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.

Over the past few decades, BA has regularly opened itself up to the cameras.

In 2013, BA was the subject of a BBC documentary series “A Very British Airline”. Title Role Productions is currently filming a series on BA’s centenary year for Channel 5. It’s also taken part in airport series such as “Airport Live” and “Heathrow: Britain’s Busiest Airport.”

However, it is relatively rare that you see the upper echelons of BA at work – PRs know that access given to TV production companies must be carefully controlled. However, “Airline” from 1990 was an exception.

Filmed in 1989, this four part series covers the delivery of the first Boeing 747-400 aircraft and BA’s position in the market at the time, competing against airlines such as American Airlines (then a foe wishing to secure access to Heathrow), Singapore Airlines and former rivals Air Europe, British Caledonian, British Midland, and Laker Airways.

There’s a good amount of vintage footage, including the relaunch of First Class in 1989. One notable episode is dedicated to following Lord King at work, with his famously abrupt manner with journalists.

Of course, much has changed in 30 years. This series pre-dates the liberalisation of the aviation market in Europe. Though some things haven’t changed. BA CEO Colin Marshall complains about the US being unwilling to open up its domestic market to overseas airlines which, in spite of EU-US Open Skies, it has doggedly refused to do.

Part 1

Jet Jockeys – It’s the job every small boy dreams of, but the pilot’s role is changing fast. In Jet Jockeys cameras are for the first time in the cockpit for BA’s 22-hour London to Sydney flight, and with the pilots off duty in Bangkok. What personal and professional problems do pilots face? Is the job as glamorous as it seems? How do pilots combat fatigue on the flight deck? Will the day come when air traffic controllers take over and the jet jockeys no longer fly their own aircraft? 

Continue reading “BA100: 81. “Airline” (1990)”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 9

Before the 2008 financial crisis, a number of new “boutique” all premium class airlines started operating flights from London airports, principally to New York.

In 2005, Eos, founded by former BA director David Spurlock, launched an all business class Boeing 757 service from Stansted to New York JFK, carrying just 48 passengers on each aircraft.

MAXJet launched all premium service from Stansted to New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. Silverjet also launched an all premium Boeing 767 service from London Luton to Newark and Dubai.

Whilst MAXJet was plagued with reliability issues, Eos and Silverjet were very well received by passengers.

However, all three airlines were financially unsuccessful and had ceased operations by May 2008 due to rising fuel prices and being unable to secure new financing.

Still, they did not escape the attention of existing airlines. Virgin Atlantic announced it planned to launch all business class services to New York from a number of European cities, not that it ever came close to fruition.

Club World London City

In February 2008, BA announced its own plan to launch an all business class service from London City to New York JFK.

The route would be served twice daily with two brand new Airbus A318 aircraft in all business class configuration of 32 seats.

Continue reading “BA100: 82. Club World London City”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 9

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.

When BA’s current Waterside Headquarters opened in 1998 it was a development of such architectural significance it was deemed worthy of inclusion in the ultimate arbiter of cool, the zeitgeist of the 1990s, Wallpaper* magazine.

The site was designed by Norwegian architect Niels Torp, who had also designed offices for SAS Scandinavian Airlines in Frøsundavik, Stockholm.

Constructed at a cost of £200m, it was hailed at launch as a revolution in BA’s working practices. Replacing 14 different buildings that was estimated to save £15 million a year in costs alone, it introduced open plan working for the first time, even for the CEO.

Set in 240 acres of land that had been reclaimed and landscaped into a public park and nature reserve, Waterside is based on a village concept of streets and neighbourhoods. It features six four storey buildings all connected by a glass-roofed internal street that is criss-crossed by aerial walkways. The Scandinavian influence is present with the building clad in pale cream limestone and grey steel.

The building does have its detractors. It did open just as low cost airlines took hold in Europe, and with their spartan headquarters, BA’s is seen as an indulgence.

The buildings also comprises BA’s museum The Speedbird Centre, and the offices of its parent company IAG. And since BA’s ownership under IAG many functions have been transferred from Waterside to IAG’s Global Business Services centre in Krakow. Her Majesty The Queen did also recently pay a visit to mark BA’s centenary year.

Continue reading “BA100: 83. BA’s Waterside Headquarters”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 9

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.

The early 1990s was not a good era for BA.

Traffic fell away sharply during the 1990 Gulf War, which also led to the destruction of one of its Boeing 747 aircraft in Kuwait, with demand falling by about 30%.

