![]() | |||||||
| |||||||
Founded |
| ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AOC # | 441 | ||||||
Hubs | |||||||
Frequent-flyer program | Executive Club/Avios | ||||||
Alliance | Oneworld | ||||||
Subsidiaries | BA CityFlyer | ||||||
Fleet size | 257 | ||||||
Destinations | 183 | ||||||
Parent company | International Airlines Group | ||||||
Headquarters | London, England, UK | ||||||
Key people | |||||||
Revenue | ![]() | ||||||
Net income | ![]() | ||||||
Website | www |
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport.[3][4]
The airline is the second largest UK based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers carried, behind easyJet. In January 2011 BA merged with Iberia, creating the International Airlines Group (IAG), a holding company registered in Madrid, Spain. IAG is the world's third-largest airline group in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest in Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the FTSE 100 Index. British Airways is the first passenger airline to have generated more than US$1 billion on a single air route in a year (from 1 April 2017, to 31 March 2018, on the New York-JFK - London-Heathrow route).[5]
BA was created in 1974 after a British Airways Board was established by the British government to manage the two nationalised airline corporations, British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways, and two regional airlines, Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines. On 31 March 1974, all four companies were merged to form British Airways. However, it marked 2019 as its centenary based on predecessor companies.[6] After almost 13 years as a state company, BA was privatised in February 1987 as part of a wider privatisation plan by the Conservative government. The carrier expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian in 1987, Dan-Air in 1992, and British Midland International in 2012.
It is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance, along with American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and the now-defunct Canadian Airlines. The alliance has since grown to become the third-largest, after SkyTeam and Star Alliance.
History
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20220626190029im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/British_Airways_Boeing_747-100_in_BOAC_basic_livery_Marmet.jpg/220px-British_Airways_Boeing_747-100_in_BOAC_basic_livery_Marmet.jpg)
Proposals to establish a joint British airline, combining the assets of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA) were first raised in 1953 as a result of difficulties in attempts by BOAC and BEA to negotiate air rights through the British colony of Cyprus. Increasingly BOAC was protesting that BEA was using its subsidiary Cyprus Airways to circumvent an agreement that BEA would not fly routes further east than Cyprus, particularly to the increasingly important oil regions in the Middle East. The chairman of BOAC, Miles Thomas, was in favour of a merger as a potential solution to this disagreement and had backing for the idea from the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, Rab Butler. However, opposition from the Treasury blocked the proposal.[7]
Consequently, it was only following the recommendations of the 1969 Edwards Report that a new British Airways Board, managing both BEA and BOAC, and the two regional British airlines Cambrian Airways based at Cardiff, and Northeast Airlines based at Newcastle upon Tyne, was constituted on 1 April 1972.[8] Although each airline's branding was maintained initially, two years later the British Airways Board unified its branding, effectively establishing British Airways as an airline on 31 March 1974.[9]
Following two years of fierce competition with British Caledonian, the second-largest airline in the United Kingdom at the time, the Government changed its aviation policy in 1976 so that the two carriers would no longer compete on long-haul routes.[10]
British Airways and Air France operated the supersonic airliner Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde, and the world's first supersonic passenger service flew in January 1976 from Heathrow Airport to Bahrain International Airport.[11] Services to the US began on 24 May 1976 with a flight to Washington Dulles airport, and flights to New York JFK airport followed on 22 September 1977. Service to Singapore was established in co-operation with Singapore Airlines as a continuation of the flight to Bahrain.[9] Following the Air France Concorde crash in Paris and a slump in air travel following the 11 September attacks in New York in 2001, it was decided to cease Concorde operations in 2003 after 27 years of service. The final commercial Concorde flight was BA002 from New York-JFK to London-Heathrow on 24 October 2003.[12]
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20220626190029im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/British_Airways_Trident_Three_G-AWZA.jpg/220px-British_Airways_Trident_Three_G-AWZA.jpg)
In 1981 the airline was instructed to prepare for privatisation by the Conservative Thatcher government.[13] Sir John King, later Lord King, was appointed chairman, charged with bringing the airline back into profitability. While many other large airlines struggled, King was credited with transforming British Airways into one of the most profitable air carriers in the world.[14] The flag carrier was privatised and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in February 1987.[15] British Airways effected the takeover of the UK's "second" airline, British Caledonian, in July of that same year.[16]
The formation of Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic in 1984 created a competitor for BA. The intense rivalry between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic culminated in the former being sued for libel in 1993, arising from claims and counterclaims over a "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin. This campaign included allegations of poaching Virgin Atlantic customers, tampering with private files belonging to Virgin, and undermining Virgin's reputation in the city. As a result of the case BA management apologised "unreservedly", and the company agreed to pay £110,000 damages to Virgin, £500,000 to Branson personally and £3 million legal costs.[17] Lord King stepped down as chairman in 1993 and was replaced by his deputy, Colin Marshall, while Bob Ayling took over as CEO.[18] Virgin filed a separate action in the US that same year regarding BA's domination of the trans-Atlantic routes, but it was thrown out in 1999.[17]
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20220626190029im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/British_Airways_Concorde_official_handover_ceremony_Fitzgerald.jpg/220px-British_Airways_Concorde_official_handover_ceremony_Fitzgerald.jpg)
In 1992 British Airways expanded through the acquisition of the financially troubled Dan-Air, giving BA a much larger presence at Gatwick Airport. British Asia Airways, a subsidiary based in Taiwan, was formed in March 1993 to operate between London and Taipei. That same month BA purchased a 25% stake in the Australian airline Qantas and, with the acquisition of Brymon Airways in May, formed British Airways Citiexpress (later BA Connect).[18] In September 1998, British Airways, along with American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and Canadian Airlines, formed the Oneworld airline alliance. Oneworld began operations on 1 February 1999, and is the third-largest airline alliance in the world, behind SkyTeam and Star Alliance.[16]
Bob Ayling's leadership led to a cost savings of £750m and the establishment of a budget airline, Go, in 1998.[19] The next year, however, British Airways reported an 84% drop in profits in its first quarter alone, its worst in seven years.[20] In March 2000, Ayling was removed from his position and British Airways announced Rod Eddington as his successor. That year, British Airways and KLM conducted talks on a potential merger, reaching a decision in July to file an official merger plan with the European Commission.[21] The plan fell through in September 2000.[22] British Asia Airways ceased operations in 2001 after BA suspended flights to Taipei. Go was sold to its management and the private equity firm 3i in June 2001.[23] Eddington would make further workforce cuts due to reduced demand following 11 September attacks in 2001,[12] and BA sold its stake in Qantas in September 2004.[24] In 2005 Willie Walsh, managing director of Aer Lingus and a former pilot, became the chief executive officer of British Airways.[25] BA unveiled its new subsidiary OpenSkies in January 2008, taking advantage of the liberalisation of transatlantic traffic rights between Europe and the United States. OpenSkies flies non-stop from Paris to New York's JFK and Newark airports.[26]
