Flying the poppy on our aircraft will help us carry the spirit of remembrance across the globe in their honour.”

Collections will take place at Heathrow Terminal 3 and 5, at arrivals and departures.
A Remembrance Wall is being displayed in Terminal 5 between 1st and 11th November
On 11th November, at 10.55am, all British Airways staff will pause ground operations and engines will be shut down to observe the two minute silence – where possible.

British Airways adds a “Flying Start £20 million” aircraft decal

British Airways has made this announcement:

Flying Start, British Airways’ global charity partnership with Comic Relief, is celebrating raising a mammoth £20 million.

Flying Start began in 2010 with a goal to raise £20 million by the end of 2020 and has achieved its fundraising target more than a year ahead of schedule, thanks to generous donations from British Airways customers and colleagues.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said ““This is such a huge achievement and I’m delighted that we’ve hit this wonderful milestone.

“This achievement is testament to the generosity of our customers, the hard work of our Flying Start team and everyone that supports this work. I want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone involved – let’s keep going!”

As part of the £20 million celebrations British Airways took broadcaster Gabby Logan to visit Projekts MCR in Manchester, one of the beneficiaries of a Comic Relief grant and a not-for-profit organisation which aims to develop people through skateboarding by building confidence, supporting personal development and encouraging healthy choices. Projekts MCR focuses on making skateboarding accessible to under-represented groups, and the grant was awarded to develop the use of skateboarding to engage young women within the sport and more widely.

Through Comic Relief, Flying Start has been able to support tens of thousands of children in projects across the world. 50 per cent of the money is spent helping communities in the UK and 50 per cent overseas. Just a few of the organisations funded by Comic Relief grants include:

Depaul UK – An organisation that supports young people into independent living by providing accommodation and a range of other services to young homeless people

Street League Academy – A programme using sports as a hook to engage young unemployed people in Manchester, supporting them to gain the vital skills, knowledge and confidence required to gain sustained employment and look forward to a financially independent future.

Mothers 2 Mothers – an international organisation empowering mothers with HIV to bring hope to other mothers by providing comprehensive, family centred care, paediatric HIV, nutrition and family planning among other services.

Since partnering with British Airways, other projects supported by Comic Relief include; The Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund in Cape Town, the Railway Children charity in India, Magic Bus in Delhi, Fight for Peace in Rio de Janiero, The Pendekezo Letu in Kenya, Project Y.E.S.S in London, the Bolton Lads and Girls club, D2 Youth Zone’s in Newcastle and North United Communities project in Scotland.

British Airways: A time piece of history – own a piece of G-BOAB

British Airways made this announcement:

British Airways is proud to partner with luxury British watchmakers Bremont on the launch of a new limited-edition timepiece that features metal from one of the most famous and iconic planes in history – Concorde.

Ahead of the airline’s centenary celebrations next year, the special edition watch was unveiled at an event in London this evening, exactly 15 years after Concorde’s official farewell was held at Heathrow on October 24, 2003.

‘The Supersonic’ contains aluminium from the G-BOAB Concorde, known as Alpha Bravo, that was donated by British Airways to Bremont to incorporate into these exclusive timepieces. The watch features an eight-day power reserve and has a sunburst white dial that represents Concorde’s specially developed highly reflective paint. The blue hands echo British Airways’ livery and a subtle motif of the plane’s iconic silhouette can be seen on the second-hand sub dial. The metal has been incorporated into the case back that features a description of the aircraft’s main attributes: number and registration, years of active service, number of supersonic flights as well as her top speed. The watch will be limited to 300 steel, 100 white gold and 100 rose gold pieces, with prices starting from £9,495.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said: “Concorde was such a magnificent piece of engineering and will always be an important part of our heritage. We are hugely excited to have partnered with Bremont, another British brand with a history of exceptional design, as we celebrate Concorde’s 50th year and look ahead to our centenary in 2019.”

Alpha Bravo was registered in 1974 and was the third Concorde to be added to the fleet, taking to the skies for the first time in May 1976. In September 1984, she set a distance record for an airliner with a 4,565-mile flight from Washington to Nice and in November of that year, flew the inaugural charter service from London to Seattle via New York. She was even famed for flying the England squad home from France from the 1998 World Cup. More than 2.5 million customers experienced flying eleven miles high at twice the speed of sound, with Concorde halving the time of transatlantic crossing and flying faster than a rifle bullet.

