Jump to content

British Airways

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 83.138.172.77 (talk) at 08:50, 28 September 2007 (→‎External links). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

British Airways
File:British Airways logo.png
IATA ICAO Callsign
BA BAW
SHT
XMS 		SPEEDBIRD
SHUTTLE
SANTA
Founded1924 (as Imperial Airways)
HubsLondon Heathrow Airport
London Gatwick Airport
Secondary hubsManchester Airport
Frequent-flyer programExecutive Club
Allianceoneworld
Fleet size236 (52 Orders)
Destinations222
Parent companyBritish Airways PLC
HeadquartersLondon, England, UK
Key peopleWillie Walsh (Chief Executive)
Websitehttp://www.britishairways.com
For the 1930s airline of similar name, see British Airways Ltd.

British Airways plc (LSE: BAY, NYSE: BAB) is the largest airline of the United Kingdom and fifth-largest in Europe. Its main hubs are London Heathrow and London Gatwick, with a secondary hub, much reduced in April 2007, located at Manchester Airport. British Airways PLC 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.[1] British Airways is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.

History

On 31 March 1924, Britain's four pioneer airlines - Instone Air Line, Handley Page Transport, Daimler Airways (a successor to AT&T) and British Air Marine Navigation - merged to form Imperial Airways, which developed its Empire routes to Australia and Africa[2].

Meanwhile a number of smaller UK air transport companies had started flights. These merged in 1935 to form the original privately owned British Airways Ltd. Following a government review, Imperial Airways and British Airways were nationalised in 1939 to form the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). Post-war, BOAC continued to operate long-haul services, other than routes to South America - these were flown by British South American Airways, which was merged back into BOAC in 1949. Continental European and domestic flights were flown by a new nationalised airline, British European Airways (BEA), which compulsorily took over the routes of existing UK independent airlines [2].

In 1952 BOAC flew the De Havilland Comet to Johannesburg, halving the previous flight time. The birth of the mass package-holiday business meant change for the airline industry. BEA met the challenge by establishing BEA Airtours in 1970. In 1972 BOAC and BEA were combined under the newly formed British Airways Board, with the separate airlines coming together as British Airways in 1974, under the guidance of David Nicolson as Chairman of the BA Board. British Airways, simultaneously with Air France, inaugurated the world's first supersonic passenger service with Concorde in January 1976[2].

Privatisation

Sir John King, later Lord King, was appointed as Chairman in 1981 with the mission of preparing the airline for privatisation. King hired Colin Marshall as CEO in 1983. King was credited with turning around 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. The airline's fleet and route map were overhauled in the early years of King's tenure, with brand and advertising experts being recruited to change the airline's image. Over 23,000 jobs were shed in the early 1980s, though King managed the considerable trick of boosting staff morale and modernising operations at the same time. Offering generous inducements for people to leave led to record losses of £545 million, to the cost of taxpayers but to the benefit of the future privatised company.

The flag carrier was privatised and floated on the London Stock Exchange in February 1987 by the Conservative government, with the initial share offering being 11 times oversubscribed. In April 1988 British Airways effected the controversial takeover of Britain's airline British Caledonian, and in 1992 absorbed some of the routes of Gatwick-based carrier Dan-Air.

"Dirty tricks"

Soon after BA's privatisation, Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic, which began with one route and one Boeing 747 in 1984, was beginning to emerge as a competitor on some of BA's most lucrative routes. Following Virgin's highly publicised mercy mission to Iraq to fly home hostages of Saddam Hussein in 1991, King is reported to have told Marshall and his PA Director David Burnside to "do something about Branson".[3] This began the campaign of "dirty tricks" that ended in Branson suing King and British Airways for libel in 1992. King countersued Branson and the case went to trial in 1993. British Airways, faced with likely defeat, settled the case, giving £500,000 to Branson and a further £110,000 to his airline; further, BA was to pay the legal fees of up to £3 million.[4] Branson divided his compensation among his staff, the so-called "BA bonus".

Changes and subsidiaries

During the 1990s BA became the world's most profitable airline and trumpeted the slogan "The World's Favourite Airline". In 1992 BA purchased the small German domestic airline Delta Air Transport anf renamed it Deutsche BA. By the time it was sold in June 2003, DBA was operating 16 Boeing 737s and was the second-largest German domestic carrier, after Lufthansa.

