British Airways is the UK's largest international scheduled airline,
flying to over 550 destinations at convenient times, to the best located
airports.
Whether customers are in the air or on the ground, British Airways takes
pride in providing a full service experience.
History of British Airways
British Airways can trace its origins back to the birth of civil
aviation, the pioneering days following World War I. On 25 August 1919,
its forerunner company, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited (AT&T),
launched the world's first daily international scheduled air service
between London and Paris. That initial flight, operated by a single-engined
de Havilland DH4A biplane taking off from Hounslow Heath, near its
successor company's current Heathrow base, carried a single passenger
and cargo that included newspapers, Devonshire cream and grouse. It took
two and a half hours to reach Le Bourget. Shortly afterwards, two more
British companies started services to Paris, and to Brussels - Instone,
the shipping group, and Handley Page, the aircraft manufacturer. These
pioneer companies struggled against severe difficulties. Passengers were
few, fares high, and air travel seldom less than an adventure. One
pilot took two days for the two-hour flight to Paris, making 33 forced
landings along the way. One by one, the fledgling companies ceased
operations, undercut by heavily subsidised French and Dutch competitors.
In 1924, Britain's four main fledgling airlines, which had by then
evolved into Instone, Handley Page, Daimler Airways (a successor to
AT&T), and British Air Marine Navigation Company Limited, merged to form
Imperial Airways Limited. By 1925, Imperial Airways was providing
services to Paris, Brussels, Basle, Cologne and Zurich. Operating from
the new London airport at Croydon, services were introduced during the
1920s and 1930s to Egypt, the Arabian Gulf, India, South Africa,
Singapore and West Africa. In co-operation with Qantas Empire Airways
Limited, which operated between Singapore and Australia, a service
between the UK and Australia was established in 1935. Meanwhile, a
number of smaller UK air transport companies had started flights. In
1935, they merged to form the original privately-owned British Airways
Limited, which became Imperial Airways' principal UK competitor on
European routes, operating out of another new airport, Gatwick.
Following a Government review, Imperial Airways and British Airways were
nationalised in 1939 to form British Overseas Airways Corporation
(BOAC).
Post-war, BOAC continued to operate longhaul services, other than
routes to South America. These were flown by British South American
Airways (BSAA), which was merged back into BOAC in 1949. Continental
European and domestic flights were flown by a new airline, British
European Airways (BEA). BOAC introduced services to New York in 1946,
Japan in 1948, Chicago in 1954 and the west coast of the United States
in 1957. BEA developed a domestic network to various points in the
United Kingdom, including Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester.
From 1946 until 1960, BOAC and BEA were the principal British operators
of scheduled international passenger and cargo services - and they
preserved Britain's pioneering role in the industry. The 1950s saw the
world enter the passenger jet era - led by BOAC, with the Comet flying
to Johannesburg in 1952, halving the previous flight time. Despite
grounding the Comet fleet after two crashes in 1954, BOAC was still able
to claim the distinction of operating the first jet transatlantic
service in October 1958, with two Comets flying simultaneously from
London and New York, days ahead of their American rivals. The next
decade saw another world beater, when BEA's Trident aircraft made the
first automatic landing on a scheduled service, heralding the era of
all-weather operations. The birth of the mass package holiday business
meant changes in the airline industry. BEA met this by establishing its
own charter airline, BEA Airtours, which took off in 1970. This mantle
was carried for the Group by Caledonian Airways until March 1995, when
the company was sold.
Following the formation of the Air Transport Licensing Board in 1960,
other British airlines began to operate competing scheduled services.
Indeed, several of the smaller domestic airlines - including Cambrian
Airways and BKS (later Northeast Airlines) - eventually passed into
BEA's ownership. In 1967, the Government set up another study into the
industry. It recommended a holding board to be responsible for the two
main airlines, BOAC and BEA, with the establishment of a second force
airline, brought about by unifying various independents. As a result,
British Caledonian was born in 1970, when the original Caledonian
Airways took over British United Airways. Two years later, the
businesses of BOAC and BEA were combined under the newly formed British
Airways Board, with the separate airlines coming together as British
Airways in 1974. Although this merger was to lead initially to
substantial financial losses and industrial strife, the new airline
inherited its predecessors' pioneering path, launching the world's first
supersonic passenger service, simultaneously with Air France, with
Concorde in January 1976.
In July 1979, the Government announced its intention to sell shares
in British Airways. The Civil Aviation Act 1980 was passed to enable
this to happen. Lord King was appointed Chairman in 1981 and charged by
the Secretary of State for Trade to take all necessary steps to restore
the Group to profitability and prepare it for privatisation. With an
overall deficit of £544 million declared for 1981-82, including special
provisions to pay for an extensive "survival plan", which included staff
cuts, suspension of unprofitable routes and disposal of surplus assets,
the task of re-establishing the company as the world's leading airline
began in April 1983 with the repositioning of the carrier as the World's
Favourite Airline. In February 1987 British Airways was privatised.
Over one million applications were received for shares in the airline,
offered at 125 pence, making the flotation 11 times oversubscribed.
Freed from the constraints of Government ownership, British Airways
announced a merger with British Caledonian in July. The merger went
ahead following approval by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission later
that year.
The key events in the company’s history after
privatisation are documented on the following pages.
BA Post-Privatisation (February 1987- December 2004)
2005
December
The House of Lords ruled that no
claims for injury or death caused by DVT during the normal
operation of an aircraft can now be brought against airlines in
the UK.
Following an internal investigation into the unofficial
industrial action by some of BA’s ground support services staff
in August 2005 two employees were dismissed and a third
employee, also found guilty of gross misconduct, was issued with
a final written warning, suspended without pay for one month and
banned from staff air travel privileges.
The withdrawal of BA’s daily service from London Heathrow to
Melbourne via Singapore from March 25, 2006, was announced.
Melbourne flights will transfer to Qantas as part of the Joint
Services Agreement
Five times a week services from Gatwick to Grenoble began
with prices from £79 return.
November
Talks on a new transatlantic
aviation agreement between the EU and US ended with some
progress on aspects of the regulatory framework. No agreement
was reached on market access and lifting restrictions on foreign
ownership in US carriers. Interested parties were asked to
comment and a final decision is expected in March 2006.
British Airways announced plans to re-structure its business
with a 35 per cent reduction of its 1,715 managers by March
2008. The job cuts will save £50 million and contribute towards
the airline’s £300 million employee cost reduction programme by
March 2007.
Mr Chumpol NaLamlieng joined the board as a non-executive
director.
The company announced a pre-tax profit of £241 million (2004:
£293 million) for the three months ended September 30, 2005. The
result for the half-year was £365 million (2004: £368 million).
Operating profit for the quarter was £261 million (2004: £245
million) and £437 million for the half-year (2004: £374million).
A £100 million investment in longhaul business class was
confirmed for introduction in mid 2006.
British Airways and The Tussauds Group signed a memorandum of
understanding agreeing the sale of the airline’s entire
interests in the British Airways London Eye including its
one-third share and its outstanding loan to the company for £95
million. The airline plans to continue its brand association
with the attraction by extending its franchise agreement.