In July 2008, British Airways announced a merger plan with Iberia, another flag carrier airline in the Oneworld alliance, wherein each airline would retain its original brand.[27] The agreement was confirmed in April 2010,[28] and in July the European Commission and US Department of Transport permitted the merger and began to co-ordinate transatlantic routes with American Airlines.[29][30] On 6 October 2010 the alliance between British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia formally began operations. The alliance generates an estimated £230 million in annual cost-saving for BA, in addition to the £330 million which would be saved by the merger with Iberia.[31] This merger was finalised on 21 January 2011, resulting in the International Airlines Group (IAG), the world's third-largest airline in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest airline group in Europe.[28][32] Prior to merging, British Airways owned a 13.5% stake in Iberia, and thus received ownership of 55% of the combined International Airlines Group; Iberia's other shareholders received the remaining 45%.[33] As a part of the merger, British Airways ceased trading independently on the London Stock Exchange after 23 years as a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.[34]
In September 2010 Willie Walsh, now CEO of IAG, announced that the group was considering acquiring other airlines and had drawn up a shortlist of twelve possible acquisitions.[35] In November 2011 IAG announced an agreement in principle to purchase British Midland International from Lufthansa.[36] A contract to purchase the airline was agreed the next month,[37] and the sale was completed for £172.5 million on 30 March 2012.[38] The airline established a new subsidiary based at London City Airport operating Airbus A318s.[39]
British Airways was the official airline partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games. On 18 May 2012 it flew the Olympic flame from Athens International Airport to RNAS Culdrose while carrying various dignitaries, including Lord Sebastian Coe, Princess Anne, the Olympics minister Hugh Robertson and the London Mayor Boris Johnson, along with the footballer David Beckham.[40]
On 27 May 2017, British Airways suffered a computer power failure. All flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers were affected.[41] By the following day, the company had not succeeded in reestablishing the normal function of its computer systems. When asked by reporters for more information on the ongoing problems, British Airways stated "The root cause was a power supply issue which our affected our IT systems - we continue to investigate this" and declined to comment further.[42] Willie Walsh later attributed the crash to an electrical engineer disconnecting the UPS and said there would be an independent investigation.[43]
Amidst the decline in the value of Iranian currency due to the reintroduction of US sanctions on Iran, BA announced that the Iranian route is "not commercially viable". As a result, BA decided to stop its services in Iran, effective 22 September 2018.[44][45]
In 2019, as part of the celebrations of a centenary of airline operations in the United Kingdom, British Airways announced that four aircraft would receive retro liveries. The first of these is a Boeing 747-400 (G-BYGC), which was repainted into the former BOAC livery, which it retained until its retirement. Two more Boeing 747-400s were repainted with former British Airways liveries. One wore the "Landor" livery until its retirement in 2020 (G-BNLY), the other (G-CIVB), wore the original "Union Jack" livery until its retirement in 2020 also. An Airbus A319 was repainted into British European Airways livery, which is still flying as G-EUPJ.[46]
On 28 April 2020, the company set out plans to make up to 12,000 staff redundant because of the global collapse of air traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic[47] and that it may not reopen its operations at Gatwick airport.[48] In July 2020, British Airways announced the immediate retirement of its entire 747-400 fleet, having originally intended to phase out the remaining 747s in 2024. The airline stated that its decision to bring forward the date was in part due to the downturn in air travel following the COVID-19 pandemic and to focus on incorporating more modern and fuel-efficient aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787. At the same time, British Airways also announced its intention to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050.[49][50] On 28 July 2020, the company's cabin crew union issued an "industrial action" warning in order to prevent the 12,000 job cuts and pay cuts.[51]
On 12 October 2020, it was announced that Sean Doyle, CEO of Aer Lingus (also part of the IAG airline group) would succeed Álex Cruz as CEO.[52]
Corporate affairs
Operations
British Airways is the largest airline based in the United Kingdom in terms of fleet size, international flights, and international destinations and was, until 2008, the largest airline by passenger numbers. The airline carried 34.6 million passengers in 2008, but, rival carrier easyJet transported 44.5 million passengers that year, passing British Airways for the first time.[53][54] British Airways holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.[55]
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20220626190029im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/WatersideBAHQLondon.jpg/170px-WatersideBAHQLondon.jpg)
The airlines' head office, Waterside, stands in Harmondsworth, a village that is near Heathrow Airport.[56] Waterside was completed in June 1998 to replace British Airways' previous head office, Speedbird House,[57][58] located in Technical Block C on the grounds of Heathrow.[59]
British Airways' main base is at Heathrow Airport, but it also has a major presence at Gatwick Airport. It also has a base at London City Airport, where its subsidiary BA Cityflyer is the largest operator. BA had previously operated a significant hub at Manchester Airport. Manchester to New York (JFK) services were withdrawn; later all international services outside London ceased when the subsidiary BA Connect was sold. Passengers wishing to travel internationally with BA either to or from regional UK destinations must now transfer in London.[60] Heathrow Airport is dominated by British Airways, which owns 40% of the slots available at the airport.[61] The majority of BA services operate from Terminal 5, with the exception of some flights at Terminal 3 owing to insufficient capacity at Terminal 5.
In August 2014, Willie Walsh advised the airline would continue to use flight paths over Iraq despite the hostilities there. A few days earlier Qantas announced it would avoid Iraqi airspace, while other airlines did likewise. The issue arose following the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, and a temporary suspension of flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport during the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.[62]
BA CityFlyer, a wholly owned subsidiary, offers flights from its base at London City Airport to 23 destinations throughout Europe. It flies 22 Embraer E-190 aircraft.[63] The airline focuses on serving the financial market, though it has recently expanded into the leisure market, offering routes to Ibiza, Palma and Venice.[64]
In March 2015, Qatar Airways purchased a 10% stake in International Airlines Group, the parent of British Airways and Iberia, for €1.2 billion (US$1.26 billion).[65] By early 2020, this had increased to 25% costing a further US$600 million.[66][67]
BEA Helicopters was renamed British Airways Helicopters in 1974 and operated passenger and offshore oil support services until it was sold in 1986.[68] Other former subsidiaries include the German airline Deutsche BA from 1997 until 2003 and the French airline Air Liberté from 1997 to 2001.[69][70] British Airways also owned Airways Aero Association, the operator of the British Airways flying club based at Wycombe Air Park in High Wycombe, until it was sold to Surinder Arora in 2007.[71]
South Africa's Comair and Denmark's Sun Air of Scandinavia have been franchisees of British Airways since 1996.[72][73] British Airways obtained a 15% stake in UK regional airline Flybe from the sale of BA Connect in March 2007.[74] It sold the stake in 2014. BA also owned a 10% stake in InterCapital and Regional Rail (ICRR), the company that managed the operations of Eurostar (UK) Ltd from 1998 to 2010,[75][76] when the management of Eurostar was restructured.
With the creation of an Open Skies agreement between Europe and the United States in March 2008, British Airways started a new subsidiary airline called OpenSkies (previously known as "Project Lauren").[77] The airline started operations in June 2008, and flew directly from Paris—Orly to Newark.[78] However it ceased operations on 2 September 2018 when it was replaced with Level flights on that route.[79]
British Airways Limited was established in 2012 to take over the operation of the premium service between London City Airport and New York-JFK. BA began the service in September 2009, using two Airbus A318s fitted with 32 lie-flat beds in an all business class cabin.[80][81] Flights operate under the numbers previously reserved for Concorde: BA001 – BA004.[82][83] The flights returned to be directly operated by British Airways plc in 2015.