Giles English, Bremont’s Co-founder, said: “Concorde was more than just metal. She inspired pride and emotion – that is truly a rare thing. We are delighted to dedicate the Bremont Supersonic chronometer to this remarkable type and will incorporate aluminium from Concorde Alpha Bravo into the watch. The Bremont Supersonic is our unique tribute to the world’s only successful supersonic airliner; it’s an honour to work with a prestigious company such as British Airways and for them to trust us with their Concorde heritage.”

Nick English, Bremont’s Co-founder, said: “Concorde made the dream of supersonic travel a reality. She was a landmark in aircraft design and her incredible achievements make her a classic example of British engineering at its finest.”

Parts of the proceeds from these unique limited-edition timepieces will be donated to the Air League Trust, an organisation that works to teach under privileged children to learn how to fly. This exceptional cause is part of a wider network of charities supported by British Airways, known as Flying Start.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by BA): British Airways Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde 102 G-BOAB (msn 208) MIA (Bruce Drum). Image: 102762.

British Airways aircraft slide show:

Below Copyright Photo: British Airways Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde 102 G-BOAB (msn 208) YYZ (TMK Photography). Image: 944219.

British Airways is coming to Charleston, SC

British Airways has made this announcement:

Customers can swing their way to charming Charleston next summer as British Airways launches a new route to the soulful South Carolina city.

From April 4, 2019, British Airways will launch a two-per-week summer service from Heathrow, Terminal 5 and will be the only airline flying direct between Europe and the southern city.

The service will be operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. Boeing has a factory in Charleston where they are currently building the 787-10 Dreamliner. British Airways will take delivery of 12 new Boeing 787-10s between 2020 and 2023.

The new route will take the number of US destinations the airline flies to from London next summer up to 29, and the number of daily flights offered by British Airways and American Airlines as part of their transatlantic joint business up to around 73 per day. The airline is also launching a four per week service to Pittsburgh from April 2019.

The flights will run on Thursdays and Sundays with the BA221 departing from Heathrow at 5.20pm, arriving into Charleston at 9.20pm that evening. The return flight BA220 will depart Charleston at 10.50pm, arriving into London at 11.50am, the following day.

· Flights will run from April 4 until October 24 2019.

· *As voted by readers of Conde Nast Traveller and Travel + Leisure magazine

Timetable

Sector	Day of the week	Departure time	Arrival time
LHR to CHS	Thursday and Sunday	17.20	21.20
CHS to LHR	Thursday and Sunday	22.50	11.50 (the next day)

Top Copyright Photo (all others by BA): British Airways Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner G-ZBJJ (msn 60629) LHR (SPA). Image: 943936.

British aircraft slide show:

British Airways highlights two new destinations in its 2019 summer schedule

British Airways has made this announcement:

Customers can start plotting their summer escape now as British Airways launches new routes from Heathrow to Preveza in Greece and Bastia in Corsica and adds more flights to leisure destinations.

Colorful buildings of Bastia, Corsica, France

Flights will be taking off from Terminal 5 on Wednesdays and Sundays from May 26 through to September 29, 2019.

Milos Beach near Agios Nikitas Village on Lefkada, Greece

Preveza is ideally positioned as a gateway to both beach and mountain escapes, sitting just 20 minutes north of the island of Lefkada, a world-famous summer yachting haven and windsurfers’ paradise. Adventure seekers can also explore one of Europe’s great wildernesses as Preveza is located just 60 minutes away from the Pindus mountains, where travellers can trek the vast alpine trails or explore the UNESCO protected Vikos Gorge.

Island of Kefalonia in Greece.

Flights to the Corsican gateway of Bastia will operate every Saturday from May 25 to September 28, 2019 and will be the second destination the airline will serve on the French island following the launch of a new service to Figari this year. Corsica is perfectly placed between France and Italy in the Mediterranean Sea and is fast becoming a must-visit destination for European holidaymakers. Fares start from £48 in Euro Traveller and £128 in Club Europe one-way.

The airline is also increasing the number of flights it operates from Heathrow to other popular leisure destinations next summer, with more flights to Marseille, Budapest, Gibraltar, Palermo, Amsterdam and Malaga and a new service from Gatwick to Kos taking off from May 15, 2019.

Flights from London City will also be boosted, with additional frequencies on Ibiza, Edinburgh and Berlin.

