British Airways

For the 1930s airline of similar name, see British Airways Ltd.

British Airways

IATA ICAO Callsign BA BAW SHT XMS SPEEDBIRD SHUTTLE SANTA
Founded	31 March 1974 (after BOAC & BEA merger)
Hubs	London Gatwick Airport London Heathrow Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Executive Club Premier (Invite Only)
Alliance	Oneworld
Fleet size	234 (+51 orders) excl.subsidiaries
Destinations	150 excl.subsidiaries and code-shares
Headquarters	Waterside, Harmondsworth, London Borough of Hillingdon, England, United Kingdom
Key people	Willie Walsh (CEO)
Website	http://ba.com

British Airways plc (LSE: BAY) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in Waterside near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport and is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations. Its second hub is London Gatwick Airport. British Airways has discontinued all direct overseas flights from UK airports other than Heathrow and Gatwick (and London City Airport from September 2009). BA's UK passengers originating at non-London airports must now connect via London or use other airlines with direct services.

The British Airways Group was formed on 1 September 1974 through nationalisation by the Labour Government of the time. BA was formed from two large London-based airlines, BOAC and BEA, and two much smaller regional airlines, Cambrian Airways Cardiff and Northeast Airlines Newcastle upon Tyne. All four companies were dissolved on 31 March 1974 to form British Airways (BA) and almost thirteen years later, in February 1987, the company was privatised. The carrier soon expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian in 1988 and Gatwick-based carrier Dan-Air in 1992. Despite being a primarily Boeing customer, British Airways placed a major order for Airbus aircraft in November 1998 with the purchase of 89 A320 Family aircraft. In 2007, the carrier placed its next major order, marking the start of its long haul fleet replacement, ordering Airbus A380s and Boeing 787s. The centrepiece of the airline's long haul fleet is the Boeing 747-400; British Airways is the largest operator of the type in the world.

The formation of Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984 began a tense relationship with BA. In 1993, the fierce rivalry led to "one of the most bitter and protracted libel actions in aviation history" in which British Airways apologised "unreservedly" for a “dirty tricks” campaign against Virgin leading to them paying damages and legal costs. Until 2008 British Airways was the largest airline of the UK, measured by passenger numbers. In 2008 the airline carried 35.7 million passengers. Rival UK carrier EasyJet carried 44.5 million passengers in the same year, taking the title from British Airways.

British Airways is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. On 31 March 2009 the airline celebrated its 35th anniversary.

History

Main article: History of British Airways

Formation and early years

BOAC D.H. Comet 1 at Heathrow in 1953

BOAC Boeing 707 at Heathrow in 1960.

On 31 March 1924, Britain's four pioneer airlines that had started up in the immediate post war period—Handley Page Transport, British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd, Daimler Airways and Instone Air Line Ltd—joined together to form Imperial Airways Limited, developing routes throughout the British Empire to India, some parts of Africa and later to Canberra, Australia. Meanwhile a number of smaller UK air transport companies had begun operating, and by 1935 many of these had merged to form the original privately owned British Airways Ltd. Following a government review, Imperial Airways and British Airways were nationalised in November 1939 to form the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).

On 2 May 1952 BOAC became the world's first airline to operate jet airliners. The inaugural flight with the de Havilland Comet 1 was from London to Johannesburg.

In 1972, the BOAC and BEA managements were combined under the newly formed British Airways Board, with the physical operations of the separate airlines coming together as British Airways on 1 April 1974, under the guidance of David Nicolson as Chairman of the board.

Operation of Concorde

Main article: Concorde

BA was one of only two airlines to operate the supersonic Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde aircraft. British Airways, simultaneously with Air France, inaugurated the world's first supersonic passenger service using the iconic and controversial Concorde in January 1976, with a daily service between Heathrow and New York JFK becoming one of the service's hallmarks. Sir John King recognised the charismatic and prestige importance of Concorde to British Airways, purchased them outright from the government, and turning a profit within a year.

British Airways Concorde at Heathrow Airport

With the Air France Paris Crash in 2000, the September 11 attacks and escalating maintenance costs, the future of Concorde was limited despite the expensive modifications after the crash. It was announced on 10 April 2003 that following October that year BA would cease scheduled services with Concorde, due to depressed passenger numbers. The last commercial Concorde flight from New York to London was on 24 October 2003.

Privatisation

Sir John King, later Lord King, was appointed Chairman in 1981 with the mission of preparing the airline for privatisation. King hired Colin Marshall as CEO in 1983. King was credited with transforming the loss-making giant into one of the most profitable air carriers in the world, boldly claiming to be "The World's Favourite Airline", while many other large airlines struggled. In July 1987, British Airways effected the controversial takeover of Britain's "second" airline British Caledonian.

