British Airways flights

British Airways operates flights from, to and within the United Kingdom (UK). Most British Airways flights are from London, and most British Airways flights from London are from London's Heathrow Airport.

British Airways plane parked at Johannesburg Airport

Book a British Airways flight

.

Website

Web support from UK

Telephonic from UK

Lost baggage

www.ba.com

0844 493 0 767

0844 493 0 787

0844 493 0 787

British Airways flight

British Airways' competitors

British Airways competitors include Virgin Atlantic, bmi, Air Berlin, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Ryanair, easyJet.

British Airways' Skytrax rating

British Airways was voted 10th best airline in the world in a 2007 Skytrax survey, in which Singapore Airline came in first (just before British Airways, in 9th place, was Emirates Airline). British Airways has a four star rating with Skytrax. In the 2007 survey, British Airways was voted best airline in Europe as well as being the best transatlantic airline.

Airline customer satisfaction index

On the 28th June 2007, the UK launched its first airline customer satisfaction index, with British Airways and Virgin Atlantic leading as the nation's favourite airline brands. When it came to perceived value for money, Easyjet scored above British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.

British Airways dominates terminal 4 at London's Heathrow Airport

British Airways' Air Miles

In the 1980S British Airways purchased a 51 percent holding in a company called Air Miles and introduced the UK travel industry to major incentive programs. Air Miles” were provided to members for purchasing flights with British Airways, spending money on certain credit cards, etc... Having accumulated a certain number of “Air Miles”, members could swap the Air Miles for a British Airways flights.  Despite initial sceptism the Air Miles concept took off. Eventually British Airways sold Air Miles to start their own frequent flier program.

British Airways' formation

British Airways, as we know it today, was formed in 1974 through the merger of two state-owned entities - BOAC and BEA.

British Airways' titles

British Airways has a title for himfor when she books a British Airways flightWhen booking a British Airways flight, you are required to enter your title. For many people this would be "Mr" or "Mrs"; however, if you happen to have the title "Air Vice Marshall" or "Crown Prince", no need to feel like BA wont recognise it - British Airways' title drop down list is pretty comprehensive (but the reddit folk have found some offbeat titles which British Airways left out!).

British Airways' credit rating

On the 14th August 2007 Moody's (a credit rating agency) upgraded the corporate family rating of British Airways PLC's to Baa3 (the lowest level of investment grade), with a stable outlook. Moody's also upgraded British Airways' senior unsecured rating to 'Ba1' (the highest junk bond rating), one notch lower than the corporate family rating of Baa3, reflecting the subordination of unsecured debt to the secured debt. "The upgrade reflects the gradual improvement in the company’s operating performance in spite of volatile earnings, as well as the beginning of the company’s plan to reduce its significant unfunded pension plan, which has had a positive impact on credit metrics," Moody's said in a press release. British Airways had contributed £800 million to reducing its pension deficit since February 2007.

Standard & Poor's upgraded British Airways from a BB+ to a BBB- rating (the lowest level of investment grade) in June 2007, the first time in four years that British Airways had an investment grade rating.

Accidents on British Airways flights

British Airways Flight 149British Airways Flight 149

British Airways Flight 149, a Boeing 747-136, stopped for a refuelling at Kuwait International Airport on its way from London's Heathrow Airport to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Unfortuanately it arrived in Kuwait on the night of the 1st August 1990, hours after Iraq had invaded Kuwait. Passengers and crew were taken hostage, but eventually released. A British Airways stewardess was reported to have been raped at gunpoint by Iraqi soldiers. The British Airways plane was destroyed during the war (see photo). French passengers won damages from British Airways to the amount of £2.5 million, on the 15th July 1999.

British Airways pilot Tim LancasterBritish Airways Flight 5390

On Sunday 10th June 1990 British Airways Flight 5390 was on its way to Málaga (Spain) from Birmingham Airport (England), when there was a loud bang and the left windshield of the cockpit had broken. Captain Tim Lancaster was sucked out of his seat (he had released his lap belt and shoulder harnesses) and partially out of the window (head-first). Nigel Ogden, a flight attendant who happened to be on the flight deck at the time, grabbed the captain's belt (he was later relieved by two other flight attendants). Other than a flight attendant (with minor bruises and cuts) and Tim Lancaster (bruising, frostbite, shock, and fractures to his right arm, left thumb and right wrist) nobody was hurt. A report later showed that the cause of the windshield breaking was a British Airways engineer, working under pressure, had fitted a new windscreen with bolts that were too small (hopefully the BA engineers aren't placed under as much pressure anymore!). The flight attendant, Nigel Ogden, returned to work after a break but suffered post-traumatic stress and took ill-health retirement in 2001, later working as a night watchman at a Salvation Army hospital.