British Airways provides cargo services under the British Airways World Cargo brand. The division has been part of IAG Cargo since 2012 and is the world's twelfth-largest cargo airline based on total freight tonne-kilometres flown.[84] BA World Cargo operates using the main BA fleet. Until the end of March 2014 they also operated three Boeing 747-8 freighter aircraft providing dedicated long-haul services under a wet lease arrangement from Global Supply Systems.[85] The division operates an automated cargo centre at Heathrow Airport and handles freight at Gatwick and Stansted airports.
Business trends
The key trends for the British Airways PLC Group are shown below.
On the merger with Iberia, the accounting reference date was changed from 31 March to 31 December; figures below are therefore for the years to 31 March up to 2010, for the nine months to 31 December 2010, and for the years to 31 December thereafter:
2008 Mar |
2009 Mar |
2010 Mar |
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Turnover (£m) | 8,758 | 8,992 | 7,994 | 6,683 | 9,987 | 10,827 | 11,421 | 11,719 | 11,333 | 11,443 | 12,226 |
Profit (profit/loss after tax) (£m) | 694 | −358 | −425 | 170 | 672 | 84 | 281 | 702 | 975* | 1,345 | 1,447 |
Number of employees (average FTE) | 41,745 | 41,473 | 37,595 | 35,778 | 36,164 | 38,761 | 38,592 | 39,710 | 39,309 | 39,024 | 38,347 |
Number of passengers (m) | 34.6 | 33.1 | 31.8 | 24.1 | 34.2 | 37.6 | 39.9 | 41.5 | 43.3 | 44.5 | 45.2 |
Passenger load factor (%) | 79.1 | 77.0 | 78.5 | 78.5 | 78.2 | 79.9 | 81.3 | 81.0 | 81.5 | 81.2 | 81.8 |
Number of aircraft at year end | 245 | 245 | 238 | 240 | 245 | 273 | 278 | 279 | 284 | 293 | 293 |
Notes/sources | [86][87] | [87] | [87] | [88] only 9 months |
[88] | [89] | [89] | [90] | *After deconsolidation of AGL[91] |
[92] | [93] |
In 2020, due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, British Airways had to reduce its 42,000-strong workforce by 12,000 jobs. According to the estimate by IAG, a parent company, it will take the air travel industry several years to return to previous performance and profitability levels.[94]
Industrial relations
Staff working for British Airways are represented by a number of trade unions, pilots are represented by British Air Line Pilots' Association, cabin crew by British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (a branch of Unite the Union), while other branches of Unite the Union and the GMB Union represent other employees. Bob Ayling's management faced strike action by cabin crew over a £1 billion cost-cutting drive to return BA to profitability in 1997; this was the last time BA cabin crew would strike until 2009, although staff morale has reportedly been unstable since that incident.[95] In an effort to increase interaction between management, employees, and the unions, various conferences and workshops have taken place, often with thousands in attendance.[96]
In 2005, wildcat action was taken by union members over a decision by Gate Gourmet not to renew the contracts of 670 workers and replace them with agency staff; it is estimated that the strike cost British Airways £30 million and caused disruption to 100,000 passengers.[97] In October 2006, BA became involved in a civil rights dispute when a Christian employee was forbidden to wear a necklace bearing the cross, a religious symbol.[98] BA's practice of forbidding such symbols has been publicly questioned by British politicians such as the former Home Secretary John Reid and the former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.[99]
Relations have been turbulent between BA and Unite. In 2007, cabin crew threatened strike action over salary changes to be imposed by BA management. The strike was called off at the last minute, British Airways losing £80 million.[95] In December 2009, a ballot for strike action over Christmas received a high level of support,[100] action was blocked by a court injunction that deemed the ballot illegal. Negotiations failed to stop strike action in March, BA withdrew perks for strike participants.[101] Allegations were made by The Guardian newspaper that BA had consulted outside firms methods to undermine the unions: the story was later withdrawn.[102] A strike was announced for May 2010, British Airways again sought an injunction. Members of the Socialist Workers Party disrupted negotiations between BA management and Unite to prevent industrial action.[103] Further disruption struck when Derek Simpson, a Unite co-leader, was discovered to have leaked details of confidential negotiations online via Twitter.[104] Industrial action re-emerged in 2017, this time by BA's Mixed Fleet flight attendants, whom were employed on much less favorable pay and terms and conditions compared to previous cabin staff who joined prior to 2010. A ballot for industrial action was distributed to Mixed Fleet crew in November 2016[105] and resulted in an overwhelming yes majority for industrial action.[106] Unite described Mixed Fleet crew as on "poverty pay", with many Mixed Fleet flight attendants sleeping in their cars in between shifts because they cannot afford the fuel to drive home, or operating while sick as they cannot afford to call in sick and lose their pay for the shift. Unite also blasted BA of removing staff travel concessions, bonus payments and other benefits to all cabin crew who undertook industrial action, as well as strike-breaking tactics such as wet-leasing aircraft from other airlines and offering financial incentives for cabin crew not to strike.[107][108] The first dates of strikes during Christmas 2016 were cancelled due to pay negotiations.[109] Industrial action by Mixed Fleet commenced in January 2017 after rejecting a pay offer.[110] Strike action continued throughout 2017 in numerous discontinuous periods, resulting in one of the longest running disputes in aviation history.[111][112][113][114] On 31 October 2017, after 85 days of discontinuous industrial action, Mixed Fleet accepted a new pay deal from BA which ended the dispute.[115]
Senior Leadership
- Chairman: Sean Doyle (since April 2021)
- Chief Executive: Sean Doyle (since October 2020)
List of Former Chairmen
- Sir David Nicolson (1972–1975)
- Lord McFadzean of Kelvinside (1976–1979)
- Sir Ross Stainton (1979–1980)
- Lord King of Wartnaby (1981–1993)
- Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge (1993–2004)
- Sir Martin Broughton (2004–2013)
- Keith Williams (2013–2016)
- Álex Cruz (2016–2021)
List of Former Chief Executives
The position was formed in 1977.
- Sir Ross Stainton (1977–1979)
- Sir Roy Watts (1979–1983)
- Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge (1983–1995)
- Bob Ayling (1996–2000)
- Sir Rod Eddington (2000–2005)
- Willie Walsh (2005–2010)
- Keith Williams (2011–2016)
- Álex Cruz (2016–2020)
Destinations
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20220626190029im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Airbus_A318_of_British_Airways_at_J.F.K._International_Airport_New_York_%28USA%29.jpg/220px-Airbus_A318_of_British_Airways_at_J.F.K._International_Airport_New_York_%28USA%29.jpg)
British Airways serves over 160 destinations, including eight domestic and 24 in the United States.[116]
Alliances
British Airways is a member and one of the founders of Oneworld, an airline alliance.
British Airways codeshares with the following airlines:[117]
- Aer Lingus
- airBaltic
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- Bangkok Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- China Eastern Airlines
- China Southern Airlines[118]
- Finnair
- Iberia
- Japan Airlines
- Kenya Airways[119]
- LATAM Brasil
- LATAM Chile
- Loganair[120][121]
- Malaysia Airlines[122]
- Qantas
- Qatar Airways
- Royal Jordanian
- S7 Airlines[123]
- TAAG Angola Airlines
- Vueling
Fleet
As of July 2021, the British Airways operates a fleet of 253 aircraft with 47 orders. BA operates a mix of Airbus narrow and wide-body aircraft, and Boeing wide-body aircraft, specifically the 777 and 787. In October 2020, British Airways retired its fleet of 747-400 aircraft.[124] It was one of the largest operators of the 747, having previously operated the -100, -200, and -400 aircraft from 1974 (1969 with BOAC).
