London, Wednesday, October 27, 1999: British Airways flying staff at Gatwick have taken flight and moved into a new £12 million modern complex, next door to the airline`s North Terminal operations.

The five thousand flight and cabin crew have left behind their over-crowded facilities on the south side of Gatwick Airport and moved to a new Combined Operations Centre at Jubilee House - the refurbished four storey development which, since April, also houses the British Airways customer service and operations management teams.

For the first time ever all of the airline`s service delivery functions at Gatwick are under one roof, bringing significant efficiencies and productivity gains to the operation - journey times between the crew reporting centre and the aircraft will be significantly shorter - in some cases crew will be able to walk straight from their pre-flight briefing rooms to the aircraft. The 80,000 sq. ft. development is also well positioned for easy access to public transport.

Martin Wyatt, British Airways General Manager Gatwick, said: “This new facility was conceived nearly three years ago. Having both ground and flying staff under one roof, at the very heart of our operations, will help us to improve productivity, become more efficient and to deliver better levels of customer service.”

Design experts have drawn on many of the key features from British Airways` corporate headquarters at Waterside, near Heathrow. The Gatwick Combined Operations Centre has an open plan, hot-desk environment with the latest technology - encouraging greater interaction, less hierarchy and new ways of working.

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