British Airtours Flight 28MBritish Airtours Flight 28M

British Airtours was owned by British Airways. On the 22nd August 1985 the captain of British Airtours Flight 28M abandoned takeoff after hearing a loud thump from under the Boeing 737-236. Thinking that a tyre had burst the captain applied the reverse thrusters and took care in applying gradual breaking, however on stopping the crew discovered that the number one engine was on fire. Toxic smoke and heat caused the deaths of 2 of the crew and 53 passengers (48 of them from smoke inhalation). Four of the crew and seventy eight passengers survived, although 15 were seriously injured.

The actions of the airline crew, unfortuanately, made things worse. The slow braking of the aircraft (because they thought a tyre had burst) gave time for the fire to spread to the cabin and robbed everybody of precious evacuation time, and the use of thrust reversers fanned the fire.

British Airways Flight 009

British Airways flight 009On the 24th June 1982 a British Airways flight from London to Auckland flew into a cloud of volcanic ash which resulted in all 4 engines of the Boeing 747-200 stalling (and the plane effectively becoming a glider - for every km it loses in height, a A 747 can glide 15km ). The ash had been thrown by the volcanic eruption of Mount Galunggung, but the crew and ground control staff were not aware that Galunggung was the cause (the crew worried that the smoky cabin was caused by a smouldering cigarette - smoking was still allowed on planes in 1982). After cruising through the cloud of ash all four engines restarted (one failed again) allowing the plane to land safely in Jakarta. Nobody was hurt. The incident became known as the "Jakarta incident".

British Airways flight 476British Airways Flight 476

On the 10th September 1976 British Airways Flight 476 (a Trident 3B) was flying to Istanbul (Turkey) from London (Heathrow), when it collided with a Douglas DC-9 (Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 550) in mid-air near Zagreb, Yugoslavia. The outer five metres of the Douglas DC-9s left wing hit the Trident 3B's cockpit. The DC-9 went into a nosedive, whilst the Trident remained level for a short period before going down. All 176 crew and passengers aboard both flights died.

What caused the accident? : "1) Direct cause of the accident was the struck of the DC-9 wing into the middle side of the TRIDENT THREE fuselage which occurred at the height of 33.000 feet above Zagreb VOR so that both aircraft became uncontrollable and fell on the ground.; 2) Improper ATC operation; 3) Non-compliance with regulations on continuous listening to the appropriate radio frequency of ATC and non-performance of look-out duty from the cockpits of either aircraft."

BA London to Italy flights

There are BA flights from London to Italy; to Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Milan, Naples, Pisa, Rome, Turin, Venice and Verona.

British Airways web traffic

The graph below provides an indication of the percentage of total web traffic which British Airways is reaching through its website.

Alexa ranking

An Alexa ranking gives an idea of the popularity of the British Airways website (the lower the ranking the more popular the site). British Airways' Alexa ranking has been slipping over the 2 months to 27 Oct 2007.

24 Aug 2007

24 Sep 2007

27 Oct 2007

2238

2303

2537

BA news

2012

The first of British Airways' A380 Airbus's are due to arrive. This is part of an order of 12 Airbus A380s and 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners that BA ordered on the 27th September 2007. It plans to use some of the planes on London to Johannesburg flights.

22 Sep 2008

British Airways suspends flights to Pakistan after a suicide bomber explodes near the Marriot Hotel in Islamabad.

18 Sep 2008

BA announces that on 31 Mar 2008 it had a 1500 million pound deficit in its New Airways Pension Scheme and a 240 million pound deficit in its Airways Pension Scheme.

13 Sep 2008

BA announces a special one-day airfare for passengers left stranded through the liquidation of Excel (a travel company). Stranded Excel passengers can make flight reservations with BA by phoning 0844 4930787.