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 would later take on the role of CEO, was appointed Managing Director by Marshall. Lord King was appointed President, a role created specifically for him, and became President Emeritus in 1997, until his death in July 2005.

In 1995 BA formed British Asia Airways, a subsidiary based in Taiwan, to operate between London and Taipei. Owing to political sensitivities, British Asia Airways not only had a different name, but also had a different livery, with the Union Jack tailfin being replaced by Chinese characters.[1] Many airlines followed the same practice, e.g. Qantas flew to Taiwan as "Australia Asia Airways" and KLM's Taiwan operations became "KLM Asia". British Asia Airways ceased operation in 2001 when the airline suspended flights to Taiwan due to low yield.

British Airways Boeing 747-400.
Concorde G-BOAB in storage (as of late 2007) at London Heathrow Airport following the end of all Concorde flying. This aircraft flew for 22296 hours between the first flight in 1976 and the final flight in 2000.

Bob Ayling

Main article: Robert Ayling

In 1996 British Airways, with its newly appointed Chief Executive Bob Ayling, entered a period of turbulence. Increased competition, high oil prices and a strong pound hurt profits. BA management and trade unions clashed and the disruption cost the company hundreds of millions of pounds. In 1997 Ayling dropped BA's traditional Union Flag tailfin livery in favour of world design tailfins, in an effort to change its image from a strictly British and aloof carrier to a more cosmopolitan airline. The move was not a success and Ayling slowed the process, eventually declaring the fleet would sport a dual livery; half a Union Flag design, half the world design tailfins. Ayling pursued antitrust immunity with American Airlines, but this was unsuccessful due to the conditions placed on the deal by regulatory authorities, the most painful of which would have been the sacrifice of landing slots at Heathrow.[5]

Positive news during Ayling's reign included cost savings of £750m and the establishment of the successful, but highly subsidised, Go in 1998. Go was a low-cost carrier intended to compete in the rapidly emerging "no-frills" segment. After four years of successful operations, the airline was sold off to venture capitalists 3i and later merged with EasyJet. Ayling also sought a reduction of capacity, cancelling Boeing 747-400 orders in favour of the Boeing 777 and rationalising BA's short-haul fleet with an order for the efficient Airbus A319/A320/A321 family.

Rod Eddington

Main article: Rod Eddington

In 1999 British Airways reported a 50% slump in profits, its worst since privatisation. In March 2000 Bob Ayling was removed from his position. British Airways announced Rod Eddington as his successor in May. Eddington set about cutting the workforce further, dramatically so after the slump caused by the September 11 attacks in 2001.

On 8 September 2004 British Airways announced that it was to sell its 18.5% 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.

Marshall, who had been appointed a life peer in 1998, retired as Chairman in July 2004 and was replaced by Martin Broughton, former Chairman of British American Tobacco. On 8 March 2005, Broughton announced that former Aer Lingus CEO Willie Walsh would take over from Rod Eddington upon his retirement in September 2005.

Willie Walsh

Main article: Willie Walsh

In September 2005 new CEO Willie Walsh 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 also announced his intention to sell off BA Connect to Flybe, with Walsh stating "Despite the best efforts of the entire team at BA Connect, we do not see any prospect of profitability in its current form." BA will retain a 15% stake in FlyBe on completion of the sale.

Since 2004, BA has strongly marketed the full-service nature of its domestic flights (i.e the use of principal airports, free food and drink) in response to the low cost operators aggressive pricing, even though its main full-service UK rival bmi has now abandoned some "frills" on its domestic network. Walsh on the other hand pledged to retain the full-service model, and sees it as a means of distinguishing BA from the competition and that customers will still be willing to pay extra for added levels of service.

The airline won the Skytrax Airline of the Year award in 2006 for the first time.[6] It also won OAG Airline of the Year 2007, Best Airline Based in Western Europe 2007, Best Transatlantic Airline 2007, and Best Europe - Asia/Australasia Airline 2007' in the Airline of the Year Awards run by UK-based OAG.[7] However the Airport Transport Users Council rate BA as the worst European carrier for baggage handling.[8] BAs London Heathrow baggage system has insufficient capacity to deal with the number of bags passing through it, according to BBC news. BA lost on average 3000 pieces of baggage per day.[9]

Price-fixing

On the 1 August 2007 it was reported that British Airways has been fined £121.5 million[10] for price-fixing. The fine was imposed by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) after BA admitted to the price-fixing of fuel surcharges on long haul flights. The allegation first came to light last year when Virgin Atlantic reported the events to the authorities after it found staff members from BA and Virgin Atlantic were colluding. Virgin Atlantic have since been granted immunity by both the OFT and the United States Department of Justice who have been investigating the allegations since June 2006. The US DOJ later announced that it would fine British Airways $300 million (£148 million) for price fixing.