British Airways Engineering
The airline has its own engineering branch to maintain its aircraft fleet, this includes line maintenance at over 70 airports around the world.[125] As well as hangar facilities at Heathrow and Gatwick airport it has two major maintenance centres at Glasgow and Cardiff Airports.
Marketing
Branding
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20220626190029im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/British_Airways_at_Terminal_5_in_2011.jpg/220px-British_Airways_at_Terminal_5_in_2011.jpg)
The musical theme predominantly used on British Airways advertising is "The Flower Duet" by Léo Delibes.[126] This, and the slogan "The World's Favourite Airline" were introduced in 1989 with the launch of the iconic "Face" advertisement.[127] The slogan was dropped in 2001 after Lufthansa overtook BA in terms of passenger numbers.[128] "Flower Duet" is still used by the airline, and has been through several different arrangements since 1989. The most recent version of this melody was shown in 2007 with a new slogan: "Upgrade to British Airways".[129] Other advertising slogans have included "The World's Best Airline", "We'll Take More Care of You", and "Fly the Flag".[130]
BA had an account for 23 years with Saatchi & Saatchi, an agency that created many of their most famous advertisements, including the influential "Face" campaign. Saatchi & Saatchi later imitated this advert for Silverjet, a rival of BA, after BA discontinued their business activities.[131] Since 2007, BA has used Bartle Bogle Hegarty as its advertising agency.[132]
British Airways purchased the internet domain ba.com in 2002 from previous owner Bell Atlantic,[133] 'BA' being the company's acronym and its IATA Airline code.
British Airways is the official airline of the Wimbledon Championship tennis tournament, and was the official airline and tier one partner of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.[134][135] British Airways was also the official airline of England's bid to host the 2018 Football World Cup.[136]
High Life, founded in 1973, is the official in-flight magazine of the airline.[137]
Safety video
The airline used a cartoon safety video from circa 2005 until 2017.[138] Beginning on 1 September 2017 the airline introduced the new Comic Relief live action safety video hosted by Chabuddy G, with appearances by British celebrities Gillian Anderson,[139] Rowan Atkinson,[140] Jim Broadbent, Rob Brydon, Warwick Davis, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ian McKellen, Thandie Newton, and Gordon Ramsay.[139] A "sequel" video, also hosted by Chabuddy G, was released in 2018, with Michael Caine, Olivia Colman, Jourdan Dunn, Naomie Harris, Joanna Lumley, and David Walliams.[141] The two videos are part of Comic Relief's charity programme.[142]
Liveries, logos, and tail fins
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20220626190029im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/British_Airways_%28Landor_livery%29_Boeing_747-436_G-BNLY_%28City_of_Swansea%29_departing_JFK_Airport.jpg/220px-British_Airways_%28Landor_livery%29_Boeing_747-436_G-BNLY_%28City_of_Swansea%29_departing_JFK_Airport.jpg)
The aeroplanes that British Airways inherited from the four-way merger between BOAC, BEA, Cambrian, and Northeast were temporarily given the text logo "British airways" but retained the original airline's livery. With its formation in 1974, British Airways' aeroplanes were given a new white, blue, and red colour scheme with a cropped Union Jack painted on their tail fins, designed by Negus & Negus. In 1984, a new livery designed by Landor Associates updated the airline's look as it prepared for privatization.[143] For celebrating centenary, BA announced four retro liveries...three on Boeing 747-400 aircraft (one in each of BOAC, Negus & Negus, and Landor Associates liveries), and one A319 in BEA livery.
In 1997, there was a controversial change to a new Project Utopia livery; all aircraft used the corporate colours consistently on the fuselage, but tailfins bore one of multiple designs.[144] Several people spoke out against the change, including the former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who famously covered the tail of a model 747 at an event with a handkerchief, to show her displeasure.[145] BA's traditional rival, Virgin Atlantic, took advantage of the negative press coverage by applying the Union flag to the winglets of their aircraft along with the slogan "Britain's national flagcarrier".[146]
In 1999, the CEO of British Airways, Bob Ayling, announced that all BA planes would adopt the tailfin design Chatham Dockyard Union Flag originally intended to be used only on the Concorde, based on the Union Flag.[147] All BA aircraft have since borne the Chatham Dockyard Union flag variant of the Project Utopia livery, except for the four retro aircraft.
Loyalty programmes
British Airways' tiered loyalty programme, called the Executive Club, includes access to special lounges and dedicated "fast" queues.[148] BA also invites its top corporate accounts to join a "Premier" incentive programme. British Airways operates airside lounges for passengers travelling in premium cabins, and these are available to certain tiers of Executive Club members.[149] First class passengers, as well as Gold Executive Club members, are entitled to use First Class Lounges. Business class passengers (called Club World or Club Europe in BA terms) as well as Silver Executive Club members may use Business lounges.[150] At airports in which BA does not operate a departure lounge, a third party lounge is often provided for premium or status passengers.[151] In 2011, due to the merger with Iberia, British Airways announced changes to the Executive Club to maximise integration between the airlines. This included the combination and rebranding of Air Miles, BA Miles and Iberia Plus points as the IAG operated loyalty programme Avios.[citation needed]
Inflight magazines
high life Magazine is British Airways' complimentary inflight magazine. It is available to all customers across all cabins and aircraft types.
high life shop Magazine is British Airways' inflight shopping magazine. It is available to all customers on all aircraft where the inflight shopping range can be carried.
First life is a complimentary magazine offered to all customers travelling in the First cabin. It has a range of articles including fashion, trends and technology with an upmarket target audience.
Business life is a complimentary magazine targeted at business travellers and frequent flyers. The magazine can be found in all short haul aircraft seat pockets, in the magazine selection for Club World customers and in lounges operated by British Airways.
Cabins and services
Short haul
Economy class
Euro Traveller is British Airways' economy class cabin on all short-haul flights within Europe, including domestic flights within the UK.[152] Heathrow and Gatwick based flights are operated by Airbus A320 series aircraft. Standard seat pitch varies from 29" to 34" depending on aircraft type and location of the seat.
All flights from Heathrow and Gatwick have a buy on board system with a range of food designed by Tom Kerridge.[153] Food can be pre-ordered through the British Airways mobile application.[154] Alternatively, a limited selection can be purchased on-board using credit and debit card or by using Frequent Flyer Avios points.[155] British Airways is rolling out Wi-Fi across its fleet of aircraft with 90% expected to be Wi-Fi enabled by 2020.[156]
Scheduled services operated by BA Cityflyer currently offer complimentary onboard catering. The service will switch to buy on board in the future.
Business class
Club Europe is the short-haul business class available on all short-haul flights. This class allows for access to business lounges at most airports and complimentary onboard catering.[157][158] The middle seat of the standard Airbus configured cabin is left free. Instead, a cocktail table folds up from under the middle seat on refurbished aircraft.[16][159] Pillows and blankets are available on longer flights.
Mid-haul and long haul
First class
First is offered on all British Airways Airbus A380s, Boeing 777-300ERs, Boeing 787-9/10s and on some of their Boeing 777-200ERs. There are between eight and fourteen private suites depending on the aircraft type. Each First suit comes with a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) bed, a 15-inch (38 cm) wide entertainment screen, and in-seat power.[160][161] Dedicated British Airways 'Galleries First' lounges are available at some airports. The exclusive 'Concorde Room' lounges at Heathrow Terminal 5 and New York JFK airports offer pre-flight dining with waiter service and more intimate space. Business lounges are used where these are not available.