British Airways Hawker Siddeley Trident in 1974-1984 livery with enlarged "British" titles

The flag carrier was privatised and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in February 1987 by the Conservative government, the initial share offering being 11 times oversubscribed. In 1992 it absorbed some of the routes of Gatwick-based carrier Dan-Air.

Changes, subsidiaries and growth

During the 1990s, BA became the world's most profitable airline under the slogan "The World's Favourite Airline". In 1992, BA bought the small German domestic airline Delta Air Transport and renamed it Deutsche BA. By the time it was sold in June 2003, DBA was operating 16 Boeing 737s and had 800 staff. In 1993 BA formed British Asia Airways, a subsidiary based in the Republic of China (Taiwan), to operate between London and Taipei.

Lord King stepped down as chairman in 1993 and was replaced by former deputy Colin Marshall, who initially combined the roles of CEO and Chairman. Bob Ayling, who later took on the role of CEO, was appointed Managing Director. Lord King was appointed President, and retained this role until his death in July 2005.

Deutsche BA 737 at Berlin in 2002.

Benifits under Rob Ayling's leadership had included cost savings of £750m and the establishment of Go in 1998. Go was a low-cost carrier intended to compete in the rapidly emerging "no-frills" segment. After four years of operation, the airline was sold off, to later merged with EasyJet.

Cost cutting and rationalisation

In 1999, British Airways reported a 50 percent drop in profits, its worst since privatisation at the time. In March 2000, Bob Ayling was removed from his position and in May, British Airways announced Rod Eddington as his successor. Eddington set about cutting the workforce further, in response to the slump caused by the 11 September attacks in 2001.

British Airways operations at Heathrow

On 8 September 2004, British Airways announced that it was to sell its 18.5 percent stake in Qantas, but would continue the alliance (such as sharing revenue), particularly on the Kangaroo Routes. The £425 million raised was used to reduce the airline's debt.

In September 2005, new CEO Willie Walsh, former Aer Lingus boss, announced dramatic changes to the management of British Airways, with the aim of saving £300 million by 2008, the cost of the move to Heathrow's Terminal 5. He has presided over the sale of BA Connect to Flybe, stating "Despite the best efforts of the entire team at BA Connect, we do not see any prospect of profitability in its current form." A 15% stake in Flybe was retained following the sale.

British Airways Boeing 747-400

Since 2002, BA has strongly marketed the full-service nature of its domestic flights. Walsh has pledged to retain the full-service model on BA's reduced UK network, seeing it as a means of distinguishing itself from competition and that customers will be willing to pay extra for higher service levels.

Subsidiaries, purchases, and potential mergers

In January 2008, BA unveiled its new subsidiary OpenSkies which takes advantage of the liberalisation of transatlantic traffic rights, and flies non-stop between major European cities and the United States. Operations between Paris and New York began with a single Boeing 757 in June 2008. On 2 July 2008 British Airways announced that it had bought French airline L'Avion, which was integrated with OpenSkies in 2009.

OpenSkies Boeing 757 at JFK Airport

On 30 July 2008, British Airways and Iberia Airlines announced a merger plan that would result in the two airlines joining forces in an all-stock transaction. Later, in the beginning of August, American Airlines was also added to this agreement. Though the deal did not have AA being merged into the BA and Iberia entity, it allows the two carriers to fix fares, routes and schedules together. In addition to the existing talks for a merger with Iberia and for anti-trust immunity with Iberia and American Airlines, it was announced on 2 December 2008 that British Airways has entered into talks about a possible merger with Qantas. If British Airways, Iberia and Qantas were to combine as one company it would create the largest airline in the world. However, on 18 December 2008, the talks with Qantas ended over issues of ownership in the aftermath of a merger.

Recent developments

BA has encountered controversy several times. In March 2001, it was revealed that British Airways has a policy of not seating adult male passengers next to children who are sitting by themselves, even if a child's parents are elsewhere on the plane. This led to accusations of sex discrimination. An event now known as the British Airways cross controversy happened in October 2006, a dispute over the right of a Christian check-in worker to wear a visible symbol of faith. The employee lost an employment tribunal in January 2008.

British Airways was announced by the Association of European Airlines as having lost the most luggage in 2006 and 2007 compared to other major European airlines. For every 1000 passengers carried, it lost 23 bags, 46% more than the average.