October
British Airways’ winter schedule
included increased services from London Heathrow to India from
19 to 35 flights each week including a new five per week service
to Bangalore, twice daily flights to Mumbai, and six flights a
week to Chennai. Flights from Birmingham to Rome and Vienna,
operated by British Airways CitiExpress, were suspended.
Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) was appointed British Airways’
worldwide creative advertising agency after a review of the
existing contract and a formal competitive pitch.
Royal Jordanian announced that it is to join the oneworld
alliance. Japan Airlines (JAL) announced its intention to seek
membership of oneworld.
Captain Tim Steeds became director of safety and security.
September
Rod Eddington, CEO, retired and was
succeeded by Willie Walsh. Mike Street, OBE, director of
customer service and operations, retired after 42 years service.
Gate Gourmet and the Transport and General Workers’ Union signed
an agreement to end the labour dispute at the catering company.
British Airways increased its fuel surcharge on longhaul flights
from £24 to £30 per sector (£60 return trip). The shorthaul fuel
surcharge remained unchanged at £8 per sector (£16 return trip).
It was announced that Keith Williams, BA’s group treasurer and
head of taxation, will succeed John Rishton as chief financial
officer on January 1, 2006.
A new voluntary scheme was launched to enable customers to help
offset the carbon dioxide emissions from their flights by making
a contribution to an environmental trust.
The European Union’s decision to develop proposals to include
aviation in the EU emissions trading scheme was welcomed by BA.
Readers of Business Traveller magazine voted British Airways the
best airline in the world, best shorthaul airline, best first
class, best business class, best economy class and best frequent
flyer programme.
August
Some 900 flights were cancelled due
to unofficial industrial action by some of BA’s ground support
services staff in support of employees dismissed by the
airline’s catering supplier Gate Gourmet.
Management changes were announced. Geoff Want was
appointed director of all ground operations in the UK and
overseas including the airline’s move to a single terminal
operation in Heathrow’s Terminal 5 in 2008. In-flight services
will in future report to commercial director Martin George.
Robert Boyle was appointed director planning, heading a new
department that includes the airline’s operations control and
operations planning departments.
British Airways launched its biggest ever ‘World Offers’ winter
seat sale with over three million discounted flights available
to over 150 destinations including Europe.
July
Record passenger loads in July
indicated that the short term impact of the London bombings on
July 7th was not material although it is too early to say what
the long term impact will be.
British Airways lost the Employment Appeal Tribunal into the
case of a First Officer who wanted to work a 50 per cent
contract. All pilots, male and female, must
have at least 2,000 flying hours’ experience before being
permitted to work less than 75 per cent of a full time contract.
An application for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal has
been submitted.
British Airways released financial information prepared
under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for the
year ended March 31, 2005. Under IFRS, the airline’s operating
profit for the year ended March 31, 2005 increased from £540
million under UK GAAP to £556 million and profit before tax
increased from £415 million to £513 million. The adoption of
IFRS represented an accounting change only and did not affect
the underlying operation of the business or the airline’s cash
flows for 2004/5.
At the airline’s 2005 annual general meeting chief executive
designate Willie Walsh, commercial director Martin George, Ken
Smart, Denise Kingsmill and Baroness Symons were elected onto
the British Airways Board. Stepping down were former flight
operations director Captain Mike Jeffery, Dr Ashok Ganguly and
Lord Renwick of Clifton, in line with corporate governance
guidelines on independence. The meeting included a farewell to
Lord King of Wartnaby, British Airways president emeritus and
former chairman, who died on Tuesday July 12.
British Airways’ Corporate Responsibility Report for 2004 – 2005
was published and included details of the airline’s double Gold
Standard for its diversity programme, a first time award from
Race for Opportunity for its work on racial equality across the
company and a renewed award from Opportunity Now for gender
equality.
The company launched a new online shopping basket
facility on ba.com that enables customers to pay for hotels,
car-hire, resort transfers and sightseeing tours as well as
flights in a single transaction.
British Airways launched a seat sale offering thousands of
discounted flights on over 80 routes for travel until November
2005.
June
British Airways increased its fuel
surcharge in the UK from £16 to £24 per sector (£48 return trip)
on longhaul and from £6 to £8 (£16 a return trip) on shorthaul
as a result of further rises in the price of oil.
A five times a week service was launched between London Heathrow
and Shanghai’s Pudong airport operated by Boeing 777 aircraft.
Services from London Heathrow to Beijing increased from four to
six times per week and from 17 to 21 times a week to Hong Kong.
A new television commercial was aired promoting BA’s softest
ever flat bed in Club World.
The ‘manage my booking’ feature on ba.com was revamped to offer
customised travel advice to passengers.
British Airways announced its support for the ‘Sustainable
Aviation’ initiative, a comprehensive programme to address
aviation’s impact on the environment.
A new twice weekly service from London Gatwick to Hassi Messaoud
in Algeria began.
May
British Airways reported a pre-tax
profit of £415 million for the year (2004: £230 million profit)
including a pre-tax profit of £5 million for the fourth quarter
(2004: £45 million profit). Operating profit for the year was
£540 million (2004: £405 million profit) and £40 million for the
fourth quarter (2004: £32 million profit).
British Airways won two awards at the 2005 OAG awards
ceremony in London based on votes polled by a worldwide audience
of business travellers - the Best Airline Based in Western
Europe and Best Transatlantic Airline.
British Airways received an award in recognition of its
corporate responsibility activity in the London Borough of
Hillingdon.
Prime Minister Tony Blair signed a British Airways Boeing 747 in
support of London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
Games. British Airways, a premier partner of the London 2012
bid, hopes to collect in excess of 100,000 signatures on the
aircraft that will carry the bid team to Singapore for the
decision vote by the International Olympic Committee.
Commission payments to UK travel agents on British Airways’
bookings were reduced from one percent to zero.
April
British Airways offered large
savings on business class returns to 36 longhaul destinations
and 36 European cities and resorts for the summer holidays.
The franchise agreement with Air Kenya Aviation Ltd, which
traded as Regional Air was terminated. The decision followed the
Kenyan based airline’s suspension of flights operated as part of
the franchise agreement.
British Airways is to appeal against an employment tribunal
ruling after losing an indirect sex discrimination claim from a
female pilot who had requested a 50 per cent contract. The
airline said it could only offer her a 75 per cent contract
because all pilots, male and female, must have at least 2,000
flying hours’ experience before being permitted to work less
than 75 per cent of a full time contract. This policy is based
on safety grounds and is not a gender issue.
March
Willie Walsh was announced as
British Airways’ new chief executive officer. Previously CEO of
Aer Lingus, he begins as chief executive designate on May 3. Rod
Eddington will retire at the end of September at which stage Mr
Walsh will become chief executive.
British Airways announced its 2005 summer timetable which
included new services from Gatwick to Salonika in Greece, Split
in Croatia, Vilnius in Lithuania, Bucharest in Romania, and
Sofia in Bulgaria.
British Airways increased its fuel surcharge on all flights as a
result of continuing record oil prices. The longhaul fuel
surcharge rose from £10 per sector to £16 per sector (£32 return
trip) and on shorthaul from £4 per sector to £6 (£12 a return
trip).
Flights from London Heathrow to Jeddah and Riyadh in
Saudi Arabia were suspended for commercial reasons, due to
reduced passenger demand.