Club World
Club World is the mid-haul and long-haul business class cabin. It is offered on all Boeing 777, Boeing 787, Airbus A380, and selected Airbus A321 aircraft.[162][163] The cabin features fully convertible flat bed seats. In 2006, British Airways launched Next Generation New Club World, featuring larger seats.[16] The Club World cabins are all configured in a similar design on widebody aircraft with aisle seats facing forwards, while middle seats and window seats face backwards (British Airways is one of only five carriers with backwards-facing business-class seats; American Airlines, Etihad Airways, United Airlines and Qatar Airways are the others).
In March 2019, BA unveiled its new business-class seats on the new A350 aircraft, which feature a suite with a door.[164] This will be re-fitted on to most of BAs wide-body fleet over the coming years.
World Traveller Plus
World Traveller Plus is the premium economy class cabin provided on all BA long haul aircraft.[152] This cabin offers wider seats, extended leg-room, additional seat comforts such as larger IFE screen (on most aircraft) a foot rest and power sockets.[165] A complimentary 'World Traveller' bar is offered along with an upgraded main meal.
World Traveller
World Traveller is the mid-haul and long-haul economy class cabin. It offers seat-back entertainment, complimentary food and drink, pillows, and blankets.[152][166][167] AVOD personal TV screens are available on all A321s, A350s, A380s, B777s and B787s.[168] AC power outlets and USB plug-in points are offered in every seat row on the Airbus A350, A380, Boeing B787, B777-300ER and on refurbished B777-200ER aircraft. The outlets accept both UK and US plugs.
Incidents and accidents
British Airways is known to have a strong reputation for safety and has been consistently ranked within the top 20 safest airlines globally according to Business Insider and AirlineRatings.com.[169][170]
Since BA's inception in 1974, it has been involved in three hull-loss incidents (British Airways Flight 149 was destroyed on the ground at Kuwait International Airport as a result of military action during the First Gulf War with no one on board) and two hijacking attempts. To date, the only fatal accident experienced by a BA aircraft occurred in 1976 with British Airways Flight 476 which was involved in a midair collision later attributed to an error made by air traffic control.
- On 22 November 1974, British Airways Flight 870 was hijacked shortly after take-off from Dubai International Airport for London-Heathrow. The Vickers VC10 landed at Tripoli for refuelling before flying on to Tunis. The captain, Jim Futcher, returned to the aircraft to fly it knowing the hijackers were on board. A hostage, 43-year-old German banker Werner Gustav Kehl, was shot in the back. The hijackers eventually surrendered after 84 hours. Futcher was awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal, the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators Founders Medal, the British Air Line Pilots Association Gold Medal and a Certificate of Commendation from British Airways for his actions during the hijacking.[171][172][173][174]
- On 10 September 1976, a Trident 3B on British Airways Flight 476 departed from London-Heathrow to Istanbul. It collided in mid-air with an Inex Adria DC9-31 near Zagreb.[175] All 54 passengers and 9 crew members on the BA aircraft died. This is the only fatal accident to a British Airways aircraft since the company's formation in 1974.
- On 24 June 1982, British Airways Flight 9, a Boeing 747-200 registration G-BDXH, flew through a cloud of volcanic ash and dust from the eruption of Mount Galunggung. The ash and dust caused extensive damage to the aircraft, including the failure of all four engines.[176] The crew managed to glide the plane out of the dust cloud and restart all four of its engines, although one later had to be shut down again. The volcanic ash caused the cockpit window to be scratched to such an extent that it was difficult for the pilots to see out of the plane. However, the aircraft made a successful emergency landing at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport just outside Jakarta. There were no fatalities or injuries.[177]
- On 10 June 1990, British Airways Flight 5390, a BAC One-Eleven flight between Birmingham and Málaga, suffered a windscreen blowout due to the fitting of incorrect bolts the previous day. The captain sustained major injuries after being partially blown out of the aircraft, but the co-pilot landed the plane safely at Southampton Airport.[178]
- On 2 August 1990, British Airways Flight 149 landed at Kuwait International Airport four hours after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The aircraft, a Boeing 747-100 G-AWND, was destroyed, and all passengers and crew were captured. Two of the landing gears were salvaged, and are on display in Waterside, BA Headquarters in London.[179][180]
- On 29 December 2000, British Airways Flight 2069 was en route from London to Nairobi when a mentally ill passenger entered the cockpit and grabbed the controls. As the pilots struggled to remove the intruder, the Boeing 747-400 stalled twice and banked to 94 degrees. Several people on board were injured by the violent manoeuvres, which briefly caused the aircraft to descend at 30,000 ft per minute[citation needed]. The man was finally restrained with the help of several passengers, and the co-pilot regained control of the aircraft. The flight landed safely in Nairobi.
- On 17 January 2008, British Airways Flight 38, a Boeing 777-200ER G-YMMM, from Beijing to London crash-landed approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) short of Heathrow Airport's runway 27L, and slid onto the runway's displaced threshold. The aircraft sustained damage to its landing gear, wing roots, and engines, resulting in the first hull loss of a Boeing 777. There were no fatalities, but there was one serious injury and 12 minor injuries. The accident was caused by icing in the fuel system, resulting in a loss of power.
- On 24 May 2013, British Airways Flight 762, using an Airbus A319-131 and registered as G-EUOE, returned to Heathrow Airport after fan cowl doors detached from both engines shortly after takeoff. During the approach, a fire broke out in the right engine and persisted after the engine was shut down. The aircraft landed safely with no injuries to the 80 people on board. A preliminary accident report revealed that the cowlings had been left unlatched following overnight maintenance. The separation of the doors caused airframe damage and the right-hand engine fire resulted from a ruptured fuel pipe.
- On 22 December 2013, British Airways Flight 34, a Boeing 747-436 G-BNLL, hit a building at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg after missing a turning on a taxiway. The starboard wing was severely damaged but there were no injuries amongst the crew or 189 passengers, however, four members of ground staff were injured when the wing smashed into the building.[181] The aircraft was officially withdrawn from service in February 2014.[182]
- On 8 September 2015, British Airways Flight 2276, a Boeing 777-236ER G-VIIO, aborted its takeoff at Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport due to an uncontained engine failure[183] of its left (#1) General Electric GE90 engine, which led to a substantial fire. The aircraft was evacuated on the main runway. All 157 passengers and 13 crew escaped the aircraft, at least 14 people sustaining minor injuries.[184][185][186]
- Between 21 August 2018 and 5 September 2018, hackers carried out a "sophisticated, malicious criminal attack" on the website of the airline. Around 380,000 transactions were affected by this web skimming attack.[187][188] The company was subsequently fined £183 million (1.5% of turnover) in July 2019, by the Information Commissioner's Office, the highest ever fine handed by the ICO at the time of issuing.[189][190]
- On 18 June 2021, a British Airways Boeing 787-8 G-ZBJB, had a nose landing gear collapse while on the tarmac at Heathrow Airport. A British Airways spokesperson confirmed that no passengers were on board the plane when the incident occurred.[191]
See also
- Air transport in the United Kingdom
- Plane Saver Credit Union
- Transport in the United Kingdom
- List of airlines of the United Kingdom
References
- ^ Davies, Rob (12 October 2020). "BA chief Alex Cruz steps down as airline reels from pandemic". ft.com. Archived from the original on 14 October 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Annual Report and Accounts 2018" (PDF). iairgroup.com. International Airlines Group. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 September 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- ^ Dron, Alan (6 January 2017). "British Airways aims to mitigate strike effect". Air Transport World. Archived from the original on 12 January 2017.