In June 2009, British Airways e-mailed some 30,000 employees in the United Kingdom, asking them to work without pay for a period of between one week and one month, in an effort to save money. CEO Willie Walsh has already agreed to work without a salary during the month of July; however, reaction to the proposal by workers has been mixed. Despite BA's claim that hundreds of workers reacted positively, many others condemned the proposal, most notably baggage handlers and cabin crew.

Financial performance

Waterside, the headquarters of British Airways

British Airways Financial Performance

Year Ended	Passengers Flown	Turnover (£m)	Profit/Loss Before Tax (£m)	Net Profit/Loss (£m)	Basic EPS (p)
31 March 2009	33,117,000	8,992	(401)	(358)	(32.6)
31 March 2008	33,161,000	8,753	883	696	59.0
31 March 2007	33,068,000	8,492	611	438	25.5
31 March 2006 (Restated)*	32,432,000	8,213	616	464	40.4
31 March 2006	35,634,000	8,515	620	467	40.4
31 March 2005	35,717,000	7,772	513	392	35.2
31 March 2004	36,103,000	7,560	230	130	12.1
31 March 2003	38,019,000	7,688	135	72	6.7
31 March 2002	40,004,000	8,340	(200)	(142)	(13.2)
31 March 2001	36,221,000	9,278	150	114	10.5
31 March 2000	36,346,000	8,940	5	(21)	(2.0)
31 March 1999	37,090,000	8,915	225	206	19.5
31 March 1998	34,377,000	8,642	580	460	44.7
31 March 1997	33,440,000	8,359	640	553	55.7
31 March 1996	32,272,000	7,760	585	473	49.4

* Restated for the disposal of the regional business of BA Connect.

Destinations

Main articles: British Airways destinations and British Airways franchise destinations

British Airways serves nearly 150 destinations, including 6 domestic. Along with Air France, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, Korean Air, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas and South African Airways - is one of only eight airlines that fly to all six inhabited continents.

Fleet

Current fleet

With the exception of the Boeing 707 and Boeing 747 from BOAC, the airline as formed in 1972-4 inherited a mainly UK built fleet of aircraft. The airline introduced the Boeing 737 and Boeing 757 into the fleet in the 1980s, followed by the Boeing 747-400, Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 in the nineties. However, with the exception of 29 of its 777 fleet, it has often equipped its Boeing aircraft with British-made Rolls-Royce engines (examples include the Trent 800 on its Boeing 777s, the RB211-524 on its 747-400s and 767s and also RB211-535s on its 757-200s). This goes back to the 1960s when the company ordered Boeing 707s—a condition was placed on the company that it used Rolls-Royce power for the new jets. Boeing-built aircraft for British Airways are allocated the customer code 36, which appears in thier aircraft designation as a suffix, such as 737-436, 747-436, 777-236.

Although it had a large Boeing fleet it has always operated other aircraft. British built aircraft were transferred from BEA (e.g. Trident) and BOAC (e.g. VC10), and in the 1980s the airline bought the Lockheed L-1011. It has also acquired through the buyout of British Caledonian Airways in the 1980s the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Airbus A320. In the late 1990s British Airways placed its own first direct Airbus order, for over 100 A320/A319s to replace its own aging fleet of Boeing 737s. In September 2007 BA placed its first order for long-haul Airbus jets, 12 Airbus A380s with 7 options.

The British Airways fleet includes the following aircraft in September 2009:

Airbus A319

Airbus A320-200

Airbus A321-200

Boeing 737-500

Boeing 757-200

Boeing 777-200ER

British Airways Fleet

Aircraft	In Service	Orders	Options	Purchase Rights	Passengers (First/Club World/World Traveller Plus/World Traveller)	Haul	Notes
Airbus A318	2	0	16	0	32 (0/32/0/0)	Dedicated Service LCY-JFK
Airbus A319	33	0			132 (0/0/0/132) 126 (0/0/12/114) 114 (0/0/36/78)	Short-Medium Haul
Airbus A320-200	37	9			155 (0/0/0/155) 156 (0/0/0/156) 150 (0/0/12/138) 130 (0/0/52/78)	Short-Medium Haul
Airbus A321-200	11	0			188 (0/0/0/188) 184 (0/0/12/172) 153 (0/0/67/86)	Short-Medium Haul
Airbus A380-800	0	12	7	0	TBA	Long Haul	Entry into service: 2012 BA deferred 6 A380s by an average of 5 months, the other 6 until 2016
Boeing 737-400	19	0	0	0	147 (0/0/0/147) 142 (0/0/10/132) 117 (0/0/50/67)	Short-Medium Haul	Exit from service: 2016
Boeing 737-500	2	0	0	0	110 (0/0/0/110)	Short-Medium Haul	Exit from service: 2009
Boeing 747-400	54	0	0	0	291 (14/70/30/177) 299 (14/70/30/185) 337 (14/52/36/235)	Long Haul	8 a/c to be stored from winter 09 Largest operator of the Boeing 747-400
Boeing 757-200	9	0	0	0	186 (0/0/0/186) 179 (0/0/14/165) 158 (0/0/56/102)	Short-Medium Haul	Exit from Service: 2009/10 (cargo conversion)
Boeing 767-300ER	21	0	0	0	189 (0/24/24/141) 252 (0/0/0/252) 249 (0/0/18/231) 228 (0/0/134/94)	Short-Long Haul
Boeing 777-200	3	0	0	0	216 (17/48/24/127)	Medium- Long Haul
Boeing 777-200ER	43	0	0	0	226 (14/48/40/124) 220 (13/48/32/127) 272 (0/36/24/212) 280 (0/40/24/216) 275 (0/48/24/203)	Long Haul
Boeing 777-300ER	0	6	4	0	TBA	Long Haul	First aircraft to enter service: June 2010 Last aircraft to be delivered Feb 2012
Boeing 787-8	0	8	18	10	183 (0/42/51/90)	Long Haul	Entry into service: 2012
Boeing 787-9	0	16			TBA	Long Haul	Entry into service: 2014
Total	234	51	45	10

In August 2009, the average age of British Airways fleet was 11.4 years.

Aircraft operated

The airline has operated the following aircraft (with in-service date):

• 1974 - BAC One-Eleven 500
• 1974 - Boeing 707-420
• 1974 - Boeing 747-100
• 1974 - Hawker Siddeley Trident
• 1974 - Lockheed Tristar 1
• 1974 - Vickers VC10
• 1974 - Vickers Super VC10
• 1974 - Vickers Vanguard
• 1974 - Vickers Viscount
• 1975 - Hawker Siddeley HS 748
• 1976 - Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde
• 1977 - Boeing 747-200
• 1980 - Boeing 737-200

• 1980 - Lockheed Tristar 500
• 1983 - Boeing 757-200
• 1988 - McDonnell Douglas DC-10
• 1988 - Airbus A320-100
• 1989 - Boeing 747-400
• 1990 - Boeing 767-300
• 1991 - Boeing 737-400
• 1997 - Boeing 777-200
• 1999 - Airbus A319
• 2000 - Boeing 737-500
• 2001 - Boeing 737-300
• 2002 - Airbus A320-200
• 2004 - Airbus A321
• 2009 - Airbus A318

Future aircraft

The A380 is due to enter service with British Airways in 2012

British Airways has placed firm orders for 24 Boeing 787s, which will replace the oldest Boeing 767s in the fleet

British Airways has 32 outstanding options with Airbus, which may be taken as any member of the A320 family. Secured delivery positions on 10 Boeing 777 aircraft are held.

On 27 March 2007, British Airways placed a firm order for four 777-200ER aircraft with an option for four more, with the order totalling more than US$800 million at list price. The company has stated that these are for fleet expansion. BA's first batch of 777 were fitted with General Electric GE90 engines, but BA switched to Rolls-Royce Trent 800s for the most recent 16 aircraft. This has been continued with the most recent 4 orders as Trent 800 engines were selected as the engine choice.

On 27 September 2007, BA announced their biggest order since 1998 by ordering 36 new long haul aircraft. The company ordered 12 A380s with options on a further 7, and 24 Boeing 787s with options on a further 18. Rolls-Royce Trent engines were selected for both orders with Trent 900s powering the A380s and Trent 1000s powering the 787s. The new aircraft will be delivered between 2010 and 2014. The Boeing 787s will replace 14 of British Airways' Boeing 767 fleet and the Airbus A380s will replace 20 of BA's oldest Boeing 747-400s and will most likely be used to increase capacity on routes to Bangkok, Cape Town, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Singapore, and Sydney from London Heathrow.

On 1 February 2008, it was announced that BA had ordered two Airbus A318s to operate a premium service out of London City Airport to New York. The service, which will see the A318s fitted out with 32 lie flat beds in an all business class cabin, is expected to start in 2009. The A318 is the largest aircraft able to operate out of London City Airport. On 4 February 2008 the engine selection was announced as the CFM International CFM56. Most of BA's fleet of A320 family aircraft are powered by International Aero Engines V2500, however these engines are not available to power the A318. It was subsequently announced that, because of runway length limitations at LCY, this route will include a westbound fuel stop.

