British Airways
Encyclopedia
British Airways is the flag carrier
airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside
, near its main hub
at London Heathrow Airport
. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations. BA's UK passengers originating at non-London airports must connect via London after British Airways discontinued all direct overseas flights from UK airports outside London following the sale of BA Connect
to British regional carrier Flybe
in 2007.
The British Airways Board was established in 1971 to control the two nationalised airline corporations, BOAC
and BEA
, and two smaller, regional airlines, Cambrian Airways
, from Cardiff
, and Northeast Airlines
, from Newcastle upon Tyne
. On 31 March 1974, all four companies were merged to form British Airways. After almost thirteen years as a state company, that was sold in February 1987 as part of a privatisation plan by the Conservative Government. The carrier soon expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian
in 1987 and Dan-Air
, Gatwick-based carrier, in 1992.
A long-time Boeing
customer, British Airways ordered fifty-nine Airbus A320 family
aircraft in August 1998. In 2007, it purchased twelve Airbus A380
s and twenty-four Boeing 787 Dreamliner, marking the start of its long-haul
fleet replacement. The centrepiece of the airline's long-haul fleet is the Boeing 747-400
; with 57 examples in service, British Airways is the largest operator of this type in the world.
British Airways 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
. British Airways' parent company, International Airlines Group
, is listed on the London Stock Exchange
and in the FTSE 100 Index
.
On 12 November 2009, British Airways confirmed that it had reached a preliminary agreement to merge with Iberia. The merger between the two carriers will create the world's third-largest airline in terms of annual revenue and the second largest airline group in Europe. The merger was confirmed on 8 April 2010, and on 14 July 2010, the European Commission
approved the merger under Competition law
and also allowed American Airlines to co-operate with the merged entity on transatlantic
routes to the United States of America. The British Airways merger with Iberia was finally completed on 21 January 2011, formally creating the International Airlines Group
, IAG.
(BOAC) and British European Airways Corporation (BEA) were combined under the newly formed British Airways Board. Following two years of fierce competition with British Caledonian
, the second-largest airline in Britain at the time, the Government changed its aviation policy in 1976 so the two carriers no longer would compete on long-haul routes.
British Airways and Air France
operated the supersonic
airliner Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde; the world's first supersonic passenger service first flew in January 1976 from London Heathrow to Bahrain
. Services to the US were inaugurated to Washington Dulles
airport on 24 May 1976; flights to New York JFK airport started on 22 September 1977. A service to Singapore
was also operated in coöperation with Singapore Airlines
, as a continuation of the flight to Bahrain. 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.
In 1981, the airline was instructed to prepare for privatisation by the Conservative
government. Sir John King
, later Lord King, was appointed Chairman, charged with bringing the airline back into profitability. King was credited with transforming the loss-making giant into one of the most profitable air carriers in the world, while many other large airlines struggled. The flag carrier was privatised and was floated on the London Stock Exchange
in February 1987. In July 1987, British Airways effected the controversial takeover of Britain's "second" airline, British Caledonian.
The formation of Richard Branson
's Virgin Atlantic Airways
in 1984 created a strong competitor for BA. In 1993, the intense rivalry between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic culminated in the former being sued for £610,000 for a "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin and around £3 million in Virgin's legal costs. British Airways' campaign against Virgin included poaching Virgin Atlantic customers and tampering with private files belonging to Virgin. Following a court case, British Airways was forced to pay Virgin damages and legal costs causing BA management to apologise "unreservedly" for the alleged "dirty tricks" campaign. Six months after the "dirty tricks" campaign, Lord King stepped down as chairman in 1993 and was replaced by former deputy, Colin Marshall, while Robert Ayling
took over as CEO.
In 1992, British Airways expanded through the acquisition of the financially troubled Dan-Air
, giving BA a much larger presence at Gatwick airport. In March 1993, British Asia Airways, a subsidiary based in Taiwan, was formed to operate between London and Taipei
. Additionally in 1993, BA purchased a 25% stake in Australian airline Qantas
in March, and acquired Brymon Airways
in May to form BA Connect
. 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, it is one of the largest airline alliances in the world, behind only SkyTeam
and Star Alliance.
Benefits under CEO Robert Ayling's leadership included cost savings of £750m and the establishment of Go Fly
in 1998. However, one year on, in 1999, British Airways reported an 84 percent drop in profits, its worst for seven years. In March 2000, Robert Ayling was removed from his position and British Airways announced Rod Eddington
as his successor; Eddington would make further workforce cuts due to reduced demand following the 11 September attacks in 2001. In September 2004, BA announced the sale of its Qantas
stake.
In September 2005, Willie Walsh, former Aer Lingus
pilot and Managing Director, became the Chief Executive Officer of the company. In January 2008, BA unveiled its new subsidiary OpenSkies
which takes advantage of the liberalisation of transatlantic traffic rights between Europe and the United States. As of 2008, OpenSkies flies non-stop from Paris to New York and Washington D.C
.
On 30 July 2008, British Airways and Iberia, a Spanish fellow Oneworld partner, announced a merger plan; the two airlines would retain their original brands, similar to KLM and Air France
in their merger agreement
. An agreement to merge was confirmed in April 2010. In July 2010, the European Commission
and US Department of Transport
permitted the merger and to co-ordinate transatlantic
routes with American Airlines. On 6 October 2010, the alliance between British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia formally began operations; the alliance generates an estimated £230 million annual cost-saving for BA, in addition to £330 million by the Iberia merge.
British Airways ceased trading on the London Stock Exchange on 21 January 2011, after 23 years as a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. On 21 January 2011, British Airways and Iberia merged, resulting in the world's third-largest airline in terms of annual revenue and the second largest airline group in Europe. Prior to merging, British Airways owned a 13.5% stake in Iberia, thus it received ownership of 55% of the combined “International Airlines Group
”, Iberia's other shareholders received the remaining 45%. In September 2010, Willie Walsh, the CEO of IAG, announced that IAG is looking at other airlines; and that a shortlist of twelve possible acquisitions existed. In June 2011, IAG announced their interest in purchasing BMI British Midland from the Lufthansa Group.
British Airways trades on the London Stock Exchange
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
under the title of "International Airlines Group" following British Airways' merger with Iberia on 21 January 2011, with trading beginning on 24 January 2011.
British Airways has its head office, Waterside
, in Harmondsworth
, London Borough of Hillingdon
, England. Waterside was completed in June 1998 to replace British Airways' previous head office, Speedbird House, on the grounds of London Heathrow Airport
. The IAG has its operational headquarters in London and corporate headquarters in Madrid; it is incorporated under Spanish law as a "Sociedad Anónima
", and pays taxes in Spain.
* Restated for the disposal of the regional business of BA Connect.
, a rival, low-cost carrier carried 44.5 million passengers that year, passing British Airways for the first time. 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.
British Airways' main base is at London Heathrow Airport in west London, England, but it also has a major presence at Gatwick Airport, BA had previously operated a significant hub at Manchester Airport. Manchester operations, and international services outside of London, ceased when the subsidiary, BA Connect, was sold due to a lack of profitability. Passengers wishing to travel internationally with BA either to or from regional UK destinations must now transfer in London. Heathrow airport is dominated by British Airways, due to their ownership of 40% of the slots available at the airport. The majority of BA services operate from Terminal 5, with the exception of some flights still at Terminal 3. T3 British Airways operations include long-haul codeshare flights and European flights.
British Airways serves nearly 150 destinations, including six domestic. It is one of only ten carriers to fly to all six permanently inhabited continents.
, it primarily flies Embraer
aircraft. BA CityFlyer operates around 250 flights per week from London City 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. Other former subsidiaries include the German airline Deutsche BA from 1997 until 2003 and the French airline Air Liberté
from 1997 to 2001. British Airways previously was the full owner of Airways Aero Associations Limited, operator of the British Airways flying club
and an aerodrome under the BA brand at Wycombe Air Park
, High Wycombe
.
South Africa's Comair
and Denmark's Sun Air of Scandinavia
have been franchisees of British Airways since 1996. British Airways obtained a 15% stake in UK regional airline Flybe
from the sale of BA Connect in March 2007; BA also owns a 10% stake in InterCapital and Regional Rail (ICRR), the company managing operations of Eurostar (UK) Ltd..
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"). The airline started operations in June 2008, and now flies direct from Paris to New York JFK and Washington Dulles.
In addition to codesharing with the Oneworld
alliance members, British Airways has codeshare agreements with Aer Lingus
, Air Berlin
, Flybe
, Kingfisher Airlines
, Loganair
, Meridiana fly and WestJet
.
based on total freight tonne-kilometres 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 747-400
F 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; it is an automated freight handling centre capable of handling 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. In 2010, BAWC announced that it would wetlease three Boeing 747-8
F aircraft from Global Supply Systems to replace the 747-400s.
In August 2007, British Airways agreed to plead guilty and pay a $300 million fine as a result of felony anti-trust charges in the United States for conspiring to fix air cargo prices. In 2009, BA announced that it had chose to continue its longhaul freight operations at London Stansted Airport
rather than relocate to Kent International Airport
.
, while Unite the Union
for other employees. During 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. In an effort to increase interaction between management, employees, and the unions, various conferences and workshops have taken place, often with thousands in attendance.
In 2005, wildcat action was taken by union members over a decision by Gate Gourmet
to not renew the contracts of 670 workers and replaced them with agency staff; it is estimated that the strike cost British Airways £30 million and caused disruption to 100,000 passengers. In October 2006, BA became involved in a civil rights dispute
when a Christian employee was forbidden to wear a necklace baring the cross
, a religious symbol. BA's practice of forbidding such symbols has been publically questioned by British politicians such as former Home Secretary
John Reed
and former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
.
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. In December 2009, a ballot for strike action over Christmas received a high level of support, 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. Allegations were made by the Guardian newspaper that BA had consulted outside firms methods to undermine the unions, the story was later withdrawn. 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. Further disruption struck when Derek Simpson
, a Unite co-leader, was discovered to have leaked details of confidential negotiations online via Twitter
.
and early Boeing 747
variants 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 1990s. Boeing-built aircraft for British Airways are allocated the customer code 36, which appears in their aircraft designation as a suffix, such as 737-436, 747–436 and 777-236.
Although British Airways utilises a large Boeing fleet, it has always operated aircraft from other manufacturers. British built aircraft were transferred from BEA (e.g. Trident
) and BOAC (e.g. VC10
), and in the 1980s the airline operated the Lockheed L-1011
. It also operated the DC-10
and Airbus A320-100
through the acquisition of British Caledonian Airways in the 1980s. In August 1998, British Airways placed its first direct Airbus order, for 59 A320/A319s, to replace its own ageing fleet of Boeing 737s and A320-100s. British Airways replaced the L-1011 and DC-10 tri-jet fleet with more fuel-efficient, twinjet
, Boeing 767 and 777 aircraft in the 1990s. In September 2007, BA placed its first order for long-haul Airbus jets, consisting of 12 firm orders for Airbus A380
s and seven options. The Boeing 757 was withdrawn from British Airways service in late 2010.
The combined International Airlines Group
entity, that BA is now a part of, operates over 400 aircraft, carries over 62 million passengers annually, and serves more than 200 destinations. As of Sepetember 2011, the British Airways fleet includes the following aircraft:
In July 2011, the average age of the BA fleet was 12.2 years.
or IAE
alliance engines, of which Rolls-Royce is a major contributor. The remaining 23% of the fleet is equally divided between General Electric and the CFM International
consortium.
to maintain its aircraft fleet, this includes line maintenance at over 70 airports around the world. As well as hangar facilities at Heathrow and Gatwick airport it has two major maintenance centres at Glasgow
and Cardiff Airports
.
On 27 March 2007, British Airways placed an order for four 777-200ER aircraft with an option for four more; the order cost more than US$800 million at list price; BA has stated these are for fleet expansion. BA's first 777s were fitted with General Electric GE90
engines, but BA switched to Rolls-Royce Trent 800
s for the nineteen most recent aircraft. This choice has been continued on the four most recent orders.
On 27 September 2007, BA announced their biggest order since 1998 by ordering thirty-six new long-haul aircraft. The company ordered twelve A380s
with options on a further seven, and twenty-four Boeing 787s with eighteen options for delivery between 2013 and 2016. Rolls-Royce Trent
engines were again selected for both orders with Trent 900s powering the A380s and Trent 1000s powering the 787s. The Boeing 787s will replace fourteen of British Airways' Boeing 767 fleet while the Airbus A380s will replace twenty of BA's oldest Boeing 747-400s and will most likely be used to increase capacity on key routes from London Heathrow, such as New York, Miami, Hong Kong, Sydney, Tokyo, Dubai, Singapore and Los Angeles.
In September 2009, British Airways began a premium service between London City Airport
and New York JFK using two Airbus A318s fitted with 32 lie-flat beds in an all business class cabin. The service operates under the flight numbers previously reserved for Concorde, BA001 and BA003.
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. Of the six that have been ordered, four will be leased & two will be fully acquired by British Airways. On 12 January 2009, Willie Walsh stated that the 777 purchase did not indicate a ruling out of the Airbus A350
for BA's fleet renewal programme and "the airline expects to reach a decision towards the end of the year."
The musical theme predominantly used on British Airways advertising is "The 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. "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". Other advertising slogans have included "The World's Favourite Airline", "The World's Best Airline", "We'll Take More Care Of You", and "Fly the Flag".
BA had an account for twenty-three years with Saatchi & Saatchi
, who created many of their most famous advertisements, including the influential "Face" campaign; Saatchi & Saatchi imitated thos advert for rival Silverjet
in 2007 after BA discontinued their business activities. As of February 2007, BA's advertising agency is Bartle Bogle Hegarty
. Online, British Airways purchased the internet domain ba.com in 2002 from previous owner Bell Atlantic, 'BA' being the company's acronym and its IATA
Airline code. In September 2011, BA launched its biggest advertising campaign in a decade, including a 90-second cinematic advert celebrating the airline's ninety year heritage, and a new slogan "To Fly. To Serve".
British Airways is the official airline of the Wimbledon Championship tennis tournament
, and the official airline and tier one partner of the 2012 Summer Olympics
and Paralympics
. British Airways was also the official airline of England's bid to host the 2018 Football World Cup.
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 tail scheme was changed in 1984 as part of a new livery designed by Landor Associates
. On 10 June 1997 there was a highly controversial change from the use of the British colours to ethnic logos and abstract world images, such as Delftware or Chinese calligraphy for example. All the designs related to countries on the company's network of routes. This caused problems with air traffic control
: whereas previously controllers had been able to tell pilots to follow a BA plane, they were now harder to visually identify because each plane was painted in a range of different colours and colour schemes.
Several people spoke out against the change from the traditional Union Flag Scheme, including the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
who covered the tail of a model BA plane with a white handkerchief captured by BBC News cameras. BA's traditional rival, 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.
UK Domestic is British Airways' economy class
on domestic UK flights. Flights into Heathrow are operated by Airbus A320 series aircraft, and flights into Gatwick are operated by Boeing 737 aircraft, which are in a one-class configuration.
Business UK operates the same cabin as UK Domestic, but has pre-flight lounge access. Euro Traveller is British Airways' economy class offering on flights from the UK to the rest of Europe.
In-Flight Entertainment
is offered on 767-300ER and some A320 aircraft.
Club Europe is the short-haul business class on all short-haul flights, except within the UK. This allows for access to business lounges at most airports. Since September 2009, Club Europe has seats in a 2–3 configuration on narrow-body aircraft.
Long haul
First (rebranded from 'FIRST' in 2009) is the long-haul first class
service on British Airways, offered only on Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 aircraft. There are fourteen private "demi-cabins" per aircraft, each with a 6 in 6 in (1.98 m) bed, a 15 inches (38.1 cm) wide entertainment screen, and in-seat power. In 2009, British Airways announced a major upgrade and refresh of upgrades.
Club World is the long-haul business class
on Boeing 767, 777, 747, and Airbus A318 aircraft; the cabin features fully flat beds. On 13 November 2006, British Airways launched Next Generation New Club World, featuring larger seats.
World Traveller is the long-haul economy class
offered on international flights to destinations outside Europe; offering seat-back entertainment and several complimentary drinks and meals. World Traveller Plus is the premium economy
offering provided on all long-haul aircraft, which offers fewer seats per row, more seat comforts, and power sockets.
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, with the company eventually admitting the offence in 2010 during a case brought by Mirko Fischer. The policy was dropped in August 2010 with the airline instead seating unaccompanied minors in a non discriminatory manner near the cabin crew.
In 2001, British Airways was the first carrier to introduce a ten-abreast economy class configuration on the Boeing 777
, an aircraft 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, and occasionally to Florida.
Flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...
airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside
Waterside (building)
The Waterside building in Harmondsworth, London, is the international head office of British Airways. The building, which cost £200 million, is located on Harmondsworth Moor, northwest of Heathrow Airport, between the M4 and the M25 motorways...
, near its main hub
Airline hub
An airline hub is an airport that an airline uses as a transfer point to get passengers to their intended destination. It is part of a hub and spoke model, where travelers moving between airports not served by direct flights change planes en route to their destinations...
at London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations. BA's UK passengers originating at non-London airports must connect via London after British Airways discontinued all direct overseas flights from UK airports outside London following the sale of BA Connect
BA Connect
BA Connect was a fully owned subsidiary airline of British Airways. Headquartered in Didsbury, Manchester, England, it operated a network of domestic and European services from a number of airports in the United Kingdom on behalf of British Airways...
to British regional carrier Flybe
Flybe
Flybe Group PLC is a British low-cost regional airline headquartered at the Jack Walker House at Exeter International Airport in Devon, England...
in 2007.
The British Airways Board was established in 1971 to control the two nationalised airline corporations, BOAC
British Overseas Airways Corporation
The British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...
and BEA
British European Airways
British European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...
, and two smaller, regional airlines, Cambrian Airways
Cambrian Airways
Cambrian Airways was a Welsh airline based in Cardiff, Wales, which started operations in 1935. It was incorporated into British Airways in 1976.-Company history:...
, from Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, and Northeast Airlines
Northeast Airlines (UK)
Northeast Airlines - formerly BKS Air Transport - was an airline based in the United Kingdom that operated as BKS from 1951 until 1970. NEA's operations and fleet were merged into British Airways in 1976.-BKS:...
, from Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. On 31 March 1974, all four companies were merged to form British Airways. After almost thirteen years as a state company, that was sold in February 1987 as part of a privatisation plan by the Conservative Government. The carrier soon expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian
British Caledonian
British Caledonian was a private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline, operating out of Gatwick Airport in the 1970s and 1980s...
in 1987 and Dan-Air
Dan-Air
Dan-Air was a leading private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline based in the United Kingdom....
, Gatwick-based carrier, in 1992.
A long-time Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
customer, British Airways ordered fifty-nine Airbus A320 family
Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
aircraft in August 1998. In 2007, it purchased twelve Airbus A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
s and twenty-four Boeing 787 Dreamliner, marking the start of its long-haul
Flight length
In aviation, the flight length is defined as the time airborne during a flight.- Domestic :A short-haul domestic flight is commonly categorized into being no longer than 1.5 hours in length, meaning that all domestic flights within a country such as the United Kingdom are short-haul...
fleet replacement. The centrepiece of the airline's long-haul fleet is the Boeing 747-400
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
; with 57 examples in service, British Airways is the largest operator of this type in the world.
British Airways is a founding member of the Oneworld
Oneworld
Oneworld , branded as oneworld, is one of the world's three largest global airline alliances with its central management team, oneworld Management Company, based in New York City, New York, USA. Oneworld was founded in 1999 by American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific...
airline alliance, along with American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
, Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport, although the airline's registered office is on the 33rd floor of One Pacific Place...
, Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
, and the now defunct Canadian Airlines
Canadian Airlines
Canadian Airlines International Ltd. was a Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada, and carried more than 11.9 million passengers to over 160 destinations in 17 countries on five continents at its height in 1996...
. The alliance has since grown to become the third largest, after SkyTeam
SkyTeam
SkyTeam, branded as SKYTEAM, is an airline alliance with its centralised management team, SkyTeam Central, based at the World Trade Center Schiphol Airport on the grounds of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands...
and Star Alliance
Star Alliance
Star Alliance is the world's first and largest airline alliance, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany . The alliance was founded in 1997 by five of the world's leading airlines: Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Thai Airways International and United Airlines...
. British Airways' parent company, International Airlines Group
International Airlines Group
International Airlines Group is a multinational airline holding company headquartered in London, United Kingdom and with its registered office in Madrid, Spain...
, is listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and in the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
.
On 12 November 2009, British Airways confirmed that it had reached a preliminary agreement to merge with Iberia. The merger between the two carriers will create the world's third-largest airline in terms of annual revenue and the second largest airline group in Europe. The merger was confirmed on 8 April 2010, and on 14 July 2010, the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
approved the merger under Competition law
Competition law
Competition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, is law that promotes or maintains market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies....
and also allowed American Airlines to co-operate with the merged entity on transatlantic
Transatlantic flight
Transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...
routes to the United States of America. The British Airways merger with Iberia was finally completed on 21 January 2011, formally creating the International Airlines Group
International Airlines Group
International Airlines Group is a multinational airline holding company headquartered in London, United Kingdom and with its registered office in Madrid, Spain...
, IAG.
History
British Airways (BA) was created in 1974, when the British Overseas Airways CorporationBritish Overseas Airways Corporation
The British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...
(BOAC) and British European Airways Corporation (BEA) were combined under the newly formed British Airways Board. Following two years of fierce competition with British Caledonian
British Caledonian
British Caledonian was a private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline, operating out of Gatwick Airport in the 1970s and 1980s...
, the second-largest airline in Britain at the time, the Government changed its aviation policy in 1976 so the two carriers no longer would compete on long-haul routes.
British Airways and Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
operated the supersonic
Supersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
airliner Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde; the world's first supersonic passenger service first flew in January 1976 from London Heathrow to Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
. Services to the US were inaugurated to Washington Dulles
Washington Dulles International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport is a public airport in Dulles, Virginia, 26 miles west of downtown Washington, D.C. The airport serves the Baltimore-Washington-Northern Virginia metropolitan area centered on the District of Columbia. It is named after John Foster Dulles, Secretary of...
airport on 24 May 1976; flights to New York JFK airport started on 22 September 1977. A service to Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
was also operated in coöperation with Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines Limited is the flag carrier airline of Singapore. Singapore Airlines operates a hub at Changi Airport and has a strong presence in the Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and "Kangaroo Route" markets...
, as a continuation of the flight to Bahrain. Following the Air France Concorde crash
Air France Flight 4590
Air France Flight 4590 was a Concorde flight operated by Air France which was scheduled to run from Charles de Gaulle International Airport near Paris, to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. On 2000, it crashed in Gonesse, France. All one hundred passengers and nine crew...
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.
In 1981, the airline was instructed to prepare for privatisation by the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government. Sir John King
John King, Baron King of Wartnaby
John Leonard King, Baron King of Wartnaby was a businessman famous for leading British Airways from an inefficient, nationalised company to one of the most successful airlines of recent times...
, later Lord King, was appointed Chairman, charged with bringing the airline back into profitability. King was credited with transforming the loss-making giant into one of the most profitable air carriers in the world, while many other large airlines struggled. The flag carrier was privatised and was floated on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in February 1987. In July 1987, British Airways effected the controversial takeover of Britain's "second" airline, British Caledonian.
The formation of Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
's Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited is a British airline owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Singapore Airlines...
in 1984 created a strong competitor for BA. In 1993, the intense rivalry between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic culminated in the former being sued for £610,000 for a "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin and around £3 million in Virgin's legal costs. British Airways' campaign against Virgin included poaching Virgin Atlantic customers and tampering with private files belonging to Virgin. Following a court case, British Airways was forced to pay Virgin damages and legal costs causing BA management to apologise "unreservedly" for the alleged "dirty tricks" campaign. Six months after the "dirty tricks" campaign, Lord King stepped down as chairman in 1993 and was replaced by former deputy, Colin Marshall, while Robert Ayling
Robert Ayling
Robert John Ayling is a British businessman who has been involved in many high profile companies and organisations. Perhaps most notably, he was chief executive of British Airways from 1996 to 2000.-Career:...
took over as CEO.
In 1992, British Airways expanded through the acquisition of the financially troubled Dan-Air
Dan-Air
Dan-Air was a leading private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline based in the United Kingdom....
, giving BA a much larger presence at Gatwick airport. In March 1993, British Asia Airways, a subsidiary based in Taiwan, was formed to operate between London and Taipei
Taipei
Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
. Additionally in 1993, BA purchased a 25% stake in Australian airline Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
in March, and acquired Brymon Airways
Brymon Airways
Brymon Airways is a former British airline with its head office in the Brymon House on the property of Plymouth City Airport in Plymouth, Devon...
in May to form BA Connect
BA Connect
BA Connect was a fully owned subsidiary airline of British Airways. Headquartered in Didsbury, Manchester, England, it operated a network of domestic and European services from a number of airports in the United Kingdom on behalf of British Airways...
. In September 1998, British Airways, along with American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
, Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific is the flag carrier of Hong Kong, with its head office and main hub located at Hong Kong International Airport, although the airline's registered office is on the 33rd floor of One Pacific Place...
, Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
, and Canadian Airlines
Canadian Airlines
Canadian Airlines International Ltd. was a Canadian airline that operated from 1987 until 2001. The airline was Canada's second largest airline after Air Canada, and carried more than 11.9 million passengers to over 160 destinations in 17 countries on five continents at its height in 1996...
, formed the Oneworld
Oneworld
Oneworld , branded as oneworld, is one of the world's three largest global airline alliances with its central management team, oneworld Management Company, based in New York City, New York, USA. Oneworld was founded in 1999 by American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific...
airline alliance
Airline alliance
An airline alliance is an agreement between two or more airlines to cooperate on a substantial level. The three largest passenger alliances are the Star Alliance, SkyTeam and Oneworld. Alliances also form between cargo airlines, such as that of WOW Alliance, SkyTeam Cargo and ANA/UPS Alliance...
. Oneworld began operations on 1 February 1999, it is one of the largest airline alliances in the world, behind only SkyTeam
SkyTeam
SkyTeam, branded as SKYTEAM, is an airline alliance with its centralised management team, SkyTeam Central, based at the World Trade Center Schiphol Airport on the grounds of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands...
and Star Alliance.
Benefits under CEO Robert Ayling's leadership included cost savings of £750m and the establishment of Go Fly
Go Fly
Go Fly was the name of an award-winning British airline. It was purchased by EasyJet.-History:Bob Ayling, ex-chief of British Airways, approached EasyJet's founder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, to ask whether he could visit claiming that he was fascinated by how the Greek entrepreneur had made the budget...
in 1998. However, one year on, in 1999, British Airways reported an 84 percent drop in profits, its worst for seven years. In March 2000, Robert Ayling was removed from his position and British Airways announced Rod Eddington
Rod Eddington
Sir Roderick Ian Eddington is an Australian businessman. He is currently chair of the government body Infrastructure Australia, a director of News Corporation, continuing his long association with that company, and has served in other senior positions including as former CEO of British...
as his successor; Eddington would make further workforce cuts due to reduced demand following the 11 September attacks in 2001. In September 2004, BA announced the sale of its Qantas
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
stake.
In September 2005, Willie Walsh, former Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus Group Plc is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair...
pilot and Managing Director, became the Chief Executive Officer of the company. In January 2008, BA unveiled its new subsidiary OpenSkies
OpenSkies
OpenSkies is a fully owned subsidiary airline of British Airways that began operations in June 2008. Originally OpenSkies was operated by BA European Limited but in April 2009 the name was transferred to Elysair . It is a full-service carrier and offers business class only cabins on board its...
which takes advantage of the liberalisation of transatlantic traffic rights between Europe and the United States. As of 2008, OpenSkies flies non-stop from Paris to New York and Washington D.C
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
On 30 July 2008, British Airways and Iberia, a Spanish fellow Oneworld partner, announced a merger plan; the two airlines would retain their original brands, similar to KLM and Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...
in their merger agreement
Air France-KLM
Air France-KLM is a European airline holding company incorporated under French law with its headquarters at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in Tremblay-en-France, Paris...
. An agreement to merge was confirmed in April 2010. In July 2010, the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
and US Department of Transport
United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...
permitted the merger and to co-ordinate transatlantic
Transatlantic flight
Transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...
routes with American Airlines. On 6 October 2010, the alliance between British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia formally began operations; the alliance generates an estimated £230 million annual cost-saving for BA, in addition to £330 million by the Iberia merge.
British Airways ceased trading on the London Stock Exchange on 21 January 2011, after 23 years as a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. On 21 January 2011, British Airways and Iberia merged, resulting in the world's third-largest airline in terms of annual revenue and the second largest airline group in Europe. Prior to merging, British Airways owned a 13.5% stake in Iberia, thus it received ownership of 55% of the combined “International Airlines Group
International Airlines Group
International Airlines Group is a multinational airline holding company headquartered in London, United Kingdom and with its registered office in Madrid, Spain...
”, Iberia's other shareholders received the remaining 45%. In September 2010, Willie Walsh, the CEO of IAG, announced that IAG is looking at other airlines; and that a shortlist of twelve possible acquisitions existed. In June 2011, IAG announced their interest in purchasing BMI British Midland from the Lufthansa Group.
Overview
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
under the title of "International Airlines Group" following British Airways' merger with Iberia on 21 January 2011, with trading beginning on 24 January 2011.
British Airways has its head office, Waterside
Waterside (building)
The Waterside building in Harmondsworth, London, is the international head office of British Airways. The building, which cost £200 million, is located on Harmondsworth Moor, northwest of Heathrow Airport, between the M4 and the M25 motorways...
, in Harmondsworth
Harmondsworth
Harmondsworth is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon, close to London Heathrow Airport. The village is situated south of West Drayton.The nearest places are: Hayes, Harlington, Heathrow Airport, Longford, London, Sipson, West Drayton and Yiewsley....
, London Borough of Hillingdon
London Borough of Hillingdon
The London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...
, England. Waterside was completed in June 1998 to replace British Airways' previous head office, Speedbird House, on the grounds of London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
. The IAG has its operational headquarters in London and corporate headquarters in Madrid; it is incorporated under Spanish law as a "Sociedad Anónima
S.A. (corporation)
S.A. designates a particular type of corporation in various countries, mostly those employing the civil law. It originated in Spain during the 16th century. Depending on language, the abbreviation stands for various phrases meaning anonymous society, anonymous company, anonymous partnership, or...
", and pays taxes in Spain.
Financial performance
| Year Ended | Passengers Flown | Turnover (£m) | Profit/Loss Before Tax (£m) | Net Profit/Loss (£m) | Basic EPS Earnings per share Earnings per share is the amount of earnings per each outstanding share of a company's stock.In the United States, the Financial Accounting Standards Board requires companies' income statements to report EPS for each of the major categories of the income statement: continuing operations,... (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 March 2010 | 31,825,000 | 7,994 | (531) | (425) | (38.5) |
| 31 March 2009 | 33,117,000 | 8,992 | (401) | (358) | (32.6) |
| 31 March 2008 | 34,613,000 | 8,753 | 883 | 696 | 59.0 |
| 31 March 2007 | 33,068,000 | 8,492 | 611 | 438 | 25.5 |
| 31 March 2006* | 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 |
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 as well. The airline carried 34.6 million passengers in 2008 but easyJetEasyJet
EasyJet Airline Company Limited is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It carries more passengers than any other United Kingdom-based airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports...
, a rival, low-cost carrier carried 44.5 million passengers that year, passing British Airways for the first time. 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.
British Airways' main base is at London Heathrow Airport in west London, England, but it also has a major presence at Gatwick Airport, BA had previously operated a significant hub at Manchester Airport. Manchester operations, and international services outside of London, ceased when the subsidiary, BA Connect, was sold due to a lack of profitability. Passengers wishing to travel internationally with BA either to or from regional UK destinations must now transfer in London. Heathrow airport is dominated by British Airways, due to their ownership of 40% of the slots available at the airport. The majority of BA services operate from Terminal 5, with the exception of some flights still at Terminal 3. T3 British Airways operations include long-haul codeshare flights and European flights.
British Airways serves nearly 150 destinations, including six domestic. It is one of only ten carriers to fly to all six permanently inhabited continents.
Subsidiaries and shareholdings
BA CityFlyer is a subsidiary based at London City AirportLondon City Airport
London City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering...
, it primarily flies Embraer
Embraer
Embraer S.A. is a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, and executive aircraft and provides aeronautical services....
aircraft. BA CityFlyer operates around 250 flights per week from London City Airport.
The former BEA Helicopters was renamed British Airways Helicopters
British Airways Helicopters
British Airways Helicopters was a British helicopter airline from 1964 to 1986.-History:From 1947 British European Airways had operated a Helicopter Experiment Unit and five helicopters were ordered from the United States .The unit operated timetabled mail services in East Anglia during 1948 using...
in 1974 and operated passenger and offshore oil support services until it was sold in 1986. Other former subsidiaries include the German airline Deutsche BA from 1997 until 2003 and the French airline Air Liberté
Air Liberté
Air Liberté was an airline in France founded in July 1987. Air Liberté was headquartered in Rungis. Airlib was headquartered in Orly Airport Building 363 in Paray-Vieille-Poste....
from 1997 to 2001. British Airways previously was the full owner of Airways Aero Associations Limited, operator of the British Airways flying club
British Airways flying club
The Airways flying club was formed in 1948 under the name of the Airways Aero Club, by employees of British European Airways and British Overseas Airways Corporation...
and an aerodrome under the BA brand at Wycombe Air Park
Wycombe Air Park
Wycombe Air Park/Booker Airport is located in Booker, Buckinghamshire, south-west of High Wycombe, England. It was formerly the Royal Air Force base, RAF Booker....
, High Wycombe
High Wycombe
High Wycombe , commonly known as Wycombe and formally called Chepping Wycombe or Chipping Wycombe until 1946,is a large town in Buckinghamshire, England. It is west-north-west of Charing Cross in London; this figure is engraved on the Corn Market building in the centre of the town...
.
South Africa's Comair
Comair (South Africa)
Comair is an airline based in South Africa. It operates scheduled services on domestic trunk routes as a British Airways franchisee and an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. Its main base is OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg, with hubs at Cape Town International Airport...
and Denmark's Sun Air of Scandinavia
Sun Air of Scandinavia
Sun Air of Scandinavia is an airline based in Billund, Billund Municipality, Denmark. It is a regional scheduled airline operating a franchise service in British Airways colours. It also offers charter flights, air taxi services, specialist aerial work and aircraft brokerage. Its main base is...
have been franchisees of British Airways since 1996. British Airways obtained a 15% stake in UK regional airline Flybe
Flybe
Flybe Group PLC is a British low-cost regional airline headquartered at the Jack Walker House at Exeter International Airport in Devon, England...
from the sale of BA Connect in March 2007; BA also owns a 10% stake in InterCapital and Regional Rail (ICRR), the company managing operations of Eurostar (UK) Ltd..
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"). The airline started operations in June 2008, and now flies direct from Paris to New York JFK and Washington Dulles.
In addition to codesharing with the Oneworld
Oneworld
Oneworld , branded as oneworld, is one of the world's three largest global airline alliances with its central management team, oneworld Management Company, based in New York City, New York, USA. Oneworld was founded in 1999 by American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific...
alliance members, British Airways has codeshare agreements with Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus Group Plc is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair...
, Air Berlin
Air Berlin
Air Berlin PLC & Co. Luftverkehrs KG is Germany's second largest airline, after Lufthansa, and Europe's sixth largest airline in terms of passengers....
, Flybe
Flybe
Flybe Group PLC is a British low-cost regional airline headquartered at the Jack Walker House at Exeter International Airport in Devon, England...
, Kingfisher Airlines
Kingfisher Airlines
Kingfisher Airlines is an airline group based in India. Its head office is Kingfisher House in Vile Parle , Mumbai. Kingfisher Airlines, through its parent company United Breweries Group, has a 50% stake in low-cost carrier Kingfisher Red....
, Loganair
Loganair
Loganair is a Scottish airline with its registered office on the grounds of Glasgow International Airport and in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. Loganair operates scheduled services under a Flybe franchise in mainland Scotland and to Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles. In addition it operates...
, Meridiana fly and WestJet
WestJet
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian low-cost carrier that provides scheduled and charter air service to 71 destinations in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Founded in 1996, WestJet is currently the second largest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada, operating an average of...
.
British Airways World Cargo
BA is, through its subsidiary British Airways World Cargo, the world's twelfth-largest cargo airlineCargo airline
Cargo airlines are airlines dedicated to the transport of cargo. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.-Logistics:...
based on total freight tonne-kilometres 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
Wet lease
Aircraft leases are a number of types of leases used by airlines and other aircraft operators. Airlines lease aircraft from other airlines or leasing companies for two main reasons; to operate aircraft without the financial burden of buying them, and to provide temporary increase in capacity...
three Boeing 747-400
Boeing 747-400
The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe...
F aircraft from Global Supply Systems
Global Supply Systems
Global Supply Systems is a British cargo airline based at London Stansted Airport. It provides dedicated freighters to airlines on a wet lease basis....
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; it is an automated freight handling centre capable of handling 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. In 2010, BAWC announced that it would wetlease three Boeing 747-8
Boeing 747-8
The Boeing 747-8 is a wide-body jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Officially announced in 2005, the 747-8 is the fourth-generation Boeing 747 version, with lengthened fuselage, redesigned wings and improved efficiency...
F aircraft from Global Supply Systems to replace the 747-400s.
In August 2007, British Airways agreed to plead guilty and pay a $300 million fine as a result of felony anti-trust charges in the United States for conspiring to fix air cargo prices. In 2009, BA announced that it had chose to continue its longhaul freight operations at London Stansted Airport
London Stansted Airport
-Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...
rather than relocate to Kent International Airport
Kent International Airport
Manston - Kent's International Airport is an airport located at Manston in the District of Thanet within Kent, England, northeast of Canterbury. It was formerly called RAF Manston , and was also known as London Manston Airport...
.
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 AssociationBritish Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association
The British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association is a branch of the British trade union Unite.BASSA was originally formed exclusively for British Airways cabin crew....
, while Unite the Union
Unite the Union
Unite – the Union, known as Unite, is a British and Irish trade union, formed on 1 May 2007, by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union...
for other employees. During 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. In an effort to increase interaction between management, employees, and the unions, various conferences and workshops have taken place, often with thousands in attendance.
In 2005, wildcat action was taken by union members over a decision by Gate Gourmet
Gate Gourmet
Gate Gourmet is an airline catering firm with headquarters on the grounds of Zürich Airport, Switzerland, near Zürich.Gate Gourmet was founded in 1992, and is the world's largest independent airline catering, hospitality and logistics company...
to not renew the contracts of 670 workers and replaced them with agency staff; it is estimated that the strike cost British Airways £30 million and caused disruption to 100,000 passengers. In October 2006, BA became involved in a civil rights dispute
British Airways cross controversy
Eweida v British Airways plc [2010] is a UK labour law case concerning a public dispute between British Airways and one of their employees over its uniform policy...
when a Christian employee was forbidden to wear a necklace baring the cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
, a religious symbol. BA's practice of forbidding such symbols has been publically questioned by British politicians such as former Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
John Reed
John Reed
-Arts, letters, and entertainment:* John Reed , New York novelist and author* John Reed , actor and singer with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company* John Reed , Australian critic and art patron...
and former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
Jack Straw
Jack Straw , British politician.Jack Straw may also refer to:* Jack Straw , English* "Jack Straw" , 1971 song by the Grateful Dead* Jack Straw by W...
.
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. In December 2009, a ballot for strike action over Christmas received a high level of support, 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. Allegations were made by the Guardian newspaper that BA had consulted outside firms methods to undermine the unions, the story was later withdrawn. A strike was announced for May 2010, British Airways again sought an injunction. Members of the Socialist Workers Party
Socialist Workers Party (Britain)
The Socialist Workers Party is a far left party in Britain founded by Tony Cliff. The SWP's student section has groups at a number of universities...
disrupted negotiations between BA management and Unite to prevent industrial action. Further disruption struck when Derek Simpson
Derek Simpson (trade unionist)
Derek Simpson is the former Joint General Secretary of the UK's biggest private-sector trade union, Unite from 2007 until 2010. He was General Secretary of the Amicus trade union from 2002 until its merger with the Transport and General Workers' Union to form Unite in 2007.-Early life:Derek...
, a Unite co-leader, was discovered to have leaked details of confidential negotiations online via Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
.
Fleet
With the exception of the Boeing 707Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
and early Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
variants from BOAC, the airline as formed in 1972-4 inherited a mainly UK-built fleet of aircraft. The airline introduced the Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
and Boeing 757
Boeing 757
The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...
into the fleet in the 1980s, followed by the Boeing 747-400, Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
and Boeing 777
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model...
in the 1990s. Boeing-built aircraft for British Airways are allocated the customer code 36, which appears in their aircraft designation as a suffix, such as 737-436, 747–436 and 777-236.
Although British Airways utilises a large Boeing fleet, it has always operated aircraft from other manufacturers. British built aircraft were transferred from BEA (e.g. Trident
Hawker Siddeley Trident
The Hawker Siddeley HS 121 Trident was a British short/medium-range three-engined jet airliner designed by de Havilland and built by Hawker Siddeley in the 1960s and 1970s...
) and BOAC (e.g. VC10
Vickers VC10
The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...
), and in the 1980s the airline operated the Lockheed L-1011
Lockheed L-1011
The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, commonly referred to as the L-1011 or TriStar, is a medium-to-long range, widebody passenger trijet airliner. It was the third widebody airliner to enter commercial operations, following the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. Between 1968 and 1984, Lockheed...
. It also operated the DC-10
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a...
and Airbus A320-100
Airbus A320 family
The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001...
through the acquisition of British Caledonian Airways in the 1980s. In August 1998, British Airways placed its first direct Airbus order, for 59 A320/A319s, to replace its own ageing fleet of Boeing 737s and A320-100s. British Airways replaced the L-1011 and DC-10 tri-jet fleet with more fuel-efficient, twinjet
Twinjet
A twinjet or twin jet is a jet aircraft powered by two engines. Such configuration of an aircraft is the most popular today for commercial airliners, for fighters, and many other kinds, because while offering safety from a single engine failure, it is also acceptably fuel-efficient.-Aircraft...
, Boeing 767 and 777 aircraft in the 1990s. In September 2007, BA placed its first order for long-haul Airbus jets, consisting of 12 firm orders for Airbus A380
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
s and seven options. The Boeing 757 was withdrawn from British Airways service in late 2010.
The combined International Airlines Group
International Airlines Group
International Airlines Group is a multinational airline holding company headquartered in London, United Kingdom and with its registered office in Madrid, Spain...
entity, that BA is now a part of, operates over 400 aircraft, carries over 62 million passengers annually, and serves more than 200 destinations. As of Sepetember 2011, the British Airways fleet includes the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Base | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | J | W | M | |
||||
| Airbus A318-100 | 2 | — | — | 32 | — | — | 32 | LCY London City Airport London City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering... |
| Airbus A319-100 Airbus A320 family The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001... |
33 | — | — | 36 | — | 77 | 113 | LHR/LGW |
| — | 12 | — | 113 | 125 | ||||
| — | — | — | 132 | 132 | ||||
| Airbus A320-200 Airbus A320 family The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001... |
43 | - | — | 52 | — | 83 | 135 | LHR |
| — | 12 | — | 143 | 155 | ||||
| — | — | — | 162 | 162 | ||||
| Airbus A321-200 Airbus A320 family The Airbus A320 family is a family of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger jet airliners manufactured by Airbus Industrie.Airbus was originally a consortium of European aerospace companies, and is now fully owned by EADS. Airbus's name has been Airbus SAS since 2001... |
11 | — | — | 67 | — | 86 | 153 | LHR |
| — | 12 | — | 168 | 180 | ||||
| — | — | — | 188 | 188 | ||||
| Airbus A380-800 Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it... |
— | 12 | LHR | |||||
| Boeing 737–400 Boeing 737 Classic The Boeing 737 Classic is the name given to the -300/-400/-500 series of the Boeing 737 following the introduction of the -600/-700/-800/-900 series. They are short- to medium- range, narrow-body jet airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Classic series was introduced as the 'new... |
19 | — | — | 38 | — | 101 | 139 | LGW |
| — | 10 | — | 137 | 147 | ||||
| — | — | — | 153 | 153 | ||||
| Boeing 747-400 Boeing 747-400 The Boeing 747-400 is a major development and the best-selling model of the Boeing 747 family of jet airliners. While retaining the four-engine wide-body layout of its predecessors, the 747-400 embodies numerous technological and structural changes to produce a more efficient airframe... |
57 | — | 14 | 70 | 30 | 177 | 291 | LHR |
| 14 | 70 | 30 | 185 | 299 | ||||
| 14 | 52 | 36 | 235 | 337 | ||||
| Boeing 767-300ER Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail... |
21 | — | — | 24 | 24 | 141 | 189 | LHR |
| — | 134 | — | 95 | 229 | ||||
| — | 18 | — | 230 | 248 | ||||
| — | — | — | 252 | 252 | ||||
| Boeing 777–200 Boeing 777 The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model... |
3 | — | 17 | 48 | 24 | 127 | 216 | LHR |
| Boeing 777-200ER Boeing 777 The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model... |
43 | — | — | 40 | 24 | 216 | 280 | LGW |
| — | 48 | 24 | 203 | 275 | LHR/LGW | |||
| 14 | 48 | 40 | 124 | 226 | LHR/LGW | |||
| 12 | 48 | 32 | 127 | 221 | LHR | |||
| Boeing 777-300ER Boeing 777 The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model... |
4 | 4 | 14 | 56 | 44 | 183 | 297 | LHR |
| Boeing 787–8 | — | 8 | — | 42 | 51 | 90 | 183 | LHR |
| Boeing 787–9 | — | 16 | LHR | |||||
| Total | 236 | 40 | ||||||
In July 2011, the average age of the BA fleet was 12.2 years.
Aircraft operated
EWLINE
|
EWLINE
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Engine choice
The majority (77%) of the British Airways fleet is either powered by Rolls-RoyceRolls-Royce plc
Rolls-Royce Group plc is a global power systems company headquartered in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s second-largest maker of aircraft engines , and also has major businesses in the marine propulsion and energy sectors. Through its defence-related activities...
or IAE
International Aero Engines
IAE International Aero Engines AG is a Zürich-registered joint venture manufacturing company formed in 1983.- Ownership :Current shareholders are:* Pratt & Whitney of the United States * MTU Aero Engines of Germany...
alliance engines, of which Rolls-Royce is a major contributor. The remaining 23% of the fleet is equally divided between General Electric and the CFM International
CFM International
CFM International is a joint venture between GE Aviation, a division of General Electric of the United States and Snecma, a division of Safran of France...
consortium.
British Airways Engineering
The company has its own engineering branchBritish Airways Engineering
British Airways Engineering is the aircraft maintenance subsidiary of British Airways which provides support services to British Airways and other airlines. It is responsible for the entire BA Boeing 747 fleet maintenance, cabin interior conversions and general ramp maintenance work for both their...
to maintain its aircraft fleet, this includes line maintenance at over 70 airports around the world. As well as hangar facilities at Heathrow and Gatwick airport it has two major maintenance centres at Glasgow
Glasgow Airport
Glasgow Airport may refer to:*Glasgow International Airport, in Renfrewshire, the primary airport serving Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom.*Glasgow Airport , also known as Wokal Field, in Glasgow, Montana, United States.It may also refer to:...
and Cardiff Airports
BAMC
British Airways Maintenance Cardiff , also known as British Airways Maintenance is near Cardiff International Airport, is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways, and carries out heavy maintenance on British Airways longhaul aircraft -History:In June 1990, a proposal was made...
.
Recent aircraft orders
General Electric GE90
General Electric GE90 is a family of high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines built by GE Aviation for the Boeing 777, with thrust ratings ranging from 74,000 to 115,000 lbf . It was first introduced in November 1995 on British Airways' 777s, and is available only on the 777...
engines, but BA switched to Rolls-Royce Trent 800
Rolls-Royce Trent 800
|-See also:-External links:*...
s for the nineteen most recent aircraft. This choice has been continued on the four most recent orders.
On 27 September 2007, BA announced their biggest order since 1998 by ordering thirty-six new long-haul aircraft. The company ordered twelve A380s
Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine jet airliner manufactured by the European corporation Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS. It is the largest passenger airliner in the world. Due to its size, many airports had to modify and improve facilities to accommodate it...
with options on a further seven, and twenty-four Boeing 787s with eighteen options for delivery between 2013 and 2016. Rolls-Royce Trent
Rolls-Royce Trent
Rolls-Royce Trent is the name given to a family of high bypass turbofan aircraft engines manufactured by Rolls-Royce plc. All are developments of the RB211 with thrust ratings of . Versions of the Trent are in service on the Airbus A330, A340, A380, Boeing 777, and 787, and variants are in...
engines were again selected for both orders with Trent 900s powering the A380s and Trent 1000s powering the 787s. The Boeing 787s will replace fourteen of British Airways' Boeing 767 fleet while the Airbus A380s will replace twenty of BA's oldest Boeing 747-400s and will most likely be used to increase capacity on key routes from London Heathrow, such as New York, Miami, Hong Kong, Sydney, Tokyo, Dubai, Singapore and Los Angeles.
In September 2009, British Airways began a premium service between London City Airport
London City Airport
London City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering...
and New York JFK using two Airbus A318s fitted with 32 lie-flat beds in an all business class cabin. The service operates under the flight numbers previously reserved for Concorde, BA001 and BA003.
On 1 August 2008, BA announced orders for six Boeing 777-300ERs
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model...
and options for four more as an interim measure to cover for delays over the deliveries of their 787-8/9s. Of the six that have been ordered, four will be leased & two will be fully acquired by British Airways. On 12 January 2009, Willie Walsh stated that the 777 purchase did not indicate a ruling out of the Airbus A350
Airbus A350
The Airbus A350 is a family of long-range, wide-body jet airliners under development by European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.A consortium originally comprising European aerospace companies from the UK, France, Spain and West Germany, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known...
for BA's fleet renewal programme and "the airline expects to reach a decision towards the end of the year."
Branding
The Flower Duet
The Flower Duet is a famous duet for sopranos from Léo Delibes' opera Lakmé, first performed in Paris in 1883. The duet takes place in Act 1 of the three act opera, between characters Lakmé, the daughter of a Brahmin priest, and her servant Mallika, as they go to gather flowers by a river...
" by Léo Delibes
Léo Delibes
Clément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French composer of ballets, operas, and other works for the stage...
. This, and the slogan "The World's Favourite Airline" were introduced in 1989 with the launch of the iconic "Face" advertisement
British Airways face advertisement
The British Airways "Face" Advertisement was a television commercial campaign by British Airways in 1989. The commercial was made by advertising firm Saatchi & Saatchi, and is often considered to be a television commercial classic.-Production:...
. The slogan was dropped in 2001, after having been overtaken by Lufthansa in terms of passenger numbers. "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". Other advertising slogans have included "The World's Favourite Airline", "The World's Best Airline", "We'll Take More Care Of You", and "Fly the Flag".
BA had an account for twenty-three years with Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a global advertising agency network with 140 offices in 80 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in London in 1970 but now headquartered in New York. The parent company of the agency group was known as Saatchi & Saatchi PLC from 1976 to 1994, was listed on the London...
, who created many of their most famous advertisements, including the influential "Face" campaign; Saatchi & Saatchi imitated thos advert for rival Silverjet
Silverjet
Silverjet was a British all-business class airline headquartered at London Luton Airport, Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that, prior to the suspension of operations on 30 May 2008, operated services to Newark Liberty International Airport and Dubai International Airport...
in 2007 after BA discontinued their business activities. As of February 2007, BA's advertising agency is Bartle Bogle Hegarty
Bartle Bogle Hegarty
Bartle Bogle Hegarty is a British advertising agency, responsible for some notable advertising campaigns of the last 30 years. The company was founded by John Bartle, Nigel Bogle & Sir John Hegarty in 1982. Sir John Hegarty and Nigel Bogle still lead it today, together with worldwide CEO Simon...
. Online, British Airways purchased the internet domain ba.com in 2002 from previous owner Bell Atlantic, 'BA' being the company's acronym and its IATA
International Air Transport Association
The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...
Airline code. In September 2011, BA launched its biggest advertising campaign in a decade, including a 90-second cinematic advert celebrating the airline's ninety year heritage, and a new slogan "To Fly. To Serve".
British Airways is the official airline of the Wimbledon Championship tennis tournament
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, and the official airline and tier one partner of the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
and Paralympics
2012 Summer Paralympics
The 2012 Summer Paralympic Games will be the fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August and 9 September 2012. The Games will be held in London, United Kingdom after the city was successful with its bid for the Paralympics and Summer Olympic Games.Even though 2012 will be London's...
. British Airways was also the official airline of England's bid to host the 2018 Football World Cup.
Liveries and Tail fins
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
scheme painted on their tail fins. The original tail scheme was changed in 1984 as part of a new livery designed by Landor Associates
Landor Associates
Landor Associates is a San Francisco-based brand and creative design consultancy. Founded by Walter Landor and his wife Josephine in 1941, Landor pioneered many of the research, design and consulting methodologies that are now standard in the branding industry.-Operations:Landor offers brand...
. On 10 June 1997 there was a highly controversial change from the use of the British colours to ethnic logos and abstract world images, such as Delftware or Chinese calligraphy for example. All the designs related to countries on the company's network of routes. This caused problems with air traffic control
Air traffic control
Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...
: whereas previously controllers had been able to tell pilots to follow a BA plane, they were now harder to visually identify because each plane was painted in a range of different colours and colour schemes.
Several people spoke out against the change from the traditional Union Flag Scheme, including the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
who covered the tail of a model BA plane with a white handkerchief captured by BBC News cameras. BA's traditional rival, 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.
Loyalty programmes
British Airways operates two loyalty schemes. The Executive Club, featuring multiple tiers, has benefits such as access to special lounges and dedicated 'fast' queues. BA also operates an invitation-only Premier programme, given only by the BA board and has 1,200 members. British Airways operates segregated lounges for passengers travelling in premium cabins and in the Executive Club. First class passengers, as well as Gold Executive Club members, are entitled to use First Class Lounges. Often, at airports in which BA does not operate a departure lounge, a third party lounge is usually provided for premium/status passengers. In August 2011, British Airways announced changes to the Executive Club to maximise integration with the merge with Iberia.Cabins
Short haulUK Domestic is British Airways' economy class
Economy class
__FORCETOC__Economy class, also called coach class , steerage, or standard class, is the lowest class of seating in air travel, rail travel, and sometimes ferry or maritime travel....
on domestic UK flights. Flights into Heathrow are operated by Airbus A320 series aircraft, and flights into Gatwick are operated by Boeing 737 aircraft, which are in a one-class configuration.
Business UK operates the same cabin as UK Domestic, but has pre-flight lounge access. Euro Traveller is British Airways' economy class offering on flights from the UK to the rest of Europe.
In-Flight Entertainment
In-flight Entertainment
In-flight entertainment refers to the entertainment available to aircraft passengers during a flight. In 1936, the airship Hindenburg offered passengers a piano, lounge, dining room, smoking room, and bar during the 2½ day flight between Europe and America...
is offered on 767-300ER and some A320 aircraft.
Club Europe is the short-haul business class on all short-haul flights, except within the UK. This allows for access to business lounges at most airports. Since September 2009, Club Europe has seats in a 2–3 configuration on narrow-body aircraft.
Long haul
First (rebranded from 'FIRST' in 2009) is the long-haul first class
First class (aviation)
First class is a luxury travel class on some airliners that exceeds business class, premium economy, and economy class. On a passenger jetliner, first class refers to a limited number of seats or cabins located in the front of the aircraft which are notable for their comfort, service, and privacy...
service on British Airways, offered only on Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 aircraft. There are fourteen private "demi-cabins" per aircraft, each with a 6 in 6 in (1.98 m) bed, a 15 inches (38.1 cm) wide entertainment screen, and in-seat power. In 2009, British Airways announced a major upgrade and refresh of upgrades.
Club World is the long-haul business class
Business class
Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names which vary by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between economy class and first class, but many airlines now...
on Boeing 767, 777, 747, and Airbus A318 aircraft; the cabin features fully flat beds. On 13 November 2006, British Airways launched Next Generation New Club World, featuring larger seats.
World Traveller is the long-haul economy class
Economy class
__FORCETOC__Economy class, also called coach class , steerage, or standard class, is the lowest class of seating in air travel, rail travel, and sometimes ferry or maritime travel....
offered on international flights to destinations outside Europe; offering seat-back entertainment and several complimentary drinks and meals. World Traveller Plus is the premium economy
Premium economy
Premium economy is a travel class offered on some airlines, positioned in price, comfort, and amenities between economy class and business class. As of 2011, the term is not standardized among airlines, and varies significantly when comparing its use on domestic versus international flights or...
offering provided on all long-haul aircraft, which offers fewer seats per row, more seat comforts, and power sockets.
Seating policies
In March 2001, it was revealed that British Airways had a policyAirline sex discrimination policy
Three airlines, British Airways, Qantas and Air New Zealand, have attracted criticism for controversial seating policies which discriminate against adult male passengers on the basis of their gender...
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, with the company eventually admitting the offence in 2010 during a case brought by Mirko Fischer. The policy was dropped in August 2010 with the airline instead seating unaccompanied minors in a non discriminatory manner near the cabin crew.
In 2001, British Airways was the first carrier to introduce a ten-abreast economy class configuration on the Boeing 777
Boeing 777
The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model...
, an aircraft 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, and occasionally to Florida.
Incidents and accidents
- In November 1974, British Airways Flight 870 from DubaiDubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
to Heathrow, operated by a Vickers VC10Vickers VC10The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...
, was hijacked in Dubai, landing at TripoliTripoliTripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
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 MedalQueen's Gallantry MedalThe Queen's Gallantry Medal is the third level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.It was instituted on 20 June 1974 to replace the Order of the British Empire for Gallantry, the British Empire Medal for Gallantry, and the Colonial Police Medal for Gallantry...
, the Guild of Air Pilots and Air NavigatorsGuild of Air Pilots and Air NavigatorsThe Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Guild was established in 1929 and was granted the status of a Livery Company in 1956...
Founders Medal, the British Air Line Pilots AssociationBritish Air Line Pilots AssociationThe British Air Line Pilots' Association represents well over 75% of all the fixed wing pilots and helicopter aircrew based in the UK - as well as many working overseas. The Association has a membership of over 10,000 professional flight crew, working in companies large and small...
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 3BHawker Siddeley TridentThe Hawker Siddeley HS 121 Trident was a British short/medium-range three-engined jet airliner designed by de Havilland and built by Hawker Siddeley in the 1960s and 1970s...
on British Airways Flight 476, flying from London Heathrow to Istanbul collided in mid-air with an Inex Adria DC9-32 near ZagrebZagrebZagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, Croatia, resulting in the 1976 Zagreb mid-air collision1976 Zagreb mid-air collisionThe 1976 Zagreb mid-air collision occurred on 10 September 1976 over Vrbovec, Yugoslavia when British Airways Flight 476, a Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B en route from London Heathrow Airport to Yeşilköy International Airport, Istanbul, collided in mid-air with Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 550, a...
. All fifty-four passengers and nine 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 9British Airways Flight 9British Airways Flight 9, sometimes referred to by its callsign Speedbird 9 or Jakarta incident, was a scheduled British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Auckland, with stops in Bombay, Madras, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Melbourne....
, a Boeing 747–200, G-BDXH, City of Edinburgh flew through a cloud of volcanic ash and dust from the eruption of Mount GalunggungGalunggungMount Galunggung is an active stratovolcano in West Java, Indonesia, around 80 km southeast of the West Java provincial capital, Bandung...
, causing extensive damage to the aircraft, including the failure of all four engines. 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 aircraft made an emergency landing at Halim Perdanakusuma International AirportHalim Perdanakusuma International Airport-Accidents and Incidents:*On 24 June 1982, British Airways Flight 009, a Boeing 747-200 flew through a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, causing the failure of all four engines. The crew diverted the aircraft to Jakarta and it landed safely.-References:* -External...
just outside JakartaJakartaJakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. No-one was injured.
- On 10 June 1990, Flight 5390British Airways Flight 5390British Airways Flight 5390 was a British Airways flight between Birmingham Airport in England and Málaga, Spain. On 10 June 1990 an improperly installed panel of the windscreen failed, blowing the plane's captain, Tim Lancaster, halfway out of the aircraft, with his body firmly pressed against the...
, a BAC One-ElevenBAC One-ElevenThe British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...
flight between BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
and MálagaMálagaMálaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...
, 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 AirportSouthampton AirportSouthampton Airport is the 20th largest airport in the UK, located north north-east of Southampton, in the Borough of Eastleigh within Hampshire, England....
. The captain, Tim Lancaster, despite the physical trauma he suffered, fully recovered and five months later he returned to duty.
- On 2 August 1990, Flight 149British Airways Flight 149British Airways Flight 149 was a flight from London Heathrow Airport to Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, , via Kuwait City and Madras operated by British Airways Boeing 747-136...
landed at Kuwait International AirportKuwait International AirportKuwait International Airport is located in Farwaniyah, Kuwait, south of Kuwait City. It serves as hub for Jazeera Airways and Kuwait Airways. A portion of the airport complex is designated as Al Mubarak Air Base, which contains the headquarters of the Kuwait Air Force, as well as the Kuwait Air...
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 Gatwick Airport to NairobiNairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
experienced a hijack attempt whilst flying over SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
. 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 10000 feet (3,048 m) with 398 passengers on board. However, with the help from the passengers, the pilots recovered the aircraft, successfully restrained the Kenyan with handcuffs and the plane landed safely. Passengers aboard the plane included English singer Bryan FerryBryan FerryBryan Ferry, CBE is an English singer, musician, and songwriter. Ferry came to public prominence in the early 1970s as lead vocalist and principal songwriter with the band Roxy Music, who enjoyed a highly successful career with three number one albums and ten singles entering the top ten charts in...
, urban planner Britta Engstrom, and socialite Jemima KhanJemima KhanJemima Marcelle Khan is a British writer and campaigner. She is associate editor of the New Statesman and European editor-at-large for Vanity Fair. She has worked as a charity fundraiser, human rights campaigner and contributing writer for British newspapers and magazines...
.
- On 19 February 2005, the No. 2 engine of a Boeing 747–400 G-BNLG surged (whereby the airflow through the engine reverses) and suffered internal damage just after take off from Los Angeles on a flight to London Heathrow with sixteen 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 AdministrationFederal Aviation AdministrationThe Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
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 38British Airways Flight 38British Airways Flight 38 was a scheduled flight from Beijing Capital International Airport which crash landed just short of the runway at its destination, London Heathrow Airport, on 17 January 2008 after an flight. There were no fatalities, but 47 people sustained injuries...
, a Boeing 777-200ERBoeing 777The Boeing 777 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It is the world's largest twinjet and is commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven". The aircraft has seating for over 300 passengers and has a range from , depending on model...
G-YMMM, flying from Beijing to London, crash-landed approximately 1000 feet (304.8 m) short of London Heathrow Airport's runway 27L, and slid onto the runway's thresholdDisplaced thresholdA displaced threshold is a runway threshold located at a point other than the physical beginning or end of the runway. The portion of the runway so displaced may be used for takeoff but not for landing...
. 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. One serious and twelve minor injuries were sustained. The initial report from the Air Accidents Investigation BranchAir Accidents Investigation BranchThe Air Accidents Investigation Branch investigates air accidents in the United Kingdom. It is a branch of the Department for Transport and is based on the grounds of Farnborough Airport near Aldershot, Rushmoor, Hampshire.-History:...
stated that the engines repeatedly failed to respond to commands for more thrustThrustThrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's second and third laws. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction on that system....
from both the autothrottleAutothrottleAn autothrottle allows a pilot to control the power setting of an aircraft's engines by specifying a desired flight characteristic, rather than manually controlling fuel flow...
system and from manual intervention, beginning when the aircraft was at an altitude of 600 feet (182.9 m) and 2 miles (3.2 km) from touchdown. In September 2008, it was revealed that ice forming 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 exchanger] which has since been the subject of a fleet-wide modification programme to prevent recurrences of ice formation in the fuel flow.
See also
- Air transport in the United KingdomAir transport in the United KingdomAir transport in the United Kingdom is the commercial carriage of passengers, freight and mail by aircraft, both within the United Kingdom and between the UK and the rest of the world...
- List of airports in the United Kingdom
- Transport in the United KingdomTransport in the United KingdomTransport in the United Kingdom is facilitated with road, air, rail, and water networks. A radial road network totals of main roads, of motorways and of paved roads. The National Rail network of 10,072 route miles in Great Britain and 189 route miles in Northern Ireland carries over 18,000...