February
The Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission (ACCC) gave approval to the continuation of
the joint service agreement (JSA) between British Airways and
Qantas for a further five years.
Installation was completed of Club World flat beds on all Boeing
777 aircraft operating direct services from Gatwick to twelve
destinations in the USA and Caribbean.
British Airways offered over 50,000 discounted return flights to
North America.
January
The airline’s multi-award winning
Club World flat bed is to be improved with the latest cushioning
technology to give customers more comfort and further ergonomic
support. This is the first time such cushioning has been used in
an airline seat.
A bumper New Year mileage offer is launched to give Executive
Club members the opportunity to earn the equivalent of a free
ticket when booking BA business class.
At the Aviation and Environment summit in Geneva, British
Airways’ chief executive Rod Eddington urged the global aviation
industry to work together to reduce its impact on climate change
or face the risk of additional taxation. The airline is
currently trading emissions in a voluntary British government
scheme and supports the inclusion of aviation into the European
Union’s emissions trading scheme from 2008.
2004
December
A new bilateral agreement between
the UK and Indian governments increases the number of
frequencies between the UK and India from 19 to 40 per week.
Following a scarce capacity hearing at the Civil Aviation
Authority British Airways was given seven new services; four
extra to Chennai and a new three-times-a-week service to
Bangalore, starting in winter 2005. British Airways has appealed
the decision and is awaiting the outcome of that appeal.
A new feature is introduced on ba.com which enables customers
to change the date or time of their flight, upgrade class of
travel and cancel and arrange a refund of their tickets.
Any costs for changes are calculated instantly and are
completely transparent.
British Airways and Iberia sign an agreement to develop a
joint business on key routes between London and Spain that
includes revenue and cost sharing on flights between London
Heathrow and Madrid and Barcelona. It will also ensure a better
spread and choice of flight timings on these routes, better
connections and shorter journey times for customers travelling
around the world from London Heathrow and Madrid.
Plans to start two new Eastern European services from London
Gatwick to Budapest and Sofia from June 2005 are announced.
British Airways launches its first drive-through check-in
facility for Club World passengers and a new exclusive check-in
and lounge for First passengers at Grantley Adams Airport in
Barbados.
2004
December
A new bilateral agreement between
the UK and Indian governments increases the number of
frequencies between the UK and India from 19 to 40 per week.
Following a scarce capacity hearing at the Civil Aviation
Authority British Airways was given seven new services; four
extra to Chennai and a new three-times-a-week service to
Bangalore, starting in winter 2005. British Airways has appealed
the decision and is awaiting the outcome of that appeal.
A new feature is introduced on ba.com which enables customers to
change the date or time of their flight, upgrade class of travel
and cancel and arrange a refund of their tickets. Any
costs for changes are calculated instantly and are completely
transparent.
British Airways and Iberia sign an agreement to develop a
joint business on key routes between London and Spain that
includes revenue and cost sharing on flights between London
Heathrow and Madrid and Barcelona. It will also ensure a better
spread and choice of flight timings on these routes, better
connections and shorter journey times for customers travelling
around the world from London Heathrow and Madrid.
Plans to start two new Eastern European services from London
Gatwick to Budapest and Sofia from June 2005 are announced.
British Airways launches its first drive-through check-in
facility for Club World passengers and a new exclusive check-in
and lounge for First passengers at Grantley Adams Airport in
Barbados.
November
Solid second quarter results are
delivered as British Airways continued cost drive delivers a pre
tax profit of £220 million. The three-month pre-tax figures took
the result for the half-year to £335 million. Yields in the
second quarter were down 5.1 per cent. Unit costs were down 6.1%
for the tenth consecutive quarter. Net debt at £3.3bn is at its
lowest since 1993.
British Airways becomes the first airline in the UK to enable
passengers departing from Heathrow to print their own boarding
pass online for flights from Terminal 1 to Aberdeen, Edinburgh,
Manchester, Glasgow and Newcastle. Passengers travelling from
Manchester are offered the facility on both domestic and
international routes.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announces a consultation for
NATS' (National Air Traffic Services) charges for the five year
period starting in 2006. The final decision about NATS' charges
will be made in the latter half of 2005.
British Airways signs a four year partnership with the
Rugby Football Union (RFU) to be the Official Airline of the
England Rugby Team.
October
British Airways increases its fuel
surcharge from £6 to £10 per sector on longhaul flights and from
£2.50 to £4 per sector on shorthaul flights as a result of the
continued rise in oil prices.
Denise Kingsmill, CBE, is to join the British Airways
Board as a Non-Executive Director from 1 November, 2004.
The US State Department introduces new passport rules and
security measures for all customers flying into the USA as part
of tighter security controls following the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks.
The first Airbus A321 194 seater aircraft
is delivered to British Airways. It will operate on shorthaul
high-density routes from Terminal 4 at London Heathrow.
British Airways launches a six-month trial of an innovative text
message service called Flight Tracker, which allows customers to
receive the latest information on the status of their flight
while on the move.
September
British Airways completes the sale
of its 18.25 per cent shareholding in Qantas. The gross sale
proceeds were A$1.1 billion (approximately £430 million). The
airline expects to use the proceeds to repay part of its gross
debt, which at June 30, 2004 amounted to £5.6 billion.
The winter schedule is announced which includes new services to
Switzerland, Greece, Croatia and Lithuania.
A bistro style restaurant is introduced at New York’s JFK
airport for business passengers to sample dishes created by UK
based Michelin starred chefs.
British Airways celebrates 65 years of operations to Birmingham,
45 years to Moscow and 20 years to Cape Town.
The airline sweeps the board at the Business Traveller magazine
awards ceremony, picking up seven awards including best airline,
best first class, best business class, best economy class, best
longhaul airline, best shorthaul airline and best frequent flyer
programme. The oneworld alliance wins the best airline alliance
category.
Marketing magazine votes British Airways one of the UK’s
best-loved brands.
New technology on ba.com allows British Airways customers
travelling from London City Airport to print their own boarding
card before arriving at the airport.
August
The threat of industrial action
against British Airways lifts following agreement with its
unions on a three year pay deal. The company agrees a
backdated pay increase over three years in line with predicted
rates of inflation plus non-pensionable lump sum payments.
The agreement follows an acceptance by the unions of a
single absence policy, which targets a reduction in current
absence from an average of 17 days per employee down to 10 days
within 12 months and should deliver £30 million in cost savings.
The airline suffers a series of operational issues, including
some beyond the airline’s control, which resulted in disruption
for customers. The airline apologises to its customers and
commits to taking steps to ensure it is able to handle such
exceptional circumstances in the future. Operations recovered by
the Bank Holiday weekend when some 225,000 passengers departed
Heathrow, slightly up on the previous year.
The Joint Services Agreement between British Airways and Qantas
on the kangaroo routes is given draft approval for a five-year
extension by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
July
The British Airways’ annual Social
and Environmental report is published. During the last five
years the airline’s aircraft noise levels have halved, global
carbon dioxide emissions are down by 15 per cent and nitrogen
dioxide emissions at Heathrow are down by 13 per cent. Fuel
efficiency has improved by 25 per cent since 1990.
The British Airways Skyflyers’ family travel brand is
re-launched to make flights more fun with new activity packs on
flights lasting more than three hours. Families can request
seats together and kids’ meals whilst booking their tickets
online.