1 Aug 2008

Along with the financial results, Willis Walsh (BA's Chief Executive) announces that British Airways has placed an order for 6 Boeing 777-300ER widebody jets, with options for 4 more.

29 Jul 2008

It is announced that British Airways and Iberia Airways are in merger talks.

17 Jul 2008

The FT reports that American Airlines and BA have reached agreements on a transcontinental alliance, with Iberia Airlines expected to join the alliance by the end of July. The next step is for the alliance to see antitrust immunity from US regulators, to allow them to coordinate schedules and share revenue.

14 Jul 2008

Using the Apple Developers Kit, BA develops an Apple iPhone 3G program which shows flight arrivals and departures.

10 Jul 2008

BA & Rolly Royce announce that they will initiate a joint tender process, inviting suppliers to trial their alternative fuels on a BA Boeing 747's Rolls Royce RB211 engine. The fuel should offer a reduction in carbon footprint compared to kerosene without being detrimental to food, water or land.

3 Jul 2008
1715

British Airways goes live with the beta version of their social networking site, Metrotwin. Metrotwin is an online community focussing (initially, we suspect they'll roll it out further if successful) on London and New York. The idea is to twin everything between London and New York (e.g. if you like this restaurant in London, you'll like this one in New York).

24 Jun 2008

British Airways sells its 10.5% stake in Air Mauritius for 3.2 million pounds.

5 Jun 2008

British Airways wins the OAG Airline of the Year award for "Best Transatlantic Airline" and "Best Business/Executive Class".

2 May 2008

British Airways decides to replace its fleet with Honda Civic hybrids, in order to reduce emissions and fuel consumption.

3 Apr 2008

Naomi Campbell is banned from British Airways flights, after she shouted at a flight attendant and spat in a police officer's face at as the plane sat on the tarmac at London Heathrow. Campbell had lost her luggage.

1 Apr 2008

British Airways to offer free wireless internet in its lounges at Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Jersey, Manchester and Newcastle airports.

27 Mar 2008

On flight BA075, Mr Ayodeji Omotade complains about the treatment of another Nigerian, who was held down in his seat by four police officers whilst telling other passengers that if he returns to Nigeria he may die. Omotade is later charged with abusive/threatening/disorderly/insulting actions towards BA crew. Ultimately, the only person flying on the flight was the unidentified deportee.

27 Mar 2008

A female British Airways pilot, Captain Lynn Barton, becomes the first pilot to offload passenengers into Heathrow's Terminal 5.

19 Mar 2008

British Airways increases its stake in Iberia Airways by 3%, to 13.15%; and said that it would consider increasing its stake further in the future. Under Spanish law core shareholders can buy up to 5% of a company's shares over any 12 month period, but if they purchase more than this a compulsory bid is triggered.

17 Mar 2008

The Queen opens Terminal 5 at Heathrow airport (London), a terminal which is solely for the use of British Airways. Terminal 5 was built by BAA, which owns Heathrow airport, and is the United Kingdom's largest free-standing building. The terminal contains links to the Heathrow Express and the London underground, and was designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners.

14 Mar 2008

A British Airways Boeing 777 flies from London to Kolkata (Calcutta, India) without any passengers on board (only a co-pilot and captain), to pick up the crew from Kolkata that had flown the previous Wednesday and fly them and 100 passengers back.

26 Dec 2008

British Airways pilots overrun the landing strip at Miami Airport whilst carrying British Prime Minisiter, Tony Blair, on board. Nobody is injured. The National Transportation Safety Board later attributed the incident to "the flight crew's inadequate visual lookout".

1999

Electronic goods are sold through BA's duty free for the first time.

1987

Lynn Barton becomes British Airways first female pilot, joining the Boeing 747 fleet.

1979

Lynn Barton becomes the first female to be sponsored for her commercial pilots licence by British Airways.

1973

British Airways purchases a stake in Air Mauritius.

1973

British Airways introduces its first in-flight brochure - "Shopping the World".

1955

The Queen opens Heathrow airport's first passenger terminal (then called the Europa building, now known as Terminal 2).

blog comments powered by Disqus

AirFlights.TO HOME

Web feeds

Terms of use © KA Baker cheapflights@airflights.to