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American Airlines & BA launch the “Altitude Academy”

American Airlines and BA are offering the chance to win flights to the US at the “Altitude Academy” in Canary Wharf on Wednesday 19 – Thursday 20 September.

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American Airlines & British Airways Altitude Academy – London, September 2018 (Image Credit: American Airlines/British Airways)

American Airlines and British Airways are launching, to use marketing speak, an “activation” in Canary Wharf over two days next week.

Called the “Altitude Academy”, the promotion is intended to showcase American Airlines and BA’s joint transatlantic network from London and the respective premium cabins and service of the two airlines.

Across four different zones, passengers will be able to discover their “frequent flyer style” and take part in games and challenges. Of greatest interest will be opportunities to win business class tickets to the United States. Complimentary catering will be supplied by Rhurbab who also cater for American Airlines’ lounges at London Heathrow.

American Airlines & British Airways Altitude Academy - London, September 2018 — American Airlines & British Airways Altitude Academy – London, September 2018 (Image Credit: American Airlines/British Airways)

The Altitude Academy will be located in Jubilee Plaza, in front of Canary Wharf Tube station. It will be open from 11:00 to 19:00 on Wednesday 19 September and 07:00 to 19:00 Thursday 20 September 2018.

British Airways Cabin Crew Strike – Friday 16 June to Monday 19 June 2017

Some British Airways London Heathrow cabin crew are due to take industrial action from Friday 16 June to Monday 19 June 2017.

British Airways Cabin Crew (Image Credit: British Airways)

It never rains, but it pours!

Unite, the union which represents British Airways “Mixed Fleet” cabin crew at London Heathrow, has decided to round off BA’s worst week in nearly ten years by announcing industrial action over four consecutive days from Friday 16 June to Monday 19 June 2017.

This is continuation of a dispute that led to well in excess of 20 days of industrial action over February and March, albeit with very limited impact to BA’s schedules.

BA has yet to its confirm its schedules during the strike. However, it does say that all customers will be able to reach their destinations during the strike, suggesting that short-haul routes with multiple flights a day are most at risk of cancellations

What can be confirmed now is:

All flights from London City, London Gatwick and London Stansted will operate as normal.
All flights from UK regional airports (apart from flights to London Heathrow) will operate as normal
The majority of flights from London Heathrow will operate as normal with some flights merged and short-haul flights most at risk of cancellation. There may also be some tactical long-haul cancellations
BA will not publish a list of cancelled flights as it evidently keen to play down the impact of the industrial action.
If your flight is cancelled you wile offered the opportunity to rebook to an alternative flight or a refund

The impact of the strike is likely to be low. The best advice is to check your booking using the Manage My Booking tool and ensure your e-mail and telephone contact details are up to date. In addition, it is a good idea to download the BA app to your smartphone to receive notifications about your flight.

In terms of the risk of further industrial action, the union is required to give 14 days’ notice to BA. So if there are no announcements two weeks before your flight you can assume it is not a risk of strike action.

British Airways Worldwide Computer System Crash: What is going on with BA and IT?

As has been widely reported all over the world today, BA has experienced what must be the biggest IT disruption in its history as almost all of its IT systems failed today, Saturday 27 May 2017.

This has led to the cancellation of all flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick for the remainder of Saturday with reports of very long queues to exit Terminal 5 from the post-security airside area and passengers being separated from their luggage.

As has been widely reported all over the world today, BA has experienced what must be the biggest IT disruption in its history as almost all of its IT systems failed today, Saturday 27 May 2017.

This is the first time in several years BA has been forced to cancel its entire flying programme, and the timing on a bank holiday weekend clearly could not be worse.

It is understood that the scale of the disruption was extremely severe with almost all IT systems out of operation, bar its internal e-mail. The airline has cited a power failure as its cause, and has denied claims of a possible cyber attack.

BA is by no means the only airline in the world to face significant disruption due to IT. Both United Airlines and Delta have experienced network-wide disruption due to system failures.

However, this is not first time in the past 12 months BA has faced IT disruption. Its website ba.com crashed for nearly a day last month. Last year, BA implemented a new check-in system which continues to crash repeatedly.
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Expected disruption due to Air Traffic Controllers’ strike in Italy on Sunday 28 May 2017

Air Traffic Controllers in Italy are due to take industrial action on Sunday 28 May 2017, which is likely to cause disruption to flights.

Air Traffic Controllers in some regions of Italy are due to take industrial action on the afternoon of Sunday 28 May 2017, the weekend of the late May bank holiday in the UK.

The strike will take place between 1pm and 5pm local time. This is likely to cause disruption with delays and cancellations, albeit on a smaller scale than originally thought. As a consequence the following airlines have issued guidance for affected passengers.

Please note that this page does not provide live flight information so any cancellations that will be listed are proactive cancellations made in advance, and do not necessarily include any delays/cancellations made on the day.