The allegations are thought to be linked to the resignation of commercial director Martin George and communications chief Iain Burns. Although BA said fuel surcharges were "a legitimate way of recovering costs", in May 2007 it put aside £350 million for legal fees and fines.

Financial performance

British Airways Financial Performance
Year Ended Passengers Flown[11] Turnover (£m) Profit/Loss Before Tax (£m) Net Profit/Loss (£m) Basic EPS (p)
March 31 2007 33,068,000 8,492 611 438 25.5
March 31 2006 (Restated)* 32,432,000 8,213 616 464 40.4
March 31 2006 35,634,000 8,515 620 467 40.4
March 31 2005 35,717,000 7,772 513 392 35.2
March 31 2004 36,103,000 7,560 230 130 12.1
March 31 2003 38,019,000 7,688 135 72 6.7
March 31 2002 40,004,000 8,340 (200) (142) (13.2)
March 31 2001 36,221,000 9,278 150 114 10.5
March 31 2000 36,346,000 8,940 5 (21) (2.0)
March 31 1999 37,090,000 8,915 225 206 19.5
March 31 1998 34,377,000 8,642 580 460 44.7
March 31 1997 33,440,000 8,359 640 553 55.7
March 31 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

Fleet

Until the late 1990s BA had been mainly a Boeing customer. This has always been a subject of controversy, as many expect that as a British carrier it would be natural for BA to support the British manufacturing industry and buy Airbus jets (Airbus wings are made in the UK and many subcontractors are also based there). The company has defended its decision by arguing that, 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. BA inherited BOAC's Boeing airline code (36). Boeing aircraft built for British Airways have the suffix 36, for example 737-236, 747-436, 777-236.[16]

File:B767 Reg.G-BNWA.JPG
Boeing 767-336ER.

However, it has operated non-Boeing planes historically mainly as a result of takeovers and joint agreements with other airlines. One example of this was planes acquired through the buyout of British Caledonian Airways in the 1980s; it successfully operated the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Airbus A320 for a number of years. In the late 1990s British Airways placed its own first direct Airbus order, for over 100 A320/A319s to replace its own ageing fleet of Boeing 737s.

BA was one of only two operators of the supersonic Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde supersonic airliner, (the other being the state-owned Air France) with a daily service between Heathrow and New York JFK (although the original service was from London to Bahrain). Initially, Concorde was a financial burden, placed on the national carrier by the government, and attracted criticism from the press as a white elephant. However Lord King recognised the charismatic importance of Concorde to British Airways. BA used Concorde to win business customers, guaranteeing a certain number of Concorde upgrades in return for corporate accounts with the airline - a key factor in winning business from transatlantic competitors.

With the Paris Crash in 2000, the September 11, 2001 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, after 24 October 2003, they would cease scheduled services with Concorde, due to depressed passenger numbers. The last day of its Saturday-only London Heathrow to Barbados Concorde flight was on 30 August 2003. The airline still owns 8 Concordes which are on long term loan to museums in the UK, U.S. and Barbados.

The British Airways fleet includes the following aircraft as of September 2007:[17]

British Airways Fleet
Aircraft Total Passengers
(First/Business/Premium Economy/Economy) 		Routes Notes
Airbus A319-100 33 132 LHR to Europe and UK Moving to LGW in 2008
pending delivery of new Airbus A320
Airbus A320 26
(10 orders) 		149
150
156 		LHR to Europe and UK
Airbus A321 10
(2 orders) 		194 LHR to Europe and UK
Airbus A380 (12 orders)
(7 options) 		- - To be delivered from 2012
Boeing 737-300 5 126 LGW to Europe and UK Exit from service: 2008
Replacement aircraft: Airbus A319
Boeing 737-400 19 147 LGW to Europe and UK
Boeing 737-500 9 110 LGW to Europe and UK Exit from service: 2008
Replacement aircraft: Airbus A319
Boeing 747-400 57 291 (14/70/30/177)
299 (14/70/30/185)
337 (14/52/36/235)
351 (14/38/36/263) 		Long haul destinations from LHR Some exiting service beginning 2010
Replacement Aircraft: Airbus A380
Boeing 757-200 13 180 LHR to Europe and UK
Boeing 767-300ER 21 181 (-/24/12/125)
252 (8/-/-/244) 		Short-long haul destinations from LHR and MAN Exit from Service: from 2010
Replacement aircraft: Boeing 787
Boeing 777-200 3 229 (14/48/40/127) Long haul destinations from LHR
Boeing 777-200ER 40
(4 orders) 		280 (-/40/24/216)
224 (14/48/40/122)
290 (-/38/40/212) 		Long haul destinations from LGW and LHR
Boeing 787 (24 orders)
(18 options) 		- - To be delivered from 2010

Details of the fleets of British Airways' franchises which use the British Airways name and logo can be found on their relevant articles: BA CityFlyer, Loganair, Sun Air, Comair, GB Airways, and BMED (until late 2007).

In March 2007, the average age of British Airways fleet was 9.8 years.

British Airways offers between either three or four classes of service on their long haul international routes. World Traveller (Economy Class), World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) and Club World (Business Class) always feature. Most aircraft are also fitted FIRST (First Class).

Future

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.[18]

On 18 May 2007, BA announced that it has placed a firm order with Airbus for eight new A320 aircraft. The new aircraft are due for delivery from 2008. They will be delievered to LHR displacing A319s to LGW which in turn will replace elderly Boeing 737-300/500, the leases on which expire at this time. aircraft[19]

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. [20]

On 27 September 2007, BA announced their biggest order since 1998 by ordering 34 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. [21] The Boeing 787s will act as replacements for British Airways Boeing 767 fleet with the Airbus A380s replacing 20 of their oldest Boeing 747-400s and will most likely be used to increase capacity on routes to Bangkok, Capetown, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Singapore, and Sydney from London Heathrow.[22][23]

BA's next order is expected to occur sometime in 2008 or 2009. This order will be for the replacement of their 37 remaining 747-400s. The candidate aircraft are the Airbus A350XWB, Boeing 787-10 and 777-300ER.[23]

Media

One musical track used on BA advertisements was "Flower Duet" by Léo Delibes.[24]. The advertising agency used for many years by BA was Saatchi & Saatchi, who created many of the most famous advertisements for the airline.[25] Prior to "The World's Favourite Airline" the advertising slogan was "We'll Take More Care Of You". As of June 2007, BA's advertising agency is Bartle Bogle Hegarty.[26]

The airline features in prominently in several films:

  • The James Bond films Goldeneye and Die Another Day. The Bond relationship appears to have ended with 2006's Casino Royale.
  • Coming to America, in which the prince arrives in the U.S. on board a BA Concorde.
  • The 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, in which Hallie arrives in London on a BA aircraft.
  • Three Men and a Baby, in which the three men arrive at the airport and assume that the baby has been taken to England on a BA aircraft.
  • A Fish Called Wanda, when Archie and Wanda escape to Rio De Janeiro on a British Airways 747 at the end of the film after some fighting on the tarmac below the plane.

British Airways is the official airline of Wimbledon Championship tennis tournament.[27]

Tail fins

British Airways Boeing 767, featuring Ethnic art tailfin.
The Blue Peter special-paint British Airways Boeing 757-200
Further information: [[:British Airways ethnic liveries]]

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 they began to be repainted (and the planes re-named) with abstract world images, Delft pottery 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 each painted in different colours they were harder to identify.

At a British Airways launch party in London Margaret Thatcher famously covered the tail fin of a model aircraft with the new design using her handkerchief. She slated it, claiming they made it look like a third world airline. "We fly the British flag, not these awful things."

On 6 June 1999, BA chief executive Bob Ayling announced that all BA planes would be repainted with the Chatham Dockyard Union Flag, based on a design first used on Concorde.

Cabins

The offered cabins on board British Airways aircraft depend on the destination that you are travelling to.

United Kingdom internal flight

UK Domestic

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, a breakfast meal is served before 10am and after 10am there is a drinks service. There is a salad service on flights from Scotland to London, but only a sandwich service on the Scotland to Manchester route.

Business UK

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

Europe

Euro Traveller

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 aircraft with suitable equipment.

Club Europe

Club Europe is the business class product of British Airways, offered on all shorthaul routes. Passengers have access to business lounges at most airports and are also served a full English breakfast in the mornings and afternoon tea later in the day. Seat pitch is 34".

International outside Europe

FIRST

FIRST is the long haul first class product on British Airways and is offered only on BA's Boeing 777 and Boeing 747 aircraft. In it are thirteen or fourteen private "demi-cabins" with 6' 6" beds, in-seat power for laptops, personal phones, and entertainment facilities. Meals are available on demand. BA offers dedicated check-in facilities at some airports.

Club World

Club World is the longhaul business class product of British Airways. Passengers have access to business lounges at most airports. On 13 November 2006, British Airways launched a new Club World service, offering larger seats and a service revamp. The service offers a 6' 6" 20" wide flat bed with 24 seats on the 767-300ER, between 40 and 48 seats on the 777-200, and, since 2007 between 52 and 70 seats on the 747-400.

World Traveller and World Traveller Plus

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 Plus is premium economy and, in comparison to World Traveller, offers a better (38") seat pitch, fewer seats abreast, and in-seat laptop power.

Operations

British Airways is based at London Heathrow Airport in London, England. It also has a presence at Gatwick and previously had a significant hub at Manchester International Airport, but this was much reduced in 2007, in common with operations from other UK airports. 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.[28]

As an incumbent airline, BA had grandfather rights to around 36% of takeoff and landing 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, Brussels Airlines and Swiss International Air Lines, and now owns about 40% of slots at Heathrow.[29]

Although British Airways describes itself as the 'National Carrier of the United Kingdom', it does not have a presence in Wales and services to all airports 'north of Watford' were severely truncated in March 2007. BA aims to fly UK passengers through its Heathrow and Gatwick hubs. However, this policy is now being strongly countered by other airlines such as Emirates, who fly direct from several UK provincial airports to Dubai and onwards from that hub to Asia and Australasia.

File:DSCF1934d submitted.jpg
British Airways aircraft dominate at Terminal 4 at Heathrow Airport

Traditionally viewed as a full fare airline, BA operations in some ways resemble those of a budget airline; notably in the February 2007 decision to charge up to £240 for a second piece of hold luggage.[30]

BA CityFlyer is a subsidiary with Avro RJ100 aircraft based in Edinburgh, but operating mainly from London City Airport. BA CityFlyer operates around 250 flights per week at London City Airport.[31]

In March 2008, BA will move most of its Heathrow operation to the new Terminal 5, vacating the existing terminals, although certain flights will depart Terminal 3 which will undergo a significant re-organisation.

Subsidiaries and franchisees

Subsidiaries

British Airways is 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

Franchisees

Shareholdings

BA owns a 10% stake in Spanish airline Iberia. It raised its stake in Iberia from 9% to 10% by purchasing American Airlines' remaining shares. This 10% stake gives British Airways the right to appoint two board members.[32]

It obtained a 15% stake in FlyBe when it sold its regional UK operation BA Connect to FlyBe in March 2007.

It owns a 10% stake in Eurostar (U.K.) Ltd. as part of the InterCapital and Regional Rail alliance that also includes SNCF, SNCB and National Express Group. Eurostar (U.K.) is the UK arm of Eurostar, the cross-Channel rail operator.[33]

Cargo

BA is, through its subsidiary British Airways World Cargo, the world's twelfth-largest cargo airline based on total freight tonne-kilometers flown.[34] BA World Cargo has global reach through the British Airways scheduled network. In addition to the main fleet, BA World Cargo wet lease three Boeing 747-400F dedicated freighter aircraft from Global Supply Systems on a multi-year basis,[35] as well as utilising space on dedicated freighters operated by other carriers on European services. Dedicated freighter services allow the airline to serve airports not connected to the scheduled network, such as London Stansted, Glasgow Prestwick, Frankfurt-Hahn, Vitoria and Seoul.

British Airways opened its £250m World Cargo centre, Ascentis, at Heathrow in 1999. As one of the largest and most advanced automated freight handling centres in the world, it contains a handling centre for unusual and premium cargo, and a perishables handling centre for fresh produce, of which it handles over 80,000 tons per year.[36] 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. On July 3, 2007 BA World Cargo announced it would launch new services to Jinnah International Airport, Karachi and Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore in Pakistan using Boeing 727s via Bahrain. [37]

Executive Club

British Airways' frequent flyer programme is Executive Club. It forms part of the network of frequent flyer programs in the Oneworld alliance. The Executive Club has three tiers of membership: Blue, Silver, Gold. The benefits of the Silver and Gold cards are considerable, including access to airport lounges and dedicated reservation lines. It also has an invitation-only Premier program.

Unlike most airline frequent flyer programs, the Executive Club separates out the earning of redeemable miles BA Miles and loyalty "Tier Points"; flying in higher Classes of Service (Premium Economy, Business or First) will attract a premium on both BA Miles and Tier Points. Tier Points are only being awarded for "Eligible Flights", and to gain the full allocation of Tier Points a Full Fare ticket (Economy Y/M, or any premium cabin fare) is needed, whereas Eligible Discounted Fares (Economy B/H/U) only attract a percentage of the notional BA Miles and Tier Point allocations, and tickets booked at deeply discounted fares (i.e. Economy Cabin on Fare Basis K/L/N/O/Q/S/V/X) typically only accrue BA Miles (at a percentage of actual mile flown).

Continued membership of the Executive Club requires attaining the relevant number of Tier Points for the Tier annually; for instance maintaining Silver will take 4 Full Fare Premium Economy Returns between the UK and the US Eastern Seaboard, but with so many discounted fares around this means spending a lot with this airline for the benefit.

Incidents and accidents

  • On 24 June 1982, Flight 9, a Boeing 747-200, G-BDXHdisaster[38], 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 of its engines, allowing it to make an emergency landing at Jakarta. No-one was injured.
  • On 10 June 1990, Flight 5390, a BAC 1-11 flight between Birmingham and Málaga, suffered a windscreen blowout due to the fitting of incorrect bolts two days previously. The Captain suffered minor injuries and 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 29 December 2000, 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 plunged downward around 10,000 feet 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-BNLGdisaster[39]) 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. They continued the climb and, having checked the performance figures, decided to continue 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 was forced to divert to Manchester, England. The United States Federal Aviation Administration had been critical of the Captain's decision[40] and accused BA of operating the aircraft in an unairworthy 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 not unairworthy.[41]
  • On 10 August 2006 the airline cancelled a large number of its flights to and from London Heathrow Airport due to a foiled terrorist plot to destroy jet airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States. British Airways was one of those airlines that was targeted by the terrorists. Had this plot got past the planning stages, the planes would have been blown up with the use of liquid explosives. Three days later on 12 August 2006 the owner and operator of London Heathrow, BAA ordered airlines using the airport to make a 30% reduction in departing passenger flights (something BA was already having to do as passengers missed flights due to the extra time it took to clear security), to help reduce delays and cancellations.[42] BA would later say the disruption cost it £40 million and forced it to cancel 1,280 flights between 10 and 17 August.[43]

Controversies

  • In October 2006, the British Airways cross controversy - a dispute over the right of a Christian check-in worker to wear a visible symbol of faith - occurred.
  • In November 2006, it was revealed that British Airways has a policy of not seating adult male passengers next to unaccompanied children, even if the child's parents are elsewhere on the plane. This led to accusations that the airline considers all men to be potential peadophiles. The policy came to light following an incident in which Michael Kemp, a retired journalist, was asked to move from his seat next to a 9-year-old girl; he was told that the aircraft would not be taking off until the issue was resolved. The policy was condemned by Michele Elliot of British children's charity Kidscape, who said: "It is utterly absurd... what message does it send out to children - that men are not to be trusted? ...this is just totally lacking in common sense." She also highlighted that women are abusers too, and therefore many see this as highly sexist and discriminatory.[44] The policy was also criticised by MP Boris Johnson following an incident when a stewardess attempted to stop him sitting next to his own children. He condemned the company's policy because of its failure "to understand the terrible damage that is done by this system of presuming guilt in the entire male population just because of the tendencies of a tiny minority."[45]
  • British Airways was announced by the Association of European Airlines as having lost the most luggage in 2006 compared to other major European airlines. For every 1000 passengers carried, it lost 23 bags, 46% more than the average.[46]
  • In April 2007, British Airways removed footage of Richard Branson and obscured a tail fin of a Virgin aircraft from Casino Royale.[47] A representative of EON Productions, producer of all the Bond films, said Barbara Broccoli considered removing BA from their list of suppliers.[48] However, it was not the first time that BA censored rivals from in-flight movies.[49]

References

  1. ^ Description of UK Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence
  2. ^ a b c "Directory: World Airlines". Flight International. 27 March 2007. p. 89. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ Martyn, Gregory (2000). Dirty Tricks: British Airways' Secret War Against Virgin Atlantic. London: Virgin. ISBN 0-7535-0458-8.
  4. ^ "BA dirty tricks against Virgin cost £3m". BBC: On This Day. BBC News. 11 January 1993. Retrieved 2006-10-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Comments of Department of Justice on antitrusts immunity.
  6. ^ British Airways wins Skytrax Airline of the Year World Airline Awards
  7. ^ http://sev.prnewswire.com/travel/20070418/AQW08918042007-1.html
  8. ^ "British Airways: fly the flag - lose your bag". The Guardian. 23 June 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "Heathrow works to clear bag delay". BBC News. 7 October 2006. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "BA gets £121.5m price-fixing fine". BBC News. 8 January 2007. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ BA Shares British Airways shareholder 'Reports & Accounts' Archive
  12. ^ ajc.com
  13. ^ ajc.com
  14. ^ BA Press office - BA make route changes for summer 2008
  15. ^ ajc.com
  16. ^ CAA Aircraft Register (Boeing aircraft registered to British Airways
  17. ^ UK CAA Aircraft Register
  18. ^ BA Interim Financial Results 2006 Q3
  19. ^ "British Airways reveal plans to replacing Gatwick 737 fleet". {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |access date= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ "British Airways to pay Boeing $800M for 4 big jets; 4 more in the pipeline". Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  21. ^ "BA opts for A380 and Dreamliner". BBC News Online. BBC. 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-09-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  22. ^ Oliver, Emmet (2007-09-27). "British Airways Purchases 36 Airbus, Boeing Airliners (Update7)". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. Retrieved 2007-09-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ a b Moores, Victoria (2007-09-27). "BA to decide on remaining long-haul renewal in 2008-09". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 2007-09-27. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  24. ^ "Flower Duet (From Lakme) by Leo Delibes - - Chris Worth Productions". Retrieved 2007-06-08.
  25. ^ "Saatchi & Saatchi: The agency that made Tory history". The Independent. 2007-09-17. Retrieved 2007-09-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  26. ^ "Clients & Work - Bartle Bogle Hegarty". Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  27. ^ http://agency.com/facts/press_release.asp?pid=63
  28. ^ "House of Commons - Transport - Written Evidence". United Kingdom Hansard. Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 2007-03-12. Retrieved 2007-09-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ Gow, David (2004-01-21). "BA outbid for Heathrow slots". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-09-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  30. ^ "BA to charge £240 for extra bag". BBC News. 8 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ "BA plans major expansion at London City". easier Travel. 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2007-09-27. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  32. ^ Airliner World, January 2007
  33. ^ http://www.eurostar.com/UK/uk/leisure/about_eurostar/company_information/ownership_structure.jsp
  34. ^ "BA World Cargo Adds to Surcharge". Traffic World. Journal of Commerce, Inc. 25 August 2005. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ "Atlas Air invests in new UK airline" (Press release). Atlas Air Inc. 12 April 2001. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  36. ^ "British Airways World Cargo". Freight International. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  37. ^ [http://www.baworldcargo.com/news/pr151.shtml New freighter routings from Pakistan launched, 3 July 2007
  38. ^ "G-INFO Database". Civil Aviation Authority.
  39. ^ "G-INFO Database". Civil Aviation Authority.
  40. ^ Flight International, July 2005
  41. ^ Flight International, 23-29 January 2007
  42. ^ "Travel chaos as airlines ordered to slash flights. Ultimatum contained in leaked security memo from airport chief". News International. 14 August 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  43. ^ "BA says terror alert cost it £40m". BBC News. 5 September 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  44. ^ "Revealed: How BA bans men sitting next to children they don't know". Daily Mail. 4 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  45. ^ "Come off it, folks: how many paedophiles can there be?". telegraph.co.uk. November 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
  46. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6524639.stm
  47. ^ "BA cuts Branson from Bond movie". BBC News. 21 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  48. ^ "British Airways Directors cut - Branson is digitally removed from 007 James Bond in-flight movies". www.functionpix.com. 21 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  49. ^ "BA banishes rival from Bond film". The Australian. 23 April 2007. Retrieved 2007-04-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to British Airways.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=British_Airways&oldid=160877580"