Timetable:

Preveza

Route

Flight number

Days of Operation

Departure and arrival times

Dates

LHR-PVK

PVK-LHR

LHR-PVK

PVK-LHR

BA674

BA681

BA674

BA681

Weds

Sun

08:20/13:45

14:45/16:10

11:25/16:50

17:45/1910

26 May 19 to 29 Sep 19

Bastia

Route

Flight number

Days of Operation

Departure and arrival times

Dates

LHR-BIA

BIA-LHR

BA586

BA587

Saturday

07:40/11:00

11:50/13:10

25 May 19 to 28 Sep 19

*Prices stated above are one way based on a return economy basic fare.

British Airways opens a new First Class lounge at New York JFK

British Airways has officially opened the doors to a luxurious new First lounge at New York’s JFK Terminal 7, to gold cardholders and customers travelling in the airline’s First cabin on the airline’s most coveted route across the Atlantic.

The space is the airline’s first long-haul lounge to showcase the new design direction that customers are already enjoying in Rome and Aberdeen, and which will be rolled out across other destinations including Geneva, San Francisco and Johannesburg. The refurbishment forms part of a £52 million investment in the British Airways customer experience at JFK’s Terminal 7.

At 60 percent larger than its predecessor, and covering more than 5,480 square feet the lounge has been designed with thoughtfully tailored zones.

A new wine room forms the centre piece boasting an enomatic dispenser, which enables customers to enjoy wines at exactly the right temperature that have been oxidized to the correct level. Customers will also be able to enjoy “Flights of Wine” – a selection of different wines linked to a theme. The current theme is “Chardonnays of the World”.

Other features includes an opulent First bar with a wide range of premium beverages and a quiet work area. Customers can also dine in the airline’s upgraded dining room before they fly to maximise rest on their flight. A new boutique menu created by Executive chefs Gavin Mackenzie and Waylon Walker will include dishes influenced by the season, as well as a new ‘bowl food’ concept designed to offer customers a chance for a lighter option before they fly.

Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience, said: “We fly thousands of customers between London and New York every week so we’re absolutely dedicated to making the experience as relaxing, comfortable and enjoyable as possible.

“We are investing £52 million in to our home at JFK this year as part of the £4.5 billion investment we’re making in our customer experience globally, and there will be further investments at JFK planned for the future. We hope our guests enjoy using the new facilities as much as we’ve enjoyed designing them.”

The opening of British Airways’ new First lounge at Terminal 7, is one of a number of changes the airline has already made to improve the customer experience this year. The Concorde Room at JFK, for First customers was refreshed earlier this year and customers flying in First and Club World now also enjoy an enhanced check-in experience at the exclusive new Premium Zone, with direct access to Fast Track security. The new First Wing and First check-in are also open to ensure a smooth start to the journey.

The airline has upgraded the main concourse for all customers adding extra seating in the gate areas and increasing access to power for customers to charge their electronic devices before flying. Security and check-in zones have been redesigned to enhance the look and feel of the terminal and speed up the process of travelling through the airport. Customers also now benefit from updated washrooms and a new customer service desk, providing further assistance in the departures area.

British Airways will complete its refurbishment of Terminal 7 in 2019, after the upgrade of the Galleries (business class) lounge has been completed.

Photos: British Airways.

British Airways to increase to daily on the Nashville route

British Airways is set to increase its flights to Nashville next summer, operating a daily flight between Tennessee and Heathrow. The addition of two extra weekly services means Nashville is British Airways fastest new route to move to a daily service in 10 years.

The daily service will be operated by the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, the state of the art aircraft designed to enhance customer wellbeing. The aircraft accommodates 214 customers across three cabins, with 154 seats in World Traveller (economy), 25 seats in World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and 35 seats in Club World (business). All customers will be able to enjoy free meals and drinks, individual widescreen TV screens with complimentary on-demand entertainment, and a free checked bag.

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Director of Network and Alliances, said: “We’re incredibly excited to be offering daily services to Nashville from our home in London, next summer. We only launched this route earlier this year and it is testament to the appeal of the city and all that it offers that we’re able to increase our service in such a short timeframe. Indeed, it’s the quickest new route that we’ve moved to a daily service in the last 10 years.”

When launched, Nashville was the 26th US city British Airways flew to. Since then, the airline has announced it will start a direct flight from Heathrow to Pittsburgh in April 2019, operating four times a week. This summer, British Airways and American Airlines have operated up to 67 daily flights between the UK and the US, as part of their transatlantic joint business.

British Airways is investing £4.5 billion for customers, including the installation of the best quality WiFi and power in every seat, fitting 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft. The airline is also investing £600m specifically in Club World, including outstanding catering and luxurious White Company bedding – plus, from 2019, a new seat with direct aisle access.