- ^ "Get to know the flag carriers of the European countries". AirMundo. Archived from the original on 9 April 2018. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
- ^ Reed, Dan. "New York-London Is The World's First Billion-Dollar Airline Route". Forbes. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2019.
- ^ Airways, British. "BRITISH AIRWAYS' CENTENARY LAUNCHES WITH A LOVE LETTER TO BRITAIN FEATURING THE BEST OF BRITISH TALENT". mediacentre.britishairways.com. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
- ^ Robin Higham, Speedbird: The Complete History of BOAC (London: IB Tauris, 2013) p.117
- ^ Airliner World (Cambrian Airways – The Welsh Dragon: New routes and turboprops), Key Publishing, Stamford, UK, September 2012, p. 71
- ^ a b "Explore our past: 1970–1979". British Airways. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ "UK abandons long-haul competition". Flight International. 7 August 1975. p. 173. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
- ^ "Concorde starts regular service". Eugene Register-Guard. 26 January 1976. Retrieved 27 June 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Explore Our Past:2000 – present". British Airways. Archived from the original on 24 April 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
- ^ Cozmuta, Adrian (2021). "Selling 'The World's Favourite Airline': British Airways' privatisation and the motives behind it". Business History: 1–20. doi:10.1080/00076791.2021.1926991. ISSN 0007-6791. S2CID 236421691.
- ^ Thackray, Rachelle (12 February 1998). "A-Z of Employers". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ Marshall, Tyler (24 October 1992). "After much fanfare, the sale of British Airways set to begin". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Explore our past: 1980–1989". British Airways. Archived from the original on 19 April 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ^ a b "BA dirty tricks against Virgin cost £3m". BBC: On This Day. 11 January 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2006.
- ^ a b "Explore our past: 1990–1999". British Airways. Archived from the original on 17 April 2010. Retrieved 8 June 2010.
- ^ "British Airways Ousts Chief After Four Tumultuous Years". The New York Times. 11 March 2000. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ Sorkin, Andrew (29 August 1999). "Market Insight: Seeing Fool's Gold in Airlines' Cheap Seats". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ "Airlines aim for merger". BBC News. 13 July 2000. Archived from the original on 16 February 2003. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
- ^ "Airlines end merger plans". BBC News. 21 September 2000. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
- ^ "BA sells Go for £100m". BBC News. 14 June 2001. Archived from the original on 12 July 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
- ^ "BA to sell off 18% Qantas stake". BBC News. 8 September 2004. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
- ^ Lavery, Brian (9 March 2005). "Former Chief of Aer Lingus To Get British Air's Top Post". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ Bokaie, Jemima (9 January 2008). "BA brands new airline 'Open Skies'". Brand Republic. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
- ^ Brothers, Caroline (30 July 2008). "British Airways in Merger Talks". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 31 May 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
- ^ a b "British Airways and Iberia sign merger agreement". BBC News. 8 April 2010. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ Rowley, Emma (15 July 2010). "EC approves BA alliance with American Airlines and Iberia". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 16 July 2010. Retrieved 15 July 2010.
- ^ Kamal Ahmed (14 February 2010). "British Airways given approval for tie up with American Airlines and Iberia". The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ "Airlines unveil 'new deal for transatlantic flyers'". The Independent. London. 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2010.
- ^ "Iberia expects to complete merger with British Airways in January". Daily Nation. Nairobi. 27 October 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2010.
- ^ "BA and Iberia agree merger deal". BBC News. 12 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "British Airways trades for last time ahead of Iberia merger". The Guardian. London. 20 January 2011. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
- ^ Wearden, Graeme (6 September 2010). "British Airways most likely to buy LAN Airlines first – Paddy Power". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 6 September 2010.
- ^ "Lufthansa and IAG reach agreement in principle on the sale of British Midland Ltd" (Press release). Deutsche Lufthansa AG. 4 November 2011. Archived from the original on 7 December 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ Alistair Osborne & Amy Wilson (22 December 2011). "British Airways owner IAG seals deal to buy BMI for £172.5m". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 28 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ Douglas Fraser (30 March 2012). "Is British Airways giving up enough to buy BMI?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
- ^ David Kaminski-Morrow (13 June 2012). "BA to operate A318 on new flight". Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2012.
- ^ Claire Heald (18 May 2012). "Olympic torch: Flame arrives in UK for 2012 torch relay". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
- ^ British Airways: Chaos continues at Heathrow. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40074751 Archived 22 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 28 May 2017.
- ^ Five questions for BA over IT crash. Wesson, Bill. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40075721 Archived 19 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 28 May 2017.
- ^ British Airways IT chaos was caused by human error. BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40159202 Archived 20 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 5 June 2017.
- ^ "BA and Air France to stop flights to Iran". BBC News. 23 August 2018. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
- ^ "British Airways, Air France to Halt Flights to Iran as of Next Month". Voice of America. Reuters. Archived from the original on 23 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
- ^ Kingsley-Jones, Max. "PICTURES: BOAC 747 retrojet marks British Airways centenary". Flight Global. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
- ^ Neate, Rupert (28 April 2020). "British Airways plans to make up to 12,000 staff redundant". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ "BA may not reopen at Gatwick once pandemic passes". BBC News. 30 April 2020. Archived from the original on 1 May 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ "British Airways retires entire 747 fleet after travel downturn". BBC News. 17 July 2020. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ "Former British Airways pilot on flying iconic Boeing 747 jumbo jet". Sky News. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2021.
- ^ Powley, Tanya (28 July 2020). "British Airways cabin crew union warns of strike over job cuts". Financial Times. London. Archived from the original on 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (12 October 2020). "Alex Cruz steps down as BA chief in wake of Covid job cuts row". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 7 April 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
- ^ "British Airways Traffic Statistics 2008". British Airways. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
- ^ "Passenger statistics for December 2008". EasyJet. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2008.
- ^ "Description of UK Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence". Civil Aviation Authority. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "About British Airways – Waterside". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 27 February 2010.
- ^ "World Airline Directory: 26 March – 1 April 1997". Flight International. 26 March 1997. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ Willcock, John. "People and Business: Toy story is just a fable Archived 21 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine." The Independent. Wednesday 7 October 1998. Retrieved 27 February 2010. "This is a lot more complimentary than the nickname for BA's old head office, Speedbird House, universally known as "Birdseed House". How cheap."