British Airways announces an Employee Reward Plan so that all
staff can benefit from the airline’s future success. Staff
will be rewarded when profit margin targets are “triggered” as
the airline makes progress towards its 10% target.
Notice of ballots for industrial action over pay is
received from the TGWU representing ground support services
staff and from the TGWU and GMB covering administration and
terminal staff.
June
Swiss International Air Lines asks
British Airways to release it from some of the obligations of
the commercial pact agreed in 2003. An amicable agreement
is reached. British Airways retains the eight Heathrow
daily slots exchanged with Swiss and codesharing between London
Heathrow and Geneva will continue for a further three years.
Swiss will not join the oneworld alliance. Other codeshare
agreements will end by October 2004.
British Airways chief executive Rod Eddington calls for
the European Commission to oppose any form of ‘state aid’ to
Alitalia, which applied for a 400 million euro bridging loan
from the Italian government.
No agreement is reached in the latest round
of EU US talks on a new air treaty between Europe and the United
States.
A record number of British Airways’ customers use the enhanced
online check-in facilities on ba.com, with more than 100,000
checking in from the comfort of their own home.
A new improved food service is introduced for Club Europe
customers offering greater choice, healthy meal options and more
appropriate food depending on the time of the flight during the
day.
May
British Airways posts a pre-tax
profit of £230 million for the full year to March 31, 2004
(2003: £135 million profit). There was a pre-tax profit for the
fourth quarter of £45 million (2003: £200 million loss). The
operating profit for the full year was £405 million (2003: £295
million profit). The operating profit for the fourth quarter was
£32 million, £196 million better than last year. The year end
results marked the completion of the two year Future Size and
Shape programme that delivered £869 million to March 2004, £219
million better than target and 13,000 headcount reductions.
British Airways adds £2.50 per flight sector (£5 return trip) as
a separate fuel surcharge to its fares in the UK as a result of
the rising price of oil. In all markets outside the UK a
surcharge of $4 USD per flight sector is added.
British Airways CitiExpress launches direct flights from
Birmingham International Airport to Lyon, Vienna and Nice and
announces increased capacity on existing services from
Birmingham to Dusseldorf.
Her Majesty the Queen visits Heathrow Airport to
mark the tenth anniversary of Change for Good, the fundraising
partnership between British Airways and UNICEF which has raised
over £18 million from donations of loose change from British
Airways customers. The money has directly benefited UNICEF’s
work to improve the lives of children in over 50 developing
countries.
April
British Airways unveils its new
uniform created by leading British fashion designer Julien
Macdonald for more than 25,000 staff including flight crew,
cabin crew, dispatchers and check-in agents. The new uniform
will cost British Airways 30% less than the previous design and
will continue to generate long term cost savings, whilst
bringing a new and smarter look to staff.
British Airways launches its first new masterbrand TV commercial
for four years which showcases the airline’s innovative products
and its commitment to customer service.
A new sleeper service for Club World customers is launched giving a
better and longer night’s sleep on a range of overnight flights
from North America and the Middle East to London Heathrow.
A new champagne bar for passengers opens in the First lounge at
London Heathrow’s Terminal 1 for the airline’s First Class
passengers and Gold Executive Club members.
Customers flying to Australia with British Airways and Qantas
are able to use e-tickets for the first time.
British Airways adds more than 250,000 seats from London
Heathrow to popular holiday destinations during the summer
months, such as Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Cape Town, Mexico City,
Buenos Aires and Dubai. The airline also provides an extra 14,000 seats on flights between London and Portugal
to enable football fans to get to the 2004 European
Championships.
March
The airline’s Heathrow flight
switch programme is completed. Seven shorthaul services transfer
from Heathrow Terminal 1 to Terminal 4 and five longhaul
services transfer from Terminal 4 to Terminal 1 making it more
convenient for transfer passengers to connect between longhaul
and shorthaul flights.
A new feature on ba.com is launched enabling customers to
request their own seats and special meals.
February
British Airways announces the
restructuring of its call centre operation in the UK in response
to the growing number of customers who book flights on the
airline’s website. Telephone calls to the airline’s five call
centres in the UK have fallen by 34 per cent in the last two
years from 13 million to 8.5 million per year as the popularity
of the internet grows.
British Airways adds further US codeshare destinations to its
network with American Airlines, bringing the total number of
codeshare routes to 90.
British Airways announces the launch of wireless internet
connections at 80 of its main customer lounges around the world
giving instant internet and email access to users.
January
A target of £300 million in reduced
employee costs is set in the airline’s business plan for 2004/06
to be delivered through improvements to working practices and
lower unit costs.
British Airways’ first transatlantic codeshare flights with
American Airlines to and from the UK regions open for sale on
daily flights from Manchester to New York and Chicago.
British Airways cancels a number of flights to Washington,
Riyadh and Miami for security reasons based on advice from the
UK government.
2003
December
British Airways, Iberia Airlines
and BA franchise partner GB Airways are given exemption from
competition legislation by the European Commission. The
exemption allows them to share airport facilities, extend
code-sharing services, coordinate sales and marketing
programmes, undertake joint network planning, coordinate
capacity and pricing and cargo services.
The UK government, in its Aviation White Paper, approved new
runways at London Stansted airport by around 2011, and, subject
to resolving the level of nitrogen dioxide emissions, at London
Heathrow airport between 2015 and 2020.
The airline announces an increase in capacity between
Nairobi and London from seven flights to 10 per week from March
28, 2004.
November
Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge
announces his intention to retire as chairman of British Airways
at the company’s next annual general meeting on July 20, 2004.
He will be succeeded as chairman by Martin Broughton currently
senior independent director who was appointed deputy chairman by
the board.
The three year actuarial valuation, to determine the funding position
of British Airways’ two main UK pension schemes – Airways
Pension Scheme (APS) and the New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS) -
is completed. The APS surplus of £820 million at the last
valuation in March 2000, has fallen to £45 million and the NAPS
deficit has risen from £221 million at March 2000 to £928
million at March 2003. The government minimum funding
requirement (MFR) is covered in both schemes.
Annual contributions of £26 million for APS are required from
November 2003. For NAPS, contributions will increase by £107
million a year to £225 million effective January 2004.
Glasgow-based Loganair is to operate seven Scottish routes
currently served by British Airways’ wholly-owned subsidiary
British Airways CitiExpress, between the Scottish mainland and
the island communities of Benbecula, Shetland and Stornoway.
British Airways announces plans to launch services to Algiers
from London Gatwick on January 5, 2004. Three new routes to
three Italian destinations, Bari, Cagliari and Catania, will
also start next summer.
October
British Airways and Swiss
International Air Lines begin codesharing on each other’s
services between London Heathrow, Geneva and Zurich.
Concorde makes its last commercial flight. The locations for
the retirement of the seven Concordes which include Airbus UK,
Filton Bristol; Manchester Airport Museum of Flight; National
Museum of Scotland, near Edinburgh; Heathrow Airport; The Museum
of Flight, Seattle; US The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum,
New York, US; and Grantley Adams Airport, Bridgetown, Barbados.
British Airways introduces the award-winning Club World flat bed
as well as World Traveller Plus, its premier economy cabin, on
services from London Gatwick to Houston, Dallas and Bermuda
operated by Boeing 777s. Other services will follow.