British Airways celebrates 60 years since BOAC operated the first jet engine flight across the Atlantic

British Airways made this announcement:

Top Photo: Peggy Thorne at the British Airways Global Learning Academy, with Sophie Picton (L) and Nadine Wood (R)

BOAC, British Airways’ predecessor, operated the first transatlantic jet engine flight on October 4, 1958
BOAC beat arch-rival Pan Am to become the first to do so
Reduced 18-hour journey between London and New York to 7-hours
Airline hosted special anniversary event at its headquarters to celebrate

Sixty years ago, British Airways, then called BOAC – British Overseas Airways Corporation – became the first airline to fly a turbo jet engine aircraft between Europe and New York, reducing the journey time from 18 hours to around seven.

First jet engine flight across the Atlantic

On October 4, 1958 the airline flew two de Havilland Comet 4 aircraft, one from New York to London and the other from London to New York. One of the original cabin crew members, Peggy Thorne, 91, had joined BOAC in 1950 and was hand-picked to serve customers on the first flight.

Today, British Airways hosted Peggy, and Captain Hugh Dibley FRAeS, a former Comet 4 navigator, at an event to celebrate the historic achievement.

“It was marvellous” Peggy remembers. “We were used to travelling to New York on Boeing Stratocruisers which took up to 20 hours. We couldn’t believe the flight was possible in such a short time.”

US airline Pan Am had been promising that it would be the first airline to do this but was beaten by Britain’s BOAC with its new jet engine aircraft by several weeks. It was front page news.

How things have changed

Back in 1958, Comet 4 could fly just 48 customers every day from London. Today British Airways operates up to 12 flights a day from the capital, offering around 3,500 seats. On the Comet there were two cabins, Deluxe and First Class. Today, British Airways flights feature four cabins, to suit all budgets – World Traveller, World Traveller Plus, Club World and First. In 1958 a ticket to travel on the Comet staggeringly cost the equivalent of £8,000. Today, a return flight costs far less – from £292.

Celebrating 60 years of transatlantic jet engine flying

Despite 60 years having passed, Peggy fully recalls the inaugural: “It was so exciting to be the first – it was wonderful. There were all sorts of dignitaries on board, press and the chairman of BOAC. It was a thrilling experience. We served customers Madeira biscuits and coffee when they came on board, followed by cocktails and canapes, and then a five-course lunch with wines. Petit Fours followed and then there was Afternoon Tea! Our customers loved it – they ate and drank from when they got on board until the time they got off.”

Hugh said: “The Comet 4 was delivered to BOAC on the 30th September and flew across the Atlantic on the 4th October, which was quite a surprise to some people, not least because it was so fast!”

“The Comet 4 was a firm favourite with pilots, as it was nice to fly and the design meant it was quite easy to make smooth landings. It also had great passenger appeal due to it’s beautiful appearance and take-off performance.”

Peggy was also invited to see how the airline now trains its cabin crew members: “It’s overwhelming. The technology and the number of aircraft training cabins – we had nothing like this in our day.”

British Airways celebrates its Centenary next year

With just a few months left before British Airways begins its Centenary celebrations, Alex Cruz, British Airways Chief Executive and Chairman, paid tribute to the crew of the first flights: “British Airways and its predecessors have always pioneered innovation and hospitality and this is a great early example. Next year we celebrate 100 years of taking Britain to the world and bringing the world to Britain, and the quality of service we provide to customers is better than ever.”

All above photos by British Airways.

BOAC aircraft slide show:

Bottom Copyright Photo: BOAC (British Overseas Airways Corporation) de Havilland DH.106 Comet 4 G-APDJ (msn 6429) LHR (Jacques Guillem Collection). Image: 933527.

British designer Ozwald Boating to design new uniforms for British Airways

British Airways issued this statement:

Savile Row tailoring expert, Ozwald Boateng OBE, is to be the next in an auspicious line-up of British designers to develop uniforms for the airline.

Boateng, who is known for bringing a modern contemporary twist to the classic British institution of tailoring, will be designing a collection for the airline’s 32,000 employees who wear a uniform as part of their role.

The new uniform will form an important part of the airline’s celebrations for its Centenary next year.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and Chief Executive, said: “Our uniforms have been an iconic symbol of our brand throughout our 100-year history and our partnership with Ozwald will take us forward to the next chapter in our journey.”