- ^ Calder, Simon (19 July 2020). "British Airways to mothball £200m Heathrow HQ in cost-cutting move". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
- ^ "Flights hit by BA sale to Flybe". BBC News. 5 March 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ Gow, David (21 January 2004). "BA outbid for Heathrow slots". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "British Airways CEO insists flights over Iraq are safe". The UK News. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
- ^ "BA CityFlyer Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ "About BA CityFlyer". Bacityflyerjobs.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 28 August 2013. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ Jameson, Angela (9 March 2015). "British Airways a good pick for Qatar". The National. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ^ Qatar Airways Archived 11 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine BBC News, 19 February 2020 Retrieved 6 September 2020
- ^ Qatar Airways spends $600 million to lift stake in BA owner to 25% Archived 4 December 2020 at the Wayback Machine Reuters, 19 February 2020 Retrieved 6 September 2020
- ^ "SDR Helicopters Acquires British Airways Helicopters Privatised by British Airways PLC". Alacra Store. 23 September 1986. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ Harrison, Michael (3 June 2003). "BA pays £49m to offload loss making Deutsche BA". The Independent.[dead link]
- ^ Nundy, Julian (29 April 1994). "British Airways, flying in the face of French pride". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
- ^ "History of BAFC". Airways Aero Associations. Archived from the original on 11 March 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
- ^ "BA franchising forays into South Africa". Flight International. 19 June 1996. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ Kingsley-Jones, Max (15 May 1996). "BA's franchising goes offshore". Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "Completion of acquisition by Flybe of BA connect". Flybe. 5 March 2007. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008.
- ^ "Ownership & Structure". Eurostar. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "Eurostar restructure sees UK expand rail stake". AllRailJobs.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ "BA to launch 'open skies' airline". BBC News. 9 January 2008. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ Done, Kevin (28 July 2008). "BA takes OpenSkies to Amsterdam". Financial Times. Retrieved 31 July 2008.
- ^ iairgroup.com - LEVEL LAUNCHES FOUR ROUTES FROM PARIS ORLY WITH FARES FROM €99 Archived 17 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine 28 November 2017
- ^ Kaminski-Morrow, David. "Exclusive: British Airways A318 all-business cabin revealed". Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "British Airways orders two Airbus A318s to launch London City-New York route". Forbes. Archived from the original on 30 May 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
- ^ "British Airways Picks A318 Over Boeing 717 For Narrowbody Purchase". aeroworldnet.com. Archived from the original on 18 June 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2009.http://www.pprune.org/cabin-crew-wannabes/print-264389-ba-cityflyer-3.html Archived 19 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "BA All Business Flights to Include Westbound Fuel Stop in Shannon Airport, Republic of Ireland". Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "BA World Cargo Adds to Surcharge". Traffic World. 25 August 2005.
- ^ "Atlas Air invests in new UK airline". Atlas Air Inc. (Press release). 12 April 2001. Archived from the original on 26 February 2003. Retrieved 19 December 2006.
- ^ "BA Annual Report 2008" (PDF). British Airways Plc. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ a b c "BA Annual Report 2010" (PDF). British Airways Plc. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ a b "BA Annual Report 2011". British Airways Plc. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ a b "BA Annual Report 2013". British Airways Plc. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ "BA Annual Report 2014". British Airways Plc. Archived from the original on 31 December 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ "BA Annual Report 2015". British Airways Plc. Archived from the original on 5 February 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ British Airways Plc Annual Report and Accounts year ended 31 December 2016 (Report). International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. 24 February 2017. Archived from the original on 14 March 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ British Airways Plc Annual Report and Accounts year ended 31 December 2017 (Report). International Consolidated Airlines Group S.A. 22 February 2018. Archived from the original on 14 March 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
- ^ "British Airways set to cut up to 12,000 jobs". BBC News. 28 April 2020. Archived from the original on 28 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ a b Milmo, Dan (15 December 2009). "BA strike: conflict that was always on airline's flight path". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2010.
- ^ Bamber, G.J., Gittell, J.H., Kochan, T.A. & von Nordenflytch, A. (2009). "chapter 5". Up in the Air: How Airlines Can Improve Performance by Engaging their Employees. Cornell University Press, Ithaca. Archived from the original on 31 October 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link) - ^ "Gate Gourmet probes union claims". BBC News. 18 August 2005. Archived from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ "Woman to sue BA in necklace row". BBC News. 15 October 2006. Archived from the original on 15 November 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.
- ^ Cockcroft, Lucy (19 January 2010). "BA 'wrong' to ban Christian from wearing cross because it 'plays into extremists' hands'". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
- ^ "British Airways cabin crew vote for Christmas strike". BBC News. 14 December 2009. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "BA Strikers to forfeit cheap travel perks". BBC News. 24 March 2010. Archived from the original on 19 December 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "Apology to Frank Burchill". The Guardian. 2 April 2010. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ "Right to Work conference shows opposition to BA boss Willie Walsh". Socialist Worker. 22 May 2010. Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2010.
- ^ "Unite union says BA strike to go ahead". BBC News. 23 May 2010. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
- ^ "British Airways cabin crew to vote for possible industrial action". The Guardian. 11 November 2016. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "British Airways crew vote for Heathrow strike". BBC News. 14 December 2016. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "British Airways strike: everything you need to know about 1 July cabin crew walkout". The Independent. 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 15 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "British Airways cabin crew to stage new two-week strike". International Business Times. 19 July 2017. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "British Airways cabin crews suspend strikes over Christmas". The Guardian. 22 December 2016. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "British Airways strike: Cabin crew declare new 48-hour walkout after rejecting pay offer". The Independent. 3 January 2017. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "BA cabin crew strike extended to August bank holiday". Sky News. 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ^ "British Airways crew to strike for further two weeks". STV News. 19 July 2017. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "Cabin crew at British Airways to stage 14-day strike in pay dispute". Belfast Telegraph. 19 July 2017. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "BA crew set to strike for further two weeks in August". ITV News. 19 July 2017. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
- ^ "British Airways cabin crew land new pay deal to end strikes". Sky News. 31 October 2017. Archived from the original on 1 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- ^ Smith, Patrick (10 July 2009). "Ask the Pilot: Welcome to the Six Continent Club!". Salon. Archived from the original on 14 July 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2009.http://www.salon.com/2009/07/10/askthepilot326/ Archived 19 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Profile on British Airways". CAPA. Centre for Aviation. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
- ^ Airways, British. "British Airways - BRITISH AIRWAYS SIGNS CODESHARE AGREEMENT WITH CHINA SOUTHERN AIRLINES". mediacentre.britishairways.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Rising number of flights spark fear that island airport will be overwhelmed with passengers". HeraldScotland. Archived from the original on 17 August 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
- ^ "Loganair Lands BA Tie-up". Airliner World (October 2017): 5.
- ^ "British Airways / Malaysia Airlines begins codeshare partnership from Oct 2019". Archived from the original on 27 July 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
- ^ Liu, Jim (18 April 2019). "British Airways expands S7 Airlines domestic Russia codeshare in S19". Routesonline. Archived from the original on 18 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
- ^ "British Airways retires entire 747 fleet after travel downturn". BBC News. BBC. 17 July 2020. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ^ "British Airways Engineering". Britishairways.com. Archived from the original on 31 May 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ^ "Flower Duet (From Lakme) by Leo Delibes". Chris Worth Productions. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
- ^ "1989 British Airways Commercial". YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 March 2007. Retrieved 19 January 2008.
- ^ "British Airways takes off". CNN. 22 May 2001. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ "BA official website – "Upgrade to British Airways" homepage". British Airways. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2009.
- ^ "BA slogan out of favour". The Herald. 30 April 1999. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (5 October 2007). "Saatchi ad gets revenge on BA". The Guardian. UK. Archived from the original on 1 January 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ "Clients & Work". Bartle Bogle Hegarty. Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2007.