A major programme of British Airways flight switches between
Heathrow terminals begins with the transfer of two British
Airways long haul destinations from Terminal 4 to Terminal 1.
The full programme of flight switches to be phased over the next
six months.
September
British Airways reaches agreement
on the 2003 pay deal with its ground support staff and
administrative staff for a one year increase in basic pay of 3
per cent backdated to January 2003.
British Airways and Swiss International Airlines signs a legally
binding memorandum of understanding on a commercial agreement.
British Airways and Swiss plan joint operations between the UK
and Switzerland, with codesharing on London Heathrow Swiss
routes from October 26, that will give both airlines customers
convenient access to worldwide destinations via London and
Zurich.
British Airways announces plans to resume direct flights to the
Pakistan capital, Islamabad this winter.
British Airways resumes flights from London Heathrow to Saudi
Arabia. The decision to restart flights followed a thorough
review of security in and around Riyadh and Jeddah airports, in
co-operation with the UK government’s Department for Transport
and the Saudi authorities.
As part of the airline’s fleet simplification programme, the
last of five ATR aircraft was returned to the lessors. There are
now no turbo prop aircraft in the mainline fleet.
Rod Eddington, chief executive of British Airways and
chairman of the Association of European Airlines, calls on the
United States and the European Commission to create a new air
treaty that will link the domestic market in the United States
with the single market in the European Union.
August
British Airways announces further
steps to reduce its distribution costs in order to improve
profitability. From December 1, 2003, the airline will
introduce a commission based payment scheme of 1 per cent for UK
travel agents who make British Airways’ bookings. This
replaces sector payments introduced in April 2001.
The
airline unveils its first set of codeshare flights with oneworld
partner American Airlines which will ultimately add more than
100 new destinations to its network. The codeshare routes, on destinations beyond
British Airways’ 18 US gateway cities and American Airlines’ UK
gateways, will be introduced in phases. The first cities
are Raleigh Durham, Nashville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis,
Minneapolis St Paul, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Panama City and
San Antonio.
Speedwing International Limited, a subsidiary of British
Airways Plc, disposes of its trading division Speedwing Mobile
Communications to AirRadio Limited – a company forming part of
the Spice Holdings Plc Group.
British Airways is given permission to start flights to Basra in
Iraq. The airline plans to fly twice a week, via Kuwait, using a
Boeing 777 aircraft, once safety and security clearances have
been finalised. British Airways’ predecessor (operating as
Imperial Airways) began flights to Basra in 1927 and to Baghdad
in 1929. Flights were suspended in March 1987 during the
Iran/Iraq war. Flights resumed again in November 1988 and were
finally suspended in February 1990 in the lead up to the first
Gulf war.
July
Following a dispute earlier in the
month, British Airways reaches agreement with staff over the
introduction of its electronic swiping in and out system and the
trades unions agreed to remove the threat of industrial action.
British Airways announces its route schedule for the winter 2003
season. The new schedule reflects the airline’s strategy of
focusing on more profitable routes.
A new service from London Gatwick to Turin will operate on a
daily basis until December, 2003, when a twice daily service
commences. In addition, from April, 2004, there will be a new
service from London Gatwick to Dubrovnik in Croatia which will
operate three times each week.
June
British Airways calls for the
development of a second runway at Birmingham airport, an extra
runway at Edinburgh or Glasgow airport and new passenger
terminals at Manchester airport in its response to the
government’s regional air studies consultation on UK airports
development outside south east England up to 2030. The
airline also said any new runway at London Heathrow airport
should have between 30 and 60 daily take-offs and landings
reserved for extra flights to UK regional airports.
British Airways welcomes the decision by the Transport Council
to grant the European Commission a mandate to negotiate a new
air treaty to replace existing bilaterals between the European
Union member states and the United States.
British Airways is named as the “best low cost airline” in an
annual Guardian newspaper poll. The airline, which
restructured its European and domestic fare structure in summer
2002, now offers new reduced fares on more than 180 routes
across the continent.
May
British Airways signs an agreement
to sell its wholly owned German subsidiary dba to Intro
Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, the Nuremburg-based aviation
consultancy and investment company.
The US Department of Transportation gives final approval to the
British Airways and American Airlines codesharing application on
destinations beyond British Airways’ US gateway cities and
American Airline’s UK gateways.
British Airways posts a pre-tax profit of £135 million (2002:
£200 million loss) for the full year to March 31, 2003. There
was a pre-tax loss for the fourth quarter of £200 million (2002:
£85 million loss). The operating profit for the full year was
£295 million including an £84 million exceptional operating
charge relating to Concorde. The operating loss for the fourth
quarter was £164 million, £119 million worse than last year.
In its response to the government’s consultation on airport
infrastructure, BA calls for a new short runway to be built at
London Heathrow airport to give Britain maximum economic benefit
from an effective international hub airport that would boost the
UK economy by £37 billion.
British Airways announces the withdrawal of services between
Guernsey and London Gatwick airport from 16 June 2003. The
service was continued by Aurigny Air Services.
British Airways announces the withdrawal of its services to
Plymouth and Newquay from London Gatwick and Bristol airports
from 25 October 2003. The three times a day Plymouth to
Newcastle service is also withdrawn and the Dash 8 fleet move to
Manchester.
April
British Airways announces the
retirement of its Concorde fleet of seven aircraft with effect
from the end of October 2003.
British Airways launches a new direct air link from Glasgow to
London City operated by its wholly owned subsidiary, British
Airways CitiExpress, using 110 seat RJ100 jet aircraft. This
followed the launch of flights from London City to Paris and
Frankfurt at the end of March.
March
British Airways announces a package
of measures in response to the impact on its business of the
conflict in Iraq. The airline implemented a reduced flying
programme and an acceleration of its future size and shape
recovery programme.
British Airways re-launches its Executive Club loyalty programme to
make the scheme simpler, with more ways to spend BA Miles and
better incentives for loyal customers, to take effect from July
1, 2003.
Easyjet notifies British Airways that it will not exercise
the option to buy its German subsidiary, dba (formally Deutsche
BA). EasyJet paid the airline £6.1 million during the purchase
option period. British Airways says it will continue to work
towards the long term future of dba.
British Airways and SN Brussels Airlines receive approval
from the European Commission to continue their commercial
relationship agreed in July 2002. It enables the two
airlines to codeshare on selected flights and offer reciprocal
frequent flyer benefits for customers.
February
British Airways criticises the
Civil Aviation Authority for failing to revise its new pricing
regime at Heathrow airport which will allow the airport
operator, BAA, to raise landing charges by up to 50 per cent
over the next five years.
A three month internet trial begins on a British Airways 747-400
aircraft, on services between London Heathrow and New York using
Connexion by Boeing broadband system. Passengers can plug in
their laptop from their seat and access personal and work
emails, corporate intranets and the web.
British Airways, its oneworld partner Iberia and franchise
partner GB Airways, announce new codeshare routes from February
20 on services between London Heathrow and Seville, Valencia,
Malaga, Santiago de Compostela and Bilbao and services between
London, Gatwick and Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao.
British Airways and its oneworld partner Cathay Pacific
Airways increase their code-share destinations to 19 with the
announcement of extra code-share flights to Seoul, Copenhagen
and Lisbon.