“At a time when we’re investing for customers, new uniforms are a visual representation of investment in our people and we want them to feel proud when they wear the new uniform.”

Ozwald Boateng OBE, said: “I am really excited about creating this new uniform for British Airways. It is important for me to create something that makes all of British Airways’ 32,000 uniform-wearing employees across the world excited, at the same time as enabling me to really demonstrate my skills as a designer. British Airways is investing £4.5 billion over the next five years and the uniform I design will form part of that, so I’m looking forward to taking a uniform and refining it into a collection.”

Ozwald started his career in fashion in 1986 and became the first tailor to host a catwalk show at Paris Fashion Week. As well as being the youngest tailor to open a store in Savile Row, Ozwald was the Creative Director at Givenchy Homme from 2002 to 2006.

Boateng, who launched his first womenswear collection this year, will be working closely with the airline’s employees throughout the development process, from shadowing them to understand their roles and how the uniforms need to perform, to design, testing and final delivery.

British Airways has worked with a number of famous names throughout its history to design its uniforms. These include Paul Costelloe, Roland Klein, Baccart Weatherall, Hardy Amies and Julien MacDonald, the designer of the airline’s current uniform.

British Airways’ is investing £4.5 billion pounds for its customers over the next five years, investment includes the installation of the best quality WiFi and power in every seat, fitting 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft. The airline will also be introducing new Club World seat with direct aisle access next year.

Photo: British Airways.

British Airways to return to Osaka, Japan and a new route from London City

British Airways is launching nonstop flights to Japan’s second largest city. The four-per-week service takes off from March 31, 2019 with flights departing from Heathrow Terminal 5 and landing at Osaka’s Kansai International Airport.

Osaka castle in cherry blossom season, Osaka, Japan

The new route takes the number of daily flights between London and Japan offered as part of British Airways’ joint business with Japan Airlines up to 32 per week.

Japan Airlines will also offer a code share on the new service, further strengthening the joint business and giving customers more opportunities to earn and redeem Avios loyalty points across the network.

The route will be operated by one of British Airways’ newest aircraft, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

British Airways is also adding four cities to its joint business agreement with Japan Airlines, with the BA code being put on flights between Tokyo Haneda and Miyazaki, Kumamoto, Komatsu and Matsuyama.

British Airways will launch 17 new routes across the globe this year including direct flights to Durban that start next month. These new routes come as the airline rolls out a £4.5 billion investment plan for customers over the next five years, which includes the installation of the best quality WiFi and power in every seat, fitting 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft.

British Airways operates all flights to Japan in cooperation with its joint business partners: Japan Airlines, Finnair and Iberia. The airline’s Siberian Joint Business partner, Finnair, flies direct between Helsinki and Osaka with up to 10 direct services a week.

British Airways flew to Osaka until October 1998.

In November the airline celebrates 70 years of flying to Tokyo.

The service schedule between Heathrow and Osaka is as follows:

Flight number	Sector	Dep Time Local	Arr Time Local	Days of Week
BA19/JL7078*	LHR-KIX	14:20	09:50 (the following day)	Mon, Weds, Fri, Sun
BA20/JL7079*	KIX-LHR	11:30	15:50	Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sat

*Japan Airlines codeshare flight

In other news, British Airways is to launch new three-times-a-day flights from London City Airport to the Bavarian beer capital of Munich next year.

The year-round flights, which start on February 16, 2019 means British Airways will offer four German routes from London City, with each-way hand baggage only fares to Munich from £59.

As well as the new service British Airways will also add extra winter frequency on the popular Berlin, Dublin and Prague routes from November 10, 2018 and to Geneva from December.

Return flights to Berlin will go up to 18 a week, Dublin to 38 a week, Prague to seven a week and Geneva to 16 a week from December.

One of British Airways’ top customers, Siemens, who opened their new corporate headquarters in Munich in 2016, have welcomed the new route.

Mark Jenkinson, Cities Director at Siemens said: “This is positive news for London and its business community keen to do business in Germany. For a company like Siemens which has a significant presence close to the airport with our Crystal building, as well as being headquartered in Munich, launching regular direct flights will help encourage business growth and facilitate important customer delegations. We look forward to the route becoming operational, helping our customers and employees alike”.

The news comes after British Airways announced in August it will be adding four new aircraft to its fleet based at London City, as well as starting a new daily service to Rome and adding a fifth daily year-round service to Zurich in October.

The year-round Rome route starts on November 11, 2018 with one-way hand baggage only fares from £55.