- ^ Calder, Simon (23 June 2005). "Online Travel: The Man Who Bought ba.com". The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- ^ "British Airways Reminds Visitors to Leave Air Horn, Chili Dog at Home During Wimbledon". Agency.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "British Airways – official airline partner of London 2012". British Airways. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ "BA part of 2018 World Cup History". 27 April 2010. Archived from the original on 7 June 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ "First Life". Cedarcom.co.uk. Archived from the original on 8 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ Buckley, Julia (19 July 2017). "Celebs line up for British Airways' new safety video in uncertain times for the airline". The Independent. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
[...]replacing the current animated film, which has run for the past 12 years.
- ^ a b Loughrey, Clarisse (23 July 2017). "Chabuddy G directs hilarious star-studded safety video for British Airways". The Independent. Archived from the original on 26 July 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ Kiefaber, David (20 July 2017). "All Your Favorite Englishmen and Women Pop Up in British Airways' New Flight". Adweek. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ Campbell, Felicity (1 July 2018). "British Airways' hilarious new safety video stars Sir Michael Caine and Joanna Lumley". The National. Archived from the original on 3 July 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ Griner, David (5 July 2018). "Britain's Most Masterful Actors Endure Endless Annoyance for British Airways' New Safety Video". Adweek. Archived from the original on 11 December 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ Moseley, Ray (12 January 1986). "British Airways scores big profit turnaraound". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 February 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
- ^ Aldersey-Williams, Hugh (15 June 1997). "By their tailfins shall we know them?". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ "BA turns tail on colours". BBC News. 11 May 2001. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 6 July 2013.
- ^ Parsons, Tony (14 June 1999). "Tony Parsons' column: Don't Jack it in yet". The Mirror. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ Mansell, Warwick (7 June 1999). "Union Jack is back on the world's favourite airline". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ Bown, Jessica (30 April 2006). "Now you can fly further with air loyalty plans". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2009.
- ^ "Lounges". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
- ^ "First Lounges". British Airways. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2010.
- ^ "Lounge locations". British Airways. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2009.
- ^ a b c "British Airways seat-pitch guide". Skytrax. Archived from the original on 16 December 2009. Retrieved 5 June 2010.http://www.airlinequality.com/info/seat-pitch-guide/ Archived 19 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Tom Kerridge | Information | British Airways". www.britishairways.com. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "British Airways Online Shop | BA High Life Shop | Food & Drink, Travel Essentials, Exclusives, Offers | Duty Free Goods Online | Buy On Board Online | BA Speedbird Café | BA High Life Shop Highlifeshop.com". highlifeshop.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "BRITISH AIRWAYS AND MARKS & SPENCER JOIN FORCES TO PROVIDE BEST FOOD IN THE SKY FOR SHORT-HAUL CUSTOMERS" (Press release). British Airways. 29 September 2016. Archived from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ "BA Wifi – What's the Situation with British Airways On-Board Wifi?". Thrifty Points. 11 March 2019. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Club Europe: Lounges". British Airways. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "Club Europe: In-flight dining". British Airways. Archived from the original on 20 June 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "Wider seats in Club Europe". British Airways. Archived from the original on 25 December 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "British Airways 2007/08 Annual Report and Accounts". British Airways. Archived from the original on 10 February 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2009.
- ^ Haslam, Chris (31 January 2010). "Times report on BA First Class". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ "Club World: On arrival". British Airways. Archived from the original on 28 June 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ "Club World: Lounges". British Airways. Archived from the original on 22 August 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2009.
- ^ Flynn, David (18 March 2019). "British Airways' new business class is a suite with a privacy door". Australian Business Traveller. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ^ "World Traveller Plus Information". British Airways. Archived from the original on 4 December 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ "World Traveller Information". British Airways. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ "World Traveller – Preview our new Cabin". British Airways. Archived from the original on 1 September 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
- ^ "World Traveller Entertainment". Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2012.
- ^ Zhang, Benjamin (1 November 2018). "The 20 safest airlines in the world". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 3 January 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
- ^ Zhang, Benjamin (3 January 2019). "The 21 safest airlines in the world". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
- ^ "Hijackers Free All but 3 in Crew at Tunis Airport". The New York Times. 25 November 1974. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ "Four Hijackers Surrender; Tunisian Aide Denies Deal; Passengers in London". The New York Times. 26 November 1974. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2010.https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F0DE4DF103BE63BBC4E51DFB767838F669EDE Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Captain Jim Futcher". The Telegraph. London. 31 May 2008. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 31 May 2008.
- ^ "WORLD NEWS". The Canberra Times. Vol. 49, no. 13, 923. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 27 November 1974. p. 6. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Worst midair crash ever claims 176 in Yugoslavia". Milwaukee Sentinel. 11 September 1976. Retrieved 28 June 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Jet Safe After Heart-Stopping, Dead-Engine Dive". Los Angeles Times. 25 June 1982. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
- ^ Faith, Nicholas (1998) [1996]. Black Box. Boxtree. p. 156. ISBN 978-0-7522-2118-2.
- ^ "This is your captain screaming (interview with Nigel Ogden)". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 February 2005. Archived from the original on 10 April 2008. Retrieved 21 April 2008.
- ^ "BA loses Iraq hostage appeal". BBC News. 15 July 1999. Archived from the original on 3 March 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ^ "UK hostages describe Kuwait ordeal". BBC News. 16 October 2006. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
- ^ "British Airways plane collides with building at Johannesburg airport". The Daily Telegraph. 22 December 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
- ^ "British Airways B74i7-400 G-BNLL Officially Withdrawn". The BA Source. 22 February 2014. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
- ^ "NTSB Issues Update on the British Airways Engine Fire at Las Vegas". NTSB. Archived from the original on 12 September 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
- ^ "British Airways blaze pilot: 'I'm finished flying'". BBC News. 10 September 2015. Archived from the original on 7 October 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
- ^ "British Airways plane catches fire in Las Vegas". BBC. 9 September 2015. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ^ "British Airways fire: Jet's suppression system didn't work, source says". CNN. 9 September 2015. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ^ Whittaker, Zack (11 September 2018). "British Airways breach caused by credit card skimming malware, researchers say". Archived from the original on 10 December 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ^ "British Airways boss apologises for 'malicious' data breach". BBC news. 7 September 2018. Archived from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
- ^ "British Airways faces record £183m fine for data breach". 8 July 2019. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ Sweney, Mark (8 July 2019). "BA faces £183m fine over passenger data breach". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
- ^ Coffey, Helen (18 June 2021). "British Airways plane collapses at Heathrow". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
Bibliography
- British Airways (1974). British Airways annual report and accounts. British Airways Board.
- Campbell-Smith, Duncan (1986). The British Airways Story: Struggle for Take-Off. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-39495-3.
- Corke, Alison (1986). British Airways: the path to profitability. Pan. ISBN 978-0-330-29570-3.
- Gregory, Martyn (1996). Dirty tricks: British Airways' secret war against Virgin Atlantic. Warner. ISBN 978-0-7515-1063-8.
- Hayward, Keith (1983). Government and British civil aerospace: a case study in post-war technology policy. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-0877-1.
- Marriott, Leo (1998). British Airways. Plymouth Toy & Book. ISBN 978-1-882663-39-2.
- Penrose, Harald (1980). Wings Across the World: An Illustrated History of British Airways. Cassell. ISBN 978-0-304-30697-8.
- Wood, Alan. "Airline at War: British Airways Goes to War". Air Enthusiast, No. 55, Autumn 1994, pp. 62–74. ISSN 0143-5450
External links