British Airways News
BA flies Lions on Air Force Scrum
The official aircraft taking the British & Irish Lions team to South Africa for the impending Lions Tour has been named ‘Air Force Scrum’. In a competition run by British Airways, Dublin Trinity College student Dara Fahy came up with the winning name for the Boeing 747 taking the players, coaches and support staff to Johannesburg on Sunday 24 May.
BA reveals new Amenity BAg
Anya Hindmarch has unveiled a new in-flight amenity ‘BAg’ for First class customers on British Airways. The new bag is one of the first new introductions leading up to the long-awaited launch of BA’s new FIRST cabin later this year.
BA unveils Heathrow transfers service
British Airways is to provide complimentary black cabs and executive cars for premium customers to speed their ground journey to and from Heathrow airport.
BA ready to unveil new Heathrow lounge
British Airways will open a luxurious new lounge for premium passengers and top tier oneworld members at London Heathrow’s Terminal 3 next week.
US authorities order BA to submit top-secret documents
Merger talks between British Airways and American Airlines have been dealt a blow after US authorities ordered the British flag carrier to hand over a top-secret document detailing its inner workings.BA and AA earlier claimed they were not required to provide the US Department of Transportation with the data but have since been given two working days to cooperate.
APD to go ahead in latest budget
The UK Chancellor has hiked Air Passenger Duty in his latest budget, ignoring unified calls from industry heads to boost the country’s travel economy by abolishing the controversial tax.Among the most vocal was British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh who asked Alistair Darling to axe APD along similar lines to the Dutch.
BA may sell Concorde to Dubai
British Airways’ last remaining Concorde may follow the QE2 by being shipped to Dubai and turned into a tourist attraction.BA grounded its seven-strong Concorde fleet six years ago and gave six to museums. However it held on to one, Alpha Bravo, which it has been storing at its engineering base at Heathrow.
BA cuts 300 jobs and sells 11 A320s
British Airways is to cut 300 jobs as part of a targeted voluntary redundancy scheme in response to the “tough economic climate”.A spokesman for the national carrier said: “The scheme was designed to meet some demand for redundancy in some parts of the business and where it is possible to release people and not replace them.
BA sells aircrafts
British Airways is to sell 11 of its 15 Boeing 757 aircraft for cargo conversion with the aircraft leaving the airline’s mainline fleet between 2010-2012.
BA and Iberia merger talks stumble
Merger talks between British Airways and Iberia are making little headway despite reassurances from both sides of an imminent tie-up, according to sources within both airlines.The number of problems to be resolved before the merger can proceed is far bigger than the respective heads Willie Walsh and Fernando Conte have revealed. A deal is unlikely to be struck before the summer, reports the Times newspaper.
UK government clears BA for Spanish relocation
The UK government would not hinder British Airways becoming a Spanish company as a result of a merger with Iberia, according to Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon. With BA and Iberia close to agreeing merger terms, it is thought that the airlines would continue to operate as separate brands under a new operating company. However, it is unclear whether this parent company would be based in Spain or in Britain.
BA shifts summer routes from Gatwick to Heathrow
British Airways has announced a change to its summer schedule that sees services from Heathrow to Dakar and Kolkata, and from Gatwick to Dublin, Zurich and Geneva suspended. It is also launching a new service twice weekly service from Heathrow to Toulouse and a daily service from Heathrow to Atlanta, Georgia.