On 1 August 2008, BA announced orders for six Boeing 777-300ERs and options for four more as an interim measure to cover for delays over the deliveries of their 787-8/9s. On 12 January 2009 CEO Willie Walsh stated that BA's purchase of six 777-300ERs did not indicate that they had ruled out purchasing the A350 for their fleet renewal program and "that the airline expects to reach a decision towards the end of the year."

Marketing

The musical theme predominantly used on British Airways advertising is "Flower Duet" by Léo Delibes. This, and the slogan "The World's Favourite Airline" were introduced in 1989 with the launch of the iconic "Face" advertisement. The slogan was dropped in 2001, after having been overtaken by Lufthansa in terms of passenger numbers. However, "Flower Duet" is still used by the airline, and has been through several different arrangements since 1989. The recent version of this melody was shown in 2007, with a new slogan, "Upgrade to British Airways".

The advertising agency used for many years by BA was Saatchi & Saatchi, who created many of the most famous advertisements for the airline. It created the influencial "Face" commercial for the airline; following the termination of its relationship with BA, it also made an imitation of this commercial for rival Silverjet in 2007. As of June 2007, BA's advertising agency is Bartle Bogle Hegarty.

Prior to "The World's Favourite Airline", advertising slogans included:

• "The World's Best Airline".
• "We'll Take More Care Of You".
• "Fly the Flag".

Online, the value of the British Airways Brand was pushed in 2002 as that the company was able to buy its acronym, and its IATA Airline code the letters "BA" as their internet domain ba.com. The domain was previously owned by Bell Atlantic. Only 4 Airlines (AA, BA, RJ, XL) and few companies own a two letter domain name.

British Airways is the official airline of the Wimbledon Championship tennis tournament, and the official airline and tier 1 partner of the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Tail fins

Further information: [[:British Airways ethnic liveries]]

Boeing 767-300ER featuring "Delftblue Daybreak" tailfin art.

Since its formation in 1974, though to a limited extent until all aircraft were repainted, British Airways aeroplanes carried a Union Flag scheme painted on their tail fins. The original predominantly red tail scheme was changed with the launch of a new livery designed by the New York design agency, Landor Associates. The new tail was predominantly dark blue and carried the British Airways Coat of Arms. On 10 June 1997 there was a highly contriversial change from the use of the British colours to ethnic logos and abstract world images, Delftware or Chinese calligraphy for example, relating to countries they fly to. This caused problems with air traffic control: previously controllers had been able to tell pilots to follow a BA plane, but because they were now each painted in a range of different colours they were harder to easily identify visually.

Several people spoke out against the change from the traditional Union Jack Scheme, including the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; BA's traditional rivals, Virgin Atlantic, quickly adopted the British flag along with the slogan "Britain's national flagcarrier". On 6 June 1999, BA CEO Bob Ayling announced that all BA planes would be repainted with the Union Flag, based on a design first used on Concorde.

Cabins

United Kingdom

UK Domestic seat pitch is 31" on all aircraft and the seats are in a one-class configuration. Food on these services depends on the destination and time of day. On all UK Domestic services before 10am, a hot breakfast meal is served and after 10am there is a drinks service with a light snack. The exception is for Scottish flights to and from Heathrow in the evening, where a meal size salad is served.

Business UK has exactly the same service (same cabin) as UK Domestic, with a fully flexible ticket and lounge access.

Europe

Euro Traveller seat pitch is 31", except on Boeing 757 aircraft where it is 32" and Airbus A321 aircraft where it is 30". Food on board depends on the destination "band" (e.g. Band 1 to Paris, Band 3 to Rome, Band 4 to Athens). In-flight entertainment is offered on Band 4 flights on 767-300 aircraft.

Club Europe is the short-haul business class product offered by British Airways on all short-haul flights (except within the UK). Passengers have access to business lounges at most airports and are also served a full English breakfast in the mornings or 'extended breakfast' on later flights (ham, salami etc) and afternoon tea later in the day. Seat pitch is 31" on most aircraft, but on the Boeing 757 fleet it is 36-37". Club Europe currently offers the same number of seats across as Euro Traveller but the middle seats are kept free. Starting 2 September 2009, Club Europe has seats in a 2-3 configuration on narrow-body aircraft - this change is being implelented progressively across the fleet. The middle seat is also kept free.

International

Club World seat

World Traveller cabin

FIRST is the long haul first class product on British Airways and is offered only on BA's Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 aircraft. There are 14 private "demi-cabins" with 6' 6" (1.98m) beds, in-seat power for laptops, personal phones, and entertainment facilities. Menus are upgraded from Club World and offer greater choice and quality. Some airports boast dedicated First check-in desks but in airports without a dedicated First check-in, passengers use Club World check-in. BA have announced that a long-awaited upgrade to the First cabin will be installed in September 2009, with a minor refresh taking place immediately. This has also seen the introduction of a private concierge service provided by Quintessentially. The last major First cabin update was back in 1996.