BA was also facing increased competition at Heathrow with American Airlines and United Airlines securing route authorities from Trans World Airlines and Pan American World Airways. Virgin Atlantic was to also shortly secure access to Heathrow.

In March 1991, former BA Chairman Lord King described the situation as “The engine of consumer demand did not just idle in neutral, it sputtered to a complete stop” and “now it needs a kick start”.

“The World’s Biggest Offer”

So BA hatched a plan.

It gave away in a ballot every single seat on every international flight to and from the UK, including Concorde, on 23 April 1991. This was equivalent to around 50,000 free tickets. The 20,000 passengers who had already booked flights on that day would receive a voucher towards the purchase of a new flight.

Passengers could either apply in person at BA ticket offices or through newspaper entry forms.

The promotion was kept under wraps until it broke on the same day around the world in March 1991 – an achievement in itself given this pre-dated the internet.

BA’s ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi booked space in newspapers in over 70 countries around the world for the promotion. Bogus adverts were placed with the newspapers and then swapped at the eleventh hour.

It is estimated that some 500 million people read about the offer, 200 million saw it on TV and 5.7 million people entered the ballot for a free flight.

There is of course no more powerful marketing tool than getting something for free. The promotion was considered a success with passenger numbers returning to their original level within 120 days.

Continue reading “BA100: 84. The World’s Biggest Offer”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 9

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.

The Boeing 757 was the little aircraft that could.

Its prospects at launch were not good. Boeing launched the aircraft in the late 1970s when airlines were grappling with an economic recession and rising fuel prices.

However, BA desperately needed to secure a replacement for uneconomical Trident aircraft for short-haul routes. These aircraft had three engines and required three flight crew. They also had to be phased out by 1986 due to noise regulations.

BA, along with Eastern Airways, placed the first two orders for the aircraft in 1978 with BA initially ordering 19 aircraft, securing production of the aircraft by Boeing.

The order was not without controversy. BA was facing heavy financial losses the early 1980s. There was genuine questions as to whether the airline might have to enter into administration and there were pressures on BA to cut the order to reduce capital expenditure. There were also political pressures on BA in the UK to place an aircraft order with Airbus, and not Boeing.

However, BA persisted and the first aircraft entered into service at BA in February 1983, initially operating Shuttle services to UK domestic routes and then major trunk destinations in mainland Europe. It offered vastly better fuel efficiency and significantly more sophisticated computerised in-flight management systems than the aircraft it replaced.

During the 1980s and 1990s the aircraft performed extremely well for BA and it continued to top up its orders. It was quite an aircraft to fly on, with an unforgettably steep climb during take-off. There was a dedicated Shuttle configuration of 195 seats and a European configuration of 180 seats.

The aircraft did also briefly operate long-haul routes from UK regional airports in the mid 1990s. One aircraft operated Glasgow – New York JFK – Boston and another Birmingham – New York JFK – Toronto. However, this was not a financial success and these aircraft were soon returned to short-haul use.

The late 1990s

By the late 1990s, the aircraft started to fall out of favour.

In September 1999, after BA had placed its first order for new smaller capacity short-haul aircraft with Airbus, BA announced that 34 of its fleet of what was then 53 aircraft would be sold to DHL for conversion into freighters.

Four aircraft were also sold before their planned delivery in 1999. (Airbus A320 aircraft have of course been “densified” with a configuration now close to the Boeing 757’s capacity)

Continue reading “BA100: 85. The Boeing 757”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 9

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.

In the early 2000s after BA had rolled out fully flat beds in its Club World business class, BA introduced its “Sleeper Service”.

On relatively short overnight flights from the US East Coast and Middle East to Heathrow BA offers a truncated in-flight service to minimise cabin noise and maximise the time available for passengers to sleep. Instead, passengers have the option of pre-flight dining in airport lounges.

Continue reading “BA100: 86. Going To Sleep In New York, Waking In London”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 9

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 8 April 1968, a BOAC Boeing 707 aircraft operating as flight 712 bound for Sydney via Zurich and Singapore experienced an engine failure shortly after take off at London Heathrow.

The engine caught fire and subsequently fell from the aircraft. The aircraft successfully made an emergency landing. However, the fuselage was engulfed by flames. 

Of the 116 passengers and 11 crew, 5 people were killed including BOAC stewardess Barbara Jane Harrison who received a posthumous award of The George Cross for her bravery in assisting with the evacuation.