You can check live flight information on the websites of Gatwick, Heathrow and London City airports.
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Seasonal Christmas & New Year Greetings from the world’s airlines & airports for 2016

The release of an annual Christmas film from the world’s major airlines and airports is now a regular fixture in the calendar. In previous years some videos and PR stunts have attracted audiences in the hundreds of millions worldwide on social media.

Here is our collection of films released by the world’s airlines and airports for 2016.

As ever, these films are a timely reminder as to what aviation is really about: bring people together.

Heathrow Airport: Coming Home For Christmas
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The founders of Monocle Magazine debut the “Kioskafé” at London Paddington

Readers of Tyler Brule’s column in the weekend edition of the Financial Times, which for the initiated documents the travails of a life spent jet-setting around the globe, will know that a frequent target is the poor state of newspaper and magazine retailing in the UK.

One target has long been WH Smith. Specifically, its poorly lit and understaffed shops, the ill-targeted special offers, the self-scan check-outs and, in the case of its Heathrow branches, its parochial selection of newspapers and magazines.

Tyler Brule is not someone who isn’t afraid to put his money where his mouth is, nor to challenge convention.

Having long argued that print media is not dead, in 2007 Tyler Brule founded the magazine Monocle. As well as being a commercial and editorial success it eschews social media, does not carry out any research, charges more than the magazine cover price for a subscription and double the cover price for back issues.

Monocle has since extended its reach to shops, cafes (the London branch is at 18 Chiltern Street) and a 24 hour radio station, Monocle 24.

Tyler Brule is also the founder of the design agency Winkreative which designed the original brand identity of Swiss International Airlines, Porter Airlines, the cabin interior of British Airways Club World on Boeing 747-400 and 777-200 aircraft and the recently launched Union Pearson Express in Toronto.

The latest venture from Winkreative’s parent company, is the Kioskafe which opened in the past week at 31 Norfolk Place, opposite the Frontline Club and a short walk from London Paddington railway and Underground stations.
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Travel to & from London’s airports over the 2015 Easter holiday weekend

The forthcoming Easter weekend marks one of the busiest travel periods of the year. As is now commonplace, there are extensive engineering works taking place on the London Underground and the UK’s national rail network which may affect travel times to London’s airports.

Here are full details from Transport for London and National Rail Enquiries.
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Vietnam Airlines launches direct flights from London Heathrow to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh from 30 March 2015

Vietnam Airlines will transfer its flights from London to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh from London Gatwick airport to London Heathrow from 30 March 2015.

The airline will fly to both cities twice a week.

London Heathrow – Hanoi

Flight VN54 Depart London Heathrow 14:45 – Arrive Hanoi 08:30 (Tuesdays, Fridays)
Flight VN55 Depart Hanoi 23:55 – Arrive London Heathrow 06:40 (Monday, Thursday)

London Heathrow – Ho Chi Minh

Flight VN50 Depart London Heathrow 14:45 – Arrive Ho Chi Minh 09:10 (Wednesdays, Saturdays)
Flight VN51 Depart Ho Chi Minh 23:30 – Arrive London Heathrow 06:40 (Tuesdays, Fridays)

Flights will arrive and depart from London Heathrow Terminal 4. Flights are currently operated with a Boeing 777 in a two class (economy and business) configuration

It is noteworthy that Vietnam Airlines has been able to secure an early morning arrival slot at London Heathrow – something which is vital to secure business traffic. These slots can trade for many tens of millions of pounds.

The loss of these routes will be a disappointment to London Gatwick, particularly when both Gatwick and Heathrow are campaigning for additional runway capacity. This move (which follows other long-haul scheduled airlines from Gatwick to Heathrow) supports the argument that long-haul airlines prefer Heathrow over Gatwick.

La Compagnie to launch all business class flights from London Luton to New York Newark from 24 April 2015

It was a little under ten years ago that the concept of the all business class airline gained traction in the UK.

In October 2005, Eos Airlines launched all business class flights to New York JFK from London Stansted using 48 seat Boeing 757 aircraft. Silverjet launched all business class flights from London Luton (using a private terminal) to New York Newark using Boeing 767 aircraft, later adding Dubai.

Whilst both airlines received very positive reviews and many industry accolades, Eos collapsed in April 2008 after an additional round of financing fell through at the last minute. Silverjet fell victim to rising oil prices shortly afterwards.

Both airlines did have a lasting impact.

British Airways launched an (almost) all business class operation from Paris to New York under the name OpenSkies. In 2009, BA also launched a twice daily all business class service from London City to New York JFK (via Shannon). Whilst there was talk of additional routes being added, none have materialised. Unsurprisingly, claims by Virgin Atlantic that it was looking into launching all business class flights never came to fruition.

In perhaps a sign of a recovering economy and the impact of falling oil prices, La Compagnie is to launch an all business class service from London Luton to New York Newark.
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Thai Airways’ Airbus A380 is coming to London Heathrow from 1 July 2015

Thai Airways’ Airbus A380 aircraft is coming to London Heathrow from 1 July 2015

The airline will fly the Airbus A380 between London Heathrow and Bangkok daily.
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