January
British Airways announces its
shorthaul summer 2003 schedule which included new routes from
London Gatwick and Manchester airports and increased services on
profitable routes to Europe.
The airline begins wearer trails of a new uniform for customer
contact staff.
British Airways submits its detailed response to the Cival
Aviation Authority as part of the consultation process on
airport charges. It said an increase in airport charges of 6.5
per cent above inflation at Heathrow from April 2003 - 2008
means airlines are being asked to pay £300m in advance for
airport services which they and their passengers won’t benefit
from for many years.
2002
December
British Airways announces it is
winning back traffic from the no-frills airlines as forward
bookings on flights show year on year increases of over 41 per
cent from some of its major UK regional bases. The strongest
bookings were over the Christmas and New Year period, with
Edinburgh and Glasgow proving to be the top performers.
Vineet Bhatia, the Michelin-starred and innovative head chef of
Indian restaurant Zaika in Kensington, is recruited to the
British Airways Culinary Council. Set up to advise, inspire and
develop signature dishes for British Airways, the council
already includes the prestigious Michel Roux, chef and
proprietor of The Waterside Inn and Mark Edwards, head chef of
Nobu.
British Airways switches its aircraft order with Airbus to
receive10 A321 aircraft instead of 12 A318 aircraft and three
A319 aircraft. The airline’s capital spend with Airbus for the
orders placed in 1998 and 1999 remains unchanged. The move comes
as part of BA’s fleet simplification strategy to base its Airbus
fleet at London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports and re-deploy
its fleet of 16 110 seater RJ100 aircraft from Gatwick to
British Airways CitiExpress fleet at regional airports.
British Airways announces it will be simplifying and
strengthening its UK regional operation. British Airways
CitiExpress is to operate for the first time from London City in
April 2003 with the launch of three new routes. In addition
British Airways is giving its key Manchester network a major
boost with the introduction of three new routes and extra
capacity. British Airways CitiExpress also signs a heads of
terms with Eastern Airways with the intention of transferring
its 12 strong fleet of 29-seater Jetstream 41s and its
associated engineering hangar at Glasgow to the Humberside-based
airline. This is first part of an accelerated strategy to move
to an all jet regional operation. CitiExpress is to withdraw
from 21 regional routes and will no longer fly from Cardiff and
Leeds-Bradford airports.
Rod Eddington, chief executive of British Airways, is the new
chairman of the Association of European Airlines for 2003. His
leadership will build on the foundations laid during the
chairmanship of Leo van Wijk of KLM, who held the position in
2002.
November
Good second quarter results are
delivered as British Airways cost drive posts a pre tax profit
of £245 million. The three-month pre-tax figures took the result
for the half-year to £310 million. Yields in the second quarter
were up 1.2 per cent. Debt was down by £1 billion.
Changes to British Airways’ longhaul flying programme for the
summer 2003 season reflect the airline’s drive to maximise
revenue on profitable routes, reduce its cost base and work its
assets harder. Flights increase to four North American
destinations and capacity is reduced to Brazil and Argentina.
British Airways chief executive Rod Eddington calls on European
nations to strike a new air deal with the USA. Speaking at the
Institute of Economic Affairs annual conference in London he
urged the European nations to join together to break down
America’s protectionist aviation policies. He said it was the
only way Europe could rebalance a one-sided air treaty the USA
had pursued and he appealed to the British government to throw
its weight behind the cause.
British Airways announces it is the official travel partner of
the Rugby World Cup in Australia. Rugby fans are able to buy a
complete travel package to the tournament on official partners
websites.
October
The annual charity flight for
Dreamflight flies to Disneyworld with192 sick, disabled and
incurably ill children. The special British Airways’ has been an
annual event for some years and was the inspiration of British
Airways cabin crew member Patricia Pearce and retired flight
engineer Derek Pereira.
Five tourism projects, including two UK entries, clinch top
honours in the travel industry’s leading environmental British
Airways Tourism for Tomorrow awards. The awards receive entries
from 32 countries around the world and recognise best practice
in the field of sustainable tourism. The winning project is
chosen from five environmental award categories.
September
Inflight entertainment is revamped
when British Airways launches a repackaged on-board product -
High Life Entertainment. Six new television channels are
launched including Film Four and MGM.
Free upgrades to First are offered on one sector of customer’s
journeys when they book their British Airways’ long haul
business class tickets. In addition, passengers flying in the
airline’s Club World (business class) cabin to New York JFK, are
offered a free upgrade to Concorde on one leg of that journey.
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August
British Airways posts a pre-tax
profit of £65 million for the first quarter to June 30th, 2002.
The operating profit for the first quarter was £158 million. Net
costs were down 14.6 per cent for the quarter, and unit costs
fell by 2.6 per cent in the same period. Revenue in the
quarter, at £2,052 million, was down 10.7 per cent.
Passenger yields were up 5.0 per cent primarily due to
improved cabin mix.
The launch of British Airways’ winter long haul sale sees
thousands of discounted flight tickets to 49 far flung
destinations, offering savings of up to £204. Prices started
from just £239 for a return ticket to New York, Boston and
Atlanta including taxes.
Prices are slashed by to 80 per cent on British Airways’
flights to Spain, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Belgium, Czech
Republic, Hungary and Luxembourg completing the launch of
year-round low fares on 170 key routes to Europe by the airline.
July
A World Traveller Plus promotion
launches on 11 US destinations for passengers to travel for an
extra £150 for a one-way upgrade in the airline’s premier
economy cabin.
A return ticket to New York, Boston and Washington with a one-way
upgrade to World Traveller Plus starts from £399 including taxes
(saving up to £74).
British Airways and its oneworld partner, Iberia, expand their codesharing arrangements, resulting in new international
destinations for each carrier. From July 12, the Iberia code is
added to connecting flights operated by British Airways from
London Heathrow to Budapest, Nairobi and Singapore. At the same
time, British Airways added its code to connecting flights
operated by Iberia from its main hub in Madrid for travel on to
Havana in Cuba and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
British Airways and SN Brussels Airlines announce that they
are entering into a commercial relationship, subject to
regulatory approvals. The agreement between the two carriers is
to enable the SN Brussels flight code to be placed on all
British Airways services between Brussels and London from
October 27, 2002. In addition to the code-share, new ticketing
arrangements have been put in place to allow customers to
benefit from improved access to each airline’s network.
Lambeth councillors vote unanimously to grant the British
Airways London Eye (Millennium
Wheel) permanent planning permission on its South
Bank site, opposite the Houses of Parliament.
British Airways welcomes the government announcement about
the options for improving airport infrastructure across the UK.
Rod Eddington, British Airways' chief executive, said: "Heathrow
is a unique national asset and by including it in the options,
the Government is recognising the key contribution that it makes
to the British economy. The priority must be to build on that
contribution."
British Airways announces changes to its winter schedule for
2002 which include increased services to profitable destinations
and further route transfers from London Gatwick to London
Heathrow. These transfers are in line with the airline's Future
Size and Shape strategy, unveiled in February 2002. Services to
San Diego, Denver and Phoenix in the USA and Harare in Zimbabwe
and Lusaka in Zambia moved from Gatwick to Heathrow's Terminal
Four, a move which will concentrate British Airways' African
network at Heathrow. Flights to New York's JFK airport from
Heathrow increased from six to seven daily sub-sonic services.
June
British Airways and Finnair expand
their current codesharing arrangements by adding destinations in
South Africa, Canada, and the UK regions. The Finnair code is
added to BA operated flights from London to Johannesburg, Cape
Town, Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto.
British Airways also
adds its code to selected flights operated by Finnair.
British Airways takes a further step into the next generation
of air travel by offering on-board e-mail and internet access
for its passengers. BA installs the system in its First, Club
World and World Traveller Plus cabins for a trial period of
three months.
British Airways reaches the finals in the UK’s most
prestigious national awards for corporate community working. It
was among a handful of companies to be selected as a finalist
for the Investing in Potential award in Business in the
Community’s Awards for Excellence 2002. The award marked the
company’s achievements and confirmed its position as an ‘Example
of Best Practice’ in the field of corporate responsibility.
British Airways cuts European air fares by up to 80 per cent
on 42 routes. Saturday night stay and advance purchase
restrictions are scrapped and prices slashed to from £59 return
on domestic routes and £69 return to Europe. More than 50,000
air tickets at the lowest fare will be available every month on
the 71 domestic and European routes which also have lower
flexible fares and fewer booking restrictions.
May
BA launch a summer promotion for
Concorde return fares to New York. The special Concorde tickets
went on sale for £3,999, representing savings of up to £3,867.
The tickets are on sale throughout May.
British Airways makes sure that its customers get to watch the
World Cup, as daily highlights from England matches are played
inflight via the seat back videos during May and June.
British Airways signs a deal with easyJet for the sale of
Deutsche BA (DBA), a subsidiary which flies exclusively in
Germany. Under the terms of the deal BA is granting easyJet the
option to buy 100% of DBA by March 31, 2003. The deal is
potentially worth between £18.3 million (30 million euros) and
£28 million (46 million euros), dependent on when easyJet
exercises the option.
April
British Airways receives more than
£6 million from the UK Government after becoming the world’s
first airline to take part in a new scheme to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions. The airline commits to reducing its carbon
dioxide emissions in the UK by 125,000 tonnes over the five
years of the scheme to 2006. The scheme will begin operating on
2 April 2002.
British Airways signs a deal with Warburg Pincus for the private equity
investor to acquire a majority shareholding in World Network
Services (WNS), the airline’s India-based data management
company. The sale of WNS is put forward to enhance the future
growth prospects and development of the company and allowed
British Airways to maintain a meaningful stake, whilst pursuing
its ongoing strategy to focus on core business.
Mr Michael Davies and Raymond Seitz announce their retirement
from the BA board of directors, taking effect from16 July, 2002
the day of the AGM. The board numbers reduce to 11 members.
British Airways announces that it will be the official
airline of the England football team for the 2002 World Cup. The
Football Association charter a 777 for the duration of the World
Cup trip flying them to Dubai and on to the Far East The deal
means that British Airways will be the official carrier of the
squad up until 2004 encompassing not only the World Cup but also
the European Championships in Portugal.
The outcome of the Future Size and Shape in the regions is
unveiled. British Airways CitiExpress undertake a review to
ensure the profitability of its services at airports throughout
the UK. They announce withdrawal of 12 loss making routes,
launch two new routes and increase frequency on nine and reduce
staffing by the equivalent of 500 full time positions. The
changes are to bring £20 million cost savings each year by 2004.
March
British Airways introduce a new
selling engine to its internet site to make it easier for
customers to get the best possible deal when booking flights
online.
The wholly owned BA subsidiary, CitiExpress, is officially
launched operating to 48 destinations from 26 airports.
Passengers will benefit from travelling with a full service
regional airline that can offer high frequency schedules to some
of Europe’s top cities. BA CitiExpress was created from the
integration of two wholly owned subsidiaries, Brymon Airways and
British Regional Airlines.
February
British Airways reports lower than
expected pre-tax losses for the third quarter to December 31,
2001 of £160 million against a pre-tax profit of £65 million for
the same period last year.
The three month pre-tax figures
takes the results for the nine months to a loss of £115 million,
(2001: £215 million profit).
The chief executives of the eight oneworld member airlines – Aer
Lingus, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific,
Finnair, Iberia, LanChile and Qantas – underline their
commitment to the alliance by accelerating plans to deepen
working relationships between the partners. The new developments
include a major expansion of code-sharing agreements between the
airlines.
British Airways unveils a major package of measures designed to
return the airline to profitability, following a wide-ranging
analysis of its business led by chief executive Rod Eddington.
The review - known as Future Size and Shape - showed measures
need to be introduced to meet £650 million of annualised cost
savings. They include 5,800 further job losses in addition to
7,200 announced previously, total head office and support staff
to be reduced by more than a third and a significant
restructuring of short haul business to compete with no frills
carriers.
British Airways launches the new ‘Skyflyers’ activity pack
designed and developed with Disney. The new packs are designed
to amuse and entertain young flyers of all age groups.
January
British Airways increases services
to Nassau and Grand Cayman for the summer to cope with increased
demand. The extra weekly service means an additional 767 is put
on the route to operate to the Caribbean islands.
US Department of Transportation announces the regulatory conditions for
the proposed alliance between British Airways and American
Airlines which involves giving up 224 Heathrow slots. Rod
Eddington, British Airways’ chief executive and Don Carty,
chairman and chief executive, American Airlines say the
regulatory price is too high.
2001
December
Concorde services return to
Barbados. British Airways will operate a once a week scheduled
service to the island from London Heathrow. The average flight
time between London Heathrow and Barbados is three hours and
fifty minutes. A subsonic aircraft such as a Boeing 747, flying
the same distance, averages a flight time of eight hours fifty
minutes.
British Airways announces its best punctuality results for seven
years.
oneworld alliance partner,
Cathay Pacific Airways, announce an expansion to their
code-sharing agreement to cover Kuala Lumpur, Auckland and
eleven destinations in Europe.
The first rehearsal of the migration to Amadeus ticketing is
successfully completed. The initial cutover to the new system is
expected in February.
November
Armour-plated cockpit doors are
fixed on all British Airways aircraft as an extra security
measure.
Concorde returns to commercial service and lands in New York for
the first time since July last year. The atmosphere on board is
described as “electric”.
A team of 5 senior managers are appointed to lead the
airline’s study into the future size and shape of the company.
October
British Airways combines its two UK
regional subsidiaries, British Airways Regional (BAR) and
CitiExpress, creating the second largest regional airline in
Europe. The combined regional business will have a turnover in
excess of £600 million and a fleet of 92 aircraft serving more
than 120 routes. The new entity will employ around 3,200 people
and carry some five million passengers each year.
Concorde tickets go on sale and are snapped up in preparation
for the flagship’s return to commercial service.
British Airways launches a new twice daily service between
Manchester and Zurich. The flight, operated by British Airways
CitiExpress, the wholly owned British Airways regional
subsidiary, will provide Club Europe and EuroTraveller service.
British Airways launches a promotion to get people flying
again, with 50,000 Club class tickets up for grabs for Executive
Club members, enabling them to take a companion free. Five
million cut-price tickets also go on sale to destinations all
over Europe with children able to fly for free.
British Airways wins the prestigious Grand Prix Award for
International Design Effectiveness for the new Club World seat
which turns into a six foot fully flat bed. The award was given
in recognition of how the product had revolutionised business
travel. The seat also won the best consumer product award.
September
Possibly the worst day in aviation
history - on September 11 terrorists hijack two United Airlines
and two American Airlines flights, crashing two of the aircraft
into the World Trade Centre’s twin towers in New York, and a
third into the Pentagon in Washington. The fourth aircraft
crashes in woodland in Pennsylvania. No British Airways aircraft
were directly involved, although 22 aircraft were diverted. More
than 4,000 people were killed. Staff all over British Airways
volunteer to ease disruption in the terminals as chaos reigns
following many cancellations and aircraft diversions.
Following the attacks British Airways draws up a plan of
action. A Business Response Scheme to achieve 7,000 workforce
reductions is approved. A reduction in flying of 10 per cent is
also announced. Other measures include a review of spending on
new projects, aircraft modifications, investment in products and
a moratorium on IT expenditure.
Concorde’s Certificate of Airworthiness is returned by the Civil
Aviation Authority and its French equivalent, DGAC. It marks the
end of an intensive programme of work by the manufacturers,
regulatory authorities, British Airways and Air France to ensure
Concorde returns safely back into service.
August
British Airways pledges to take
part in DVT research, alongside the World Health organisation
(WHO)
British Airways launches a new website to promote its Travel
Clinics. The new website (www.britishairways.com/travelclinics)
has a link to the airline’s dedicated health website and
contains details of all the services offered by the Travel
Clinics.
July
A British Airways Concorde flies
for the first time since modifications were made as part of the
programme to return to the supersonic airliner safely to
service.
June
UK and US officials meet to discuss
prospects for an “open skies” agreement. The atmosphere
surrounding the discussions is described as “positive and
constructive”.
British Airways sells its no-frills subsidiary “Go” for £100m to 3i.
British Airways launches its Pets Travel Scheme trial
operating from Barcelona, Rome and Bermuda to London Gatwick.
British Airways opens a new US telephone sales centre in
Jacksonville, Florida. It is run by a wholly-owned subsidiary
Flytele.
British Airways celebrates 10 years of operations at
Birmingham’s Eurohub.
May
“Air rage” incidents are targeted
by British Airways with the release of its new Conditions of
Carriage.
British Airways announce customers can save money each time
they buy a ticket from the airline’s website -
www.britishairways.co.uk. Passengers will benefit from a £3
discount for domestic and shorthaul flights and £5 for longhaul
journeys. The discount will apply to all bookings to and from
the UK.
Mike Jeffery, Director of flight Operations, retires after 35
years with the company.
April
British Airways announces its new
summer schedule from London Gatwick which focuses on the
Airline’s strategy to develop viable, point-to-point services at
the airport. The highlights include a new daily non-stop service
to San Diego, the first scheduled service to the Turks and
Caicos Islands and increased flights to Houston and Buenos
Aires.
British Airways co-hosts a visit of travel chiefs to help dispel
misconceptions about foot and mouth disease.
March
British Airways revises it’s menu
plans following the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the UK
British Airways confirms it intends to make a recommended offer
for all of the issued shares in British Regional Air Lines Plc (BRAL).The
offer is subject to formal approval by the Office of Fair
Trading. The purchase is a further step in British Airways’
previously announced plans to co-ordinate better its various
shorthaul businesses and reduce fragmentation among subsidiary
and franchise partners.
A computer outage on British Airways computer systems causes
disruption for passengers around the world.
The Airline Group, including British Airways, is named by the
UK Government as strategic partner for National Air Traffic
Services’ public-private partnership. The group announced plans
for £1 billion worth of investment.
February
British Airways send an emergency
relief flight to transport aid workers and more than 36 tons of
vital supplies to victims of the Gurjurat earthquake disaster.
British Airways re-opens its First class lounge at London
Heathrow’s Terminal 4 for premium passengers ensuring unrivalled
comfort and luxury on the ground and in the air. A new Concorde
Room designed by Sir Terence Conran also opens in the airline’s
Lounge Pavillion at Terminal 4, in anticipation of a resumption
of supersonic services later in the year.
As part of its continued commitment to its home market
British Airways announces a new range of benefits for passengers
flying within the UK. British Airways will offer its full fare
passengers the opportunity to choose their seat at the time of
booking and lounge access at selected destinations around the
UK.
A worldwide Passion Day is held by British Airways to recognise
the airline’s “Passion for Service” campaign.
January
British Airways begins modifying
its Concordes, with the hope of resuming services later in the
year. £17 million will be spent on safety-related
modifications and £14 million on upgrading the onboard product.
British Airways announces large cuts in many of its fares,
effective from April 1. The adjustments to fares reflects the
changes in payments to agents, following the introduction of its
new agents’ remuneration scheme.
British Airways announces the launch of its new Value Pass,
enabling passengers to buy full fare domestic and Club Europe
e-tickets in bulk at a 10-18 per cent discount.
British Airways introduces a facility to check-in and select
seats for flights out of the UK via WAP phone. The service is
available to Gold and Silver Card Executive Club members, and
will be available to Blue Card holders in the summer.
British Airways unveils the Journey Baggage Service which uses
information from computer systems around the world to pinpoint
the whereabouts of baggage. This will be the single source of
information from which Customer Service staff can trace missing
baggage.
British Airways and Iberia announce the expansion of their
code-sharing agreement to cover four destinations in Spain
served by Iberia subsidiary Air Nostrum. From February, the BA
code will be added to Air Nostrum/Iberia flights between Madrid
and the regional cities of Almeria, Murcia, Pamplona and
Zaragoza.
2000
December
British Airways announces the
results of its review of Gatwick operations, marking a shift
from previous attempts to build Gatwick as a transfer hub. The
plan, which will be implemented over two years, includes
reducing longhaul destinations served from Gatwick from 43 to
around 25, through cutting some destinations and relocating
other services to Heathrow. Gatwick’s shorthaul business will be
refocused on serving the needs of London and South East England,
and the consolidation of City Flyer operations in the North
Terminal.
Thomas Cook and British Airways
announce that they plan to merge their existing UK scheduled
businesses, Thomas Cook Holidays and British Airways Holidays
outbound business, to create a 50/50 joint venture company.
British Airways appoints Mike
Street, the airline’s Director for Customer Service and
Operations, to the company’s Board.
Zambian Air Services (ZAS) becomes
a British Airways franchisee. ZAS will begin flying from
Johannesburg to N’dola twice a week and from Johannesburg to
Lusaka three times a week.
November
British Airways announces that it
will restructure its operations at Gatwick into a largely point
to point business. British Airways also announces its intention
to sell GO, its no frills subsidiary, and to better integrate
its various shorthaul operations.
British Airways unveiled its
new-look First cabin. The investment includes new interiors,
improvements to seat cushioning and bedding, and in-seat
telephones and lap-top power.
British Airways selects internet
consulting firm, iXL, to work with it to develop and implement
its future e-Commerce services. The agreement will begin with
the redesign of British Airways’ global website and the
implementation of a new content management system, which are
both due to be complete by Spring 2001.
British Airways and Finnair extend
their code-sharing