Club World is the longhaul business class product of British Airways. Passengers have access to business lounges at most airports and an arrivals lounge at Heathrow Terminal 5.On 13 November 2006, British Airways launched a new Club World service (termed Next Generation New Club World), offering larger seats and a service revamp. The Club World service provides a 20" (50.8 cm) wide, 6' (1.83m) long fully flat bed (6' 6" (1.98m) long in Next Generation New Club World cabins when in Z-bed position, which is not fully flat, the flat bed is still 6'), with 24 seats on the 767-300ER (New Club World), either 40 or 48 seats on the 777-200 (New Club World), and, since 2007, either 52 or 70 seats on the 747-400 (Next Generation New Club World).

World Traveller and World Traveller Plus are the two main economy classes offered internationally on British Airways. World Traveller is standard economy and offers a 31" seat pitch. World Traveller also offers seat-back entertainment systems, free meals and drinks and a fully adjustable headrest. World Traveller Plus is British Airways' premium economy offering and, in comparison to World Traveller, boasts a larger (38") seat pitch, fewer seats abreast, two armrests per seat, added recline and in-seat laptop power. World Traveller Plus is situated in a separate cabin from World Traveller and in a quieter location in the aircraft.

Special cabin configuration

Spacing onboard aircraft in order to maximise the economics of a flight has become increasingly competitive. In 2001, British Airways became the first carrier to introduce a ten abreast economy class configuration on the Boeing 777, an aircraft which had been designed for nine abreast seating. This utilised specially built narrow seats and aisles, and was applied to three GE-engined 777-200ERs used predominantly on Caribbean routes, but sometimes flown to and from Florida. Since BA piloted this development, the configuration has been emulated by Emirates Airline, Air France, KLM and China Southern Airlines. British Airways has since removed this unpopular configuration, returning to standard nine abreast seating.

Lounges

British Airways Concorde Room at Heathrow Terminal 5A

British Airways operate different types of lounge for passengers travelling in the premium cabins and passengers with status. The Concorde Room at New York JFK Terminal 7 will be refurbished to the same standard as the Concorde Room at Heathrow Terminal 5A. First lounges are being replaced by Galleries First lounges. Terraces and Executive Club lounges are being replaced by Galleries Club lounges. The Gate 1 lounge at Heathrow Terminal 4 will be closed when the three remaining BA long-haul services move to Heathrow Terminal 3 on 29 October 2009. At the same time, a new Galleries First lounge will open in Heathrow Terminal 3 to complement the existing Galleries Club lounge.

At airports in which BA does not operate a departure lounge, a third party departure lounge is usually provided for premium/status passengers. A third party arrivals lounge is provided at London Gatwick Airport within the Sofitel hotel.

Operations

British Airways and British Airways franchise Destinations.

  United Kingdom

  British Airways destinations

  Destinations served only by British Airways franchise

British Airways London Heathrow Terminal 5

British Airways holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, and is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.

BA is based at London Heathrow Airport in west London, England. It also has a major presence at London Gatwick Airport and at one time they had a significant hub at Manchester Airport. However, this was stopped when British Airways sold their sub company, BA connect, in common with operations from other UK airports, which are now served only as spokes from the London hubs. BA has succeeded in dominating Heathrow to the point that the airport is commonly referred to as Fortress Heathrow within both the airline and its competitors.

As an incumbent airline, BA had grandfather clause to around 40% of all landing and taking off flight slots at Heathrow, many of which are used for the lucrative trans-Atlantic market. Some competitors, such as Virgin Atlantic and bmi, assert that this stifles competition and some political think-tanks recommend an auction of slots. In recent years British Airways has been buying slots from other airlines including United Airlines, bmi, Brussels Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines, and now owns about 40% of slots at Heathrow.

BA CityFlyer is a subsidiary with Avro RJ aircraft based in London City Airport. BA CityFlyer operates around 250 flights per week from London City Airport.

Despite being the National Carrier of the United Kingdom, British Airways does not operate flights to or from Wales and services to all airports 'north of Watford Gap' were severely truncated in March 2007. On 27 March 2008, BA moved almost half of their Heathrow operating staff, equipment, and aircraft to the new Terminal 5. All BA flights will operate out of T5 by late 2009, except some service flights which will operate out of Terminal 3. T3 British Airways operations include long-haul codeshare flights and the European flights which are operated by Boeing 757 aircraft.

