Category: BA100

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This article was published in 2019 in a series on the history of British Airways and its predecessors Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA. You can browse all 100 stories in number order, by theme or by decade.

Many have been updated since first published.

It’s sad fact of life that the aircraft most loved by passengers are not so loved by airlines for their efficiency.

A good example is the Boeing 777-200. In terms of presence on the tarmac, it doesn’t turn heads like Concorde still does. It doesn’t have the sheer scale and imposing presence on the taxiway of the Airbus A380.

On the inside there are no favoured sections like the Upper Deck or nose of the Boeing 747. And the sound in the cabin is positively deafening compared to its Airbus equivalents.

But airlines love it.

BA ordered its first Boeing 777-200 aircraft in 1991, ordering 15 aircraft. 5 of these were known as “A” market aircraft with a shorter range (subsequently known as the odd-balls) and the remaining 10 were known as “IGW” (Increased Gross Weight Aircraft) with a longer range.

The first aircraft, powered by General Electric engines, arrived in November 1995, first operating to the Middle East.

After the Boeing 777-200 received 120 minutes ETOPS (Extended-range Twin-engine Operational Performance Standards) approval it began operating transatlantic routes from late 1996. The aircraft also began operating at Gatwick in 1998.

That year, BA ordered a further 16 Boeing 777-200 aircraft, with options for a further 16 aircraft. BA also cancelled 5 firm orders and 7 options for Boeing 747-400 aircraft as it planned to downsize capacity at London Heathrow to reduce its exposure to transfer traffic.

This was a decision that proved to be correct. Had BA continued to order the Boeing 747 its recovery from the events of 11 September 2001 and 2008 financial crash would have been much more difficult.

As it was now clear that, save for an eventual order for the Airbus A380, the future of BA long-haul aircraft was twin-engined, Virgin Atlantic put the decal “4 Engines 4 Long-Haul” on its aircraft.

Continue reading “BA100: 91. 2 Engines 4 Long-Haul, The Boeing 777-200”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 10

This article was published in 2019 in a series on the history of British Airways and its predecessors Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA. You can browse all 100 stories in number order, by theme or by decade.

Many have been updated since first published.

It may seem strange to think now, but when the Internet first entered the public consciousness in the 1990s, airlines didn’t really know what to do with it.

BA launched its first website, with the not exactly snappy address http://www.british-airways.com, just before midnight on Christmas Eve 1995.

One of the most hyped websites of the late 1990s dot.com boom was lastminute.com which sells discounted flights, hotel rooms, and event tickets with late availability.

And that’s how BA, which of course had well established distribution channels through travel agents, viewed the Internet – a place for distressed inventory.

As you can see from the website in its early years, it largely operated as brochure for the airline. Though the ability to book flights online was available from 1996.

Continue reading “BA100: 92. ba.com Have You Clicked Yet?”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 10

This article was published in 2019 in a series on the history of British Airways and its predecessors Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA. You can browse all 100 stories in number order, by theme or by decade.

Many have been updated since first published.

Earlier this year, BA had a rather public falling out with the Financial Times, ironically the one daily UK newspaper most closely associated with its target market.

Allegedly in response to a series of negative articles on BA and its parent company International Airlines Group, BA pulled the Financial Times from all of its aircraft and lounges.

Years ago, if a company was unhappy about its press coverage, rather than indulge in passive aggressive behaviour, its Chairman would simply call the editor or journalist in question and scream at them down the telephone.

As case in point is Lord King, former Chairman of BA who was notorious for having little patience with journalists.

Once under questioning at a news conference, Lord King was reported to have shouted across the room to a press officer “Hey! I pay you to talk to idiots like these.”

In the early 1990s, the Financial Times ran a series known as “My Office” in which Chairman and CEOs would give FT columnist Lucy Kellaway a tour of their private offices.

It was certainly a brave BA press officer that allowed Lucy Kellaway to visit Lord King’s office in St James’s – far away from BA’s offices near Heathrow, but of course close to Westminster, the private members clubs of Pall Mall, and many Central London embassies.

Copyright restrictions prevent a full reprint of the article, but here is a quick flavour:

Lord King of Wartnaby has just arrived back at his St James’s office from a long lunch across town. The 74-year old chairman of British Airways is late, and does not look in a particularly good mood. “Close the door, there’s a good man” he growls, a fat cigar stub between his lips, at his PR man. The message does not get through. “Jane” he bellows at one of the two secretaries who sit outside, guarding his office. “Close the door.”

Lord King then guided Lucy Kellaway through his private picture collection in his office:

“That’s me with the Pope. That’s me in the Oval Office with Bush, and me with Billy Graham. That’s me on holiday with Reagan.” 

Continue reading “BA100: 93. In The Court Of Lord King”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 10

This article was published in 2019 in a series on the history of British Airways and its predecessors Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA. You can browse all 100 stories in number order, by theme or by decade.

Many have been updated since first published.

Part of the genius of Saatchi & Saatchi’s work for British Airways was the recognition that the bold confidence of claiming to be “The World’s Favourite Airline” would not be enough to win the hearts and minds of passengers.

The airline had to show a human side as well.

As anyone who has ever done any significant amount of business travel knows very well, it is nowhere near as glamorous as people think it is. Very often, by far the best part of any business trip is returning home.

These three print adverts from the early 1990s featuring small moments of business passengers returning home to be with their families recognise that airlines getting people back home is just as important as the trip itself.

Continue reading “BA100: 94. “Arrive Home””

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 10

This article was published in 2019 in a series on the history of British Airways and its predecessors Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA. You can browse all 100 stories in number order, by theme or by decade.

Many have been updated since first published.

On 29 December 2000, at a time the cockpit doors on UK aircraft were not locked in-flight, a passenger entered the flight deck of a Boeing 747-400 aircraft en-route from London Gatwick to Nairobi.

The passenger attempted to seize the control of the aircraft from First Officer Phil Watson who was flying it at the time.

The other two members of the flight crew, Captain William Hagan who was on a rest break, and First Officer Richard Webb, struggled with the passenger during which the aircraft descended by thousands of feet and went into stall. The incident took place six hours into the flight over Sudan.

With the assistance of other passengers the pilots managed to remove the passenger from the controls and stabilise the aircraft.

In addition to the 3 flight crew, there were 379 passengers and 16 cabin crew on board the aircraft and some were injured during the incident. The aircraft subsequently landed safely in Nairobi.

Captain William Hagan recounted the incident to BBC Radio 4 in 2008:

I couldn’t understand why the aircraft was banking from one side to the other side and stalling. I thought perhaps one or two engines had fallen off. I thought perhaps we’ve been struck by debris, space debris. The movements of the aircraft were so extreme that this was the sort of explanation I was looking for. I then heard the pilot, Phil Watson, calling for help. And I have to say, that call filled me with fear.

Continue reading “BA100: 95. Flight BA2069 Gatwick – Nairobi, December 2000”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 10

This article was published in 2019 in a series on the history of British Airways and its predecessors Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA. You can browse all 100 stories in number order, by theme or by decade.

Many have been updated since first published.

One of the indicators of the development of BA in the 1980s was the launch of branded cabins such as Club World and Club Europe.

Although “Club” is used uniquely by BA, it is now synonymous with business class.

It traces its origins to BA offering a separate cabin between First Class and Economy/Tourist Class for passengers buying full fare economy tickets on Boeing 747 aircraft operating to the USA from 29 October 1978.

In March 1981, BA introduced its first dedicated branded long-haul business class cabin “Super Club” on flights to the USA.

These were expanding seats in a 2-2-2 configuration with a folding table in the middle of each seat pair for drinks and personal items. BA promised it was the widest airline seat available with 24 inches between arm rests.

Continue reading “BA100: 96. Super Club”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 10

This article was published in 2019 in a series on the history of British Airways and its predecessors Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA. You can browse all 100 stories in number order, by theme or by decade.

Many have been updated since first published.

Imagine being able to turn up at the aircraft gate ten minutes before departure without a ticket and being guaranteed to secure a seat on the aircraft.

That may seem fanciful today – even if you had a ticket you wouldn’t even be able to go through security and would have been offloaded from the flight.

However, on 12 January 1975 BA brought American style “shuttle” services to the UK.

Passengers travelling from London to Glasgow could turn up at the gate ten minutes before departure and be guaranteed a seat.

Not only that, if the flight was full BA would have another aircraft on standby. Flights operated every hour Monday to Saturday (every two hours on a Sunday) with a fleet of nine Hawker – Siddeley Trident aircraft in a single cabin.

This was of course an era of restrictive practices and demarcation of roles, and plans to allow passengers to buy tickets on board the aircraft had to be curtailed initially due to objections from trade unions.

Shuttle services would later follow to Belfast (from 1 April 1977), Edinburgh and Manchester.

Continue reading “BA100: 97. The Shuttle”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 10

This article was published in 2019 in a series on the history of British Airways and its predecessors Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA. You can browse all 100 stories in number order, by theme or by decade.

Many have been updated since first published.

By the early 1980s, television advertising was a well established marketing medium for BA.

However, the adverts themselves were typically the very definition of a hard-sell, very direct and very forceful:

The “Manhattan” advert from 1983 was a radical departure in many ways.

This was one of the first major TV advertising campaigns Saatchi & Saatchi made for BA bearing the slogan “The World’s Favourite Airline”.

It was also a quantum leap in terms of ambition and production values. The whole campaign accounted for half of BA’s £25m advertising budget for the year.

In a very cinematic advert, directed by Richard Loncraine and produced by James Garrett & Partners, to the surprise of onlookers, the island of Manhattan is seen flying over suburban London as it is directed to land at London Heathrow.

BA used the fact that the volume of passengers it flew across the Atlantic each year was greater than the population of Manhattan. By Saatchi & Saatchi’s own admission, they did not want to use shots of BA aircraft or cabin interiors.

Every year more people choose to fly with British Airways to more countries than with any other airline. In fact, every year we bring more people across The Atlantic than the entire population of Manhattan.

Continue reading “BA100: 98. “Manhattan Landing”, 1983″

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 10

This article was published in 2019 in a series on the history of British Airways and its predecessors Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA. You can browse all 100 stories in number order, by theme or by decade.

Many have been updated since first published.

It was on 25 August 1919 that the first international passenger services began between London and Paris.

According to The Times newspaper on 26 August 1919, three aircraft operated the route on the day.

The first flight to leave London on the day was a Handley Page aircraft which departed at 08:40. It was piloted by Major Foot and carried 11 passengers, most of whom were newspaper journalists.

The weather conditions were described by a journalist for The Times as dull and showery. The interior of the aircraft was described as fitted with comfortable chairs in a silk lined cabin. The journey was considered to be made under comfortable conditions, save for some bumpy conditions over French soil. The aircraft arrived in Paris shortly after 1pm. It was due to return to London on the same day, but arrangements for refuelling were not made in time.

A second aircraft, an Airco 4, owned by Aircraft Transport and Travel Company, left Hounslow Heath at 09:10, arriving at Le Bourget Paris on time at 11:40.

The aircraft was piloted by Lieutenant Lawford and carried just one passenger, a journalist from the Evening Standard. It also carried a full load including daily newspapers, a consignment of leather, several brace of grouse and a number of jars of Devonshire cream. The aircraft left Paris one hour after arrival, returning to Hounslow at 14:45. It is this flight that BA regards as the start of its operation.

The third and final aircraft, also owned by Aircraft Transport and Travel Company, was an Air 16 piloted by Major Cyril Patterson left from Cricklewood at 12:30 and arrived in Paris at 14:45.

Aircraft Transport and Travel Company claimed the route as an operational success with the service shortly reaching daily with few operational incidents. A rival airline Handley Page would soon also launch a service to Brussels.

However, with competition soon arriving from airlines in mainland Europe, Aircraft Transport and Travel Company folded in 1920 and its successor airline Daimler Airways merged with a number of other airlines to form Imperial Airways in 1924.

You can continue reading our 100 part series on the history of British Airways and its predecessor airlines Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA in numerical order, by theme or by decade.

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London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 10

This article was published in 2019 in a series on the history of British Airways and its predecessors Imperial Airways, BOAC and BEA. You can browse all 100 stories in number order, by theme or by decade.

Many have been updated since first published.

British Airways as we know it today did not come into existence until 1974.

So how does it celebrate its centenary in 2019?

Unlike KLM, which also celebrates its centenary his year BA has not operated under one name for 100 years. And, unlike Qantas which celebrates its centenary in 2020, BA cannot claim to have had 100 years’ uninterrupted commercial operations.

Well, to buy in to BA’s centenary you have to acknowledge that, over time, aircraft and airlines have been transferred through various airlines. In truth, it is the 100th anniversary of international civil aviation in the UK.

The First Flight

BA traces its history back to Aircraft Transport and Travel Ltd which began flights from Hounslow Heath to Paris on 25 August 1919.

This was one of number of companies to begin scheduled operations in 1919. However, due to competition from airlines in mainland Europe, it soon folded.

The Speedbird

A successor to Aircraft Transport and Travel Ltd, Daimler Airways, combined with a number of other airlines to form Imperial Airways in 1924.

It operated both short-haul routes in Europe and established new routes to Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Imperial Airways adopted the “Speedbird” logo designed by Theyre Lee Elliot in 1932 which BA retained as part of its livery until its Landor livery in the 1980s. This subsequently evolved into the Speedwing and the Speedmarque, which you see on BA aircraft today.

Imperial Airways, together with Qantas, formed Qantas Empire Airways to operate joint-services between the UK and Australia from 1935 – a relationship which endured between Qantas and Imperial Airways’ successor airlines for nearly 80 years.

The original British Airways was formed in 1935.

Both British Airways and Imperial Airways were nationalised to form British Overseas Airways Corporation (“BOAC”) in 1939.

Continue reading “BA100: 100. How Does An Airline Established In 1974…”