The exact events are described in an entry for Barbara Harrison’s George Cross in the London Gazette:

No. 2 engine of B.O.A.C. Boeing 707 G-ARWE caught fire and subsequently fell from the aircraft, leaving a fierce fire burning at No. 2 engine position.

About two and a half minutes later the aircraft made an emergency landing at the airport and the fire on the port wing intensified.

Miss Harrison was one of the stewardesses in this aircraft and the duties assigned to her in an emergency were to help the steward at the aft station to open the appropriate rear door and inflate the escape chute and then to assist the passengers at the rear of the aircraft to leave in an orderly manner.

When the aircraft landed, Miss Harrison and the steward concerned opened the rear galley door and inflated the chute, which unfortunately became twisted on the way down so that the steward had to climb down it to straighten it before it could be used. Once out of the aircraft he was unable to return; hence Miss Harrison was left alone to the task of shepherding passengers to the rear door and helping them out of the aircraft.

She encouraged some passengers to jump from the machine and pushed out others. With flames and explosions all around her, making an escape from the tail of the machine impossible, she directed her passengers to another exit while she remained at her post. She was finally overcome while trying to save an elderly cripple who was seated in one of the last rows and whose body was found close to that of the stewardess.

Miss Harrison was a very brave young lady who gave her life in her utter devotion to duty.

Barbara Jane Harrison remains on the only female recipient of The George Cross for gallantry in peacetime.

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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© Copyright London Air Travel 2019

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 9

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.

If you ask any frequent flyer from North America or Asia what they like least about flying in Europe, it’s likely they will baulk at what passes for short-haul business class in Europe.

On North American and Asian airlines you have dedicated First and business class cabins on short-haul routes, albeit with the quality of catering varying widely between American and Asian carriers.

In Europe, you have a seat that is barely any different from economy. All you are guaranteed is a window or aisle seat and some form of complimentary catering.

European airlines like this because they can set the size of the cabin to exactly match it to demand. US airlines of course largely fill their First Class cabins with complimentary upgrades for frequent flyers.

BA did in fact provide First Class on short-haul routes, but this was withdrawn in the early 1980s, in favour of what was then Club.

BA’s current short-haul business class brand, Club Europe, was first introduced in 1988. This was part of a strategy that each cabin should have a separate brand identity, with Club World being launched at the same time.

The cabin underwent a significant relaunch in 1994 as BA introduced wider convertible seats.

Whilst there has never much to shout about the cabin itself, the big emphasis at the time was on improved ground facilities to save time for business passengers flying out and back in a day, such as Fast Track security channels at London Heathrow Terminal 1 (BA also some years later introduced a very popular “Zone R” premium check-in area.).

As this was the era before online check-in, BA also introduced telephone check-in (as in literally telephoning BA to check-in…) up to 30 minutes before departure. At some airports, you could also check-in in the lounge or at the departure gate as well as at parking and car hire facilities. BA also added more lounges in mainland Europe.

Continue reading “BA100: 88. Club Europe”

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 9

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.

To 1985 where BA is well into the era of a financial and customer service turnaround as “The World’s Favourite Airline.”.

After Saatchi & Saatchi had repositioned BA as a worldwide carrier, this campaign from late 1985 was the start of BA promoting with overt self-confidence not only its global reach, but also its on board service.

It was primarily aimed at attracting Concorde, First and business class passengers. The campaign also sought to encourage economy passengers by emphasising that benefits available to premium passengers are also available to all passengers.

“The British Concorde attitude. You’ll find it at every altitude.” “On our 747s or other aircraft.  In the air or on the ground.”

We fly to 148 cities in 17 countries on six continents. And while preferences in tea may change from destination to destination, the preference in airlines seems to be universal. It’s certain that travellers prefer British Airways, because we fly more people to more places than any other airline.

Continue reading “BA100: 89. “The Sun Never Sets On British Airways””

London Air Travel » British Airways » BA100 » Page 9

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.

A relatively rare TV advert for British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) from 1969:

A BOAC Chief Steward in a white tuxedo jacket patrols the aisle of a Vickers VC10 aircraft, piloted by Captain Norman Bristow, to a rendition of “Kiss Me Goodnight, Sergeant Major”.

“Anything I can get you Captain?”

“Oh, a spot of coffee might go down very well.”

“I’ll crack the whip in the galley sir.”

“Jolly good.”

Well there we are.

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.

If you would like to receive all future articles published by London Air Travel directly by e-mail, then enter your e-mail address below:

© Copyright London Air Travel 2019