Codeshare agreements

Other than codesharing with oneworld alliance members, British Airways also codeshare with:

• Aer Lingus - connecting flights from London Heathrow to Belfast, Cork, Dublin and Shannon and from London Gatwick to Dublin

• bmi - on the ex BMED routes to Almaty, Bishkek, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Tehran, Aleppo, Damascus, Beirut, Amman, Addis Ababa, Khartoum and Freetown

• Brussels Airlines - on flights between London Gatwick and London Heathrow to Brussels

• Flybe - to and from Manchester, Birmingham, London Gatwick and Edinburgh, following Flybe's takeover of BA Connect

• Loganair - for connecting flights through Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow

Subsidiaries and franchisees

Northside House, offices of British Airways located on the grounds of London Heathrow Airport

Subsidiaries

• BA CityFlyer
• OpenSkies

British Airways previously was the full owner of Airways Aero Associations Limited, which operates the British Airways flying club and runs its own aerodrome under the British Airways brand at Wycombe Air Park, High Wycombe. With the creation of Open Skies between Europe and the United States in March 2008, British Airways has a new subsidiary airline called OpenSkies (previously codenamed "Project Lauren"). The airline started operations in June 2008, and now flies from Paris to New York, JFK Airport.

The former BEA Helicopters was renamed British Airways Helicopters in 1974 and operated passenger and offshore oil support services until it was sold in 1986.

Franchisees

• Comair, based in South Africa, franchisee since 1996.
• Sun Air, based in Denmark, franchisee since 1 August 1996.

Shareholdings

BA owns a 13.5% stake in Spanish airline Iberia. It raised its stake in Iberia from 9% to 10% by purchasing American Airlines' remaining shares. BA increased this further in March 2008 to a 13.5% stake, giving British Airways the right to appoint two board members. On 30 July 2008, British Airways and Iberia announced a merger plan that would result in the two airlines joining forces in an all-stock transaction. The two airlines would retain their separate brands similar to KLM and Air France in their merger agreement.

BA obtained a 15% stake in Flybe when it sold its regional UK operation BA Connect to FlyBe in March 2007. The airline also owns a 10% stake in InterCapital and Regional Rail (ICRR), the company that manages operations of Eurostar (U.K.) Ltd., ICRR members also include SNCF, NMBS/SNCB and National Express Group. Eurostar (UK) is the UK arm of Eurostar, the cross-Channel rail operator.

Cargo

BA is, through its subsidiary British Airways World Cargo, the world's twelfth-largest cargo airline based on total freight tonne-kilometers flown. BA World Cargo has global freight opportunities through the British Airways flight routes. In addition to the main fleet, BA World Cargo wet lease three Boeing 747-400F aircraft from Global Supply Systems on a multi-year basis, as well as utilising space on dedicated freighters operated by other carriers. Dedicated freighter services gives British Airways World Cargo the opportunity to service destinations that are not available on their passenger route network.

British Airways opened a World Cargo centre at Heathrow in the late 1990s. As an advanced automated freight handling centre, it can handle unusual and premium cargo, and fresh produce, of which it handles over 80,000 tons per year. BA World Cargo also handles freight at London's Gatwick and Stansted airports, and, through its partner British Airways Regional Cargo, at all of the main regional airports throughout the UK.

Loyalty programmes

File:British Airways Executive Club Logo.png

British Airways Executive Club logo

Executive Club

The Executive Club is British Airways' main frequent flyer programme. It is part of the network of frequent flyer programmes in the Oneworld alliance. The Executive Club has three tiers of membership: Blue, Silver, Gold. The benefits of the Silver and Gold cards include access to airport lounges and dedicated reservation lines. Unlike most airlines' frequent flyer programmes, the Executive Club keeps separate account of the redeemable BA Miles and the loyalty Tier Points. Flying in higher Classes of Service, i.e. Premium Economy, Business or First, will earn extra BA Miles and Tier Points. As of August 2009, Tier Points can be earned on any flight, including discounted economy fares.

Discounted economy fares will only earn 25% BA Miles. Membership of the Executive Club will be extended annually upon attaining the relevant number of Tier Points. For instance, to maintain the Silver Executive Club will require 4 Premium Economy Returns between the UK and the US Eastern Seaboard.

The number of tier points required for Silver and Gold card membership varies substantially between countries leading to some passengers changing their address to a European country in order to qualify for membership with fewer tier points.

Redeemable miles expire after 36 months of inactivity.

Premier

BA operates an invitation-only Premier programme which gives more benefits than the Executive Club Gold Card scheme. It is given only by the BA board and has 1,200 members.

Incidents and accidents

• In November 1974, British Airways Flight 870 from Dubai to Heathrow, operated by a Vickers VC10, was hijacked in Dubai, landing at Tripoli for refuelling before flying on to Tunis. One hostage was murdered before the hijackers eventually surrendered after 84 hours. Captain Jim 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, having returned to the aircraft to fly it knowing the hijackers were on board.
• On 10 September 1976, a Trident 3B on British Airways Flight 476, flying from London Heathrow to Istanbul collided in mid-air with an Inex Adria DC9-32 near Zagreb, Croatia, resulting in the 1976 Zagreb mid-air collision. 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, Flight 9, a Boeing 747-200, G-BDXH, City of Edinburgh flew through a cloud of volcanic ash and dust from the eruption of Mount Galunggung, causing extensive damage to the aircraft, including the failure of all four engines. The aircraft managed to glide out of the dust cloud and restart all four of its engines, although one later had to be shut down again. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport just outside Jakarta. No-one was injured.
• On 10 June 1990, 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 suffered major injuries after being partially sucked out of the aircraft, however the co-pilot landed the plane safely at Southampton Airport.
• On 2 August 1990, Flight 149 landed at Kuwait International Airport four hours after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, leading to the capture of the passengers and crew, and the destruction of the aircraft.
• On 11 December 2000, British Airways Flight 2069 from London Gatwick Airport to Nairobi experienced a hijack attempt whilst flying over Sudan. A Kenyan student with a mental illness burst into the cockpit of the Boeing 747. As three crew fought to restrain the man, the auto-pilot became disengaged and the jet dropped 10,000 feet (3,000 m) with 398 passengers on board. However, with the help of a couple of passengers, the pilots recovered the aircraft, successfully restrained the Kenyan with handcuffs and the plane landed safely.
• On 19 February 2005, the No. 2 engine of a Boeing 747-400 G-BNLG surged and suffered internal damage just after take off from Los Angeles on a flight to London Heathrow with 16 crew and 351 passengers on board. The crew shut the engine down and continued the climb and continued the flight, in line with BA's standard operating procedures for 4 engined aircraft. Because it was unable to attain normal cruising speeds and altitudes, the aircraft diverted to Manchester Airport, England. The United States Federal Aviation Administration had been critical of the Captain's decision and accused BA of operating the aircraft in an non airworthy condition. In June 2006 the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch recommended that the UK and US authorities review the policy on flight continuation and give clear guidance. This has not happened but the FAA have accepted the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority’s determination that the aircraft was airworthy.
• On 17 January 2008, British Airways Flight 38, a Boeing 777-200ER flying from Beijing to London, crash-landed approximately 1,000 feet (300 m) short of London Heathrow Airport's runway 27L, and slid onto the runway's threshold. This resulted in damage to the landing gear, the wing roots, and the engines, resulting in the first hull loss of a Boeing 777. There were 136 passengers and 16 crew on board. 1 serious and 12 minor injuries were sustained. The initial report from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch stated that the engines repeatedly failed to respond to commands for more thrust from both the autothrottle system and from manual intervention, beginning when the aircraft was at an altitude of 600 feet (180 m) and 2 miles (3.2 km) from touchdown. An adequate fuel quantity was on board the aircraft and the autothrottle and engine control commands were performing as expected prior to, and after, the reduction in thrust. In September 2008, it was revealed that ice in the fuel might have caused the crash. In early 2009, Boeing sent an update to aircraft operators, identifying the problem as specific to the Rolls-Royce engine oil-fuel flow heat exchangers.

Bibliography

• Gregory, Martyn (1996). Dirty tricks: British Airway's secret war against Virgin Atlantic. Warner. ISBN 0751510637.
• Corke, Alison (1986). British Airways: the path to profitability. Pan. ISBN 0330295705.
• Hayward, Keith (1983). Government and British civil aerospace: a case study in post-war technology policy. Manchester University Press. ISBN 0719008778.
• Campbell-Smith, Duncan (1986). The British Airways Story: Struggle for Take-Off. Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 0340394951.
• Penrose, Harald (1980). Wings Across the World: An Illustrated History of British Airways. Cassell. ISBN 0304306975.
• Marriott, Leo (1998). British Airways. Plymouth Toy & Book. ISBN 188266339X.
• British Airways (1974). British Airways annual report and accounts. British Airways Board.

External links

• Official website
• Routemap
• British Airways Archive and Museum Collection
• British Airways Flight Training
• British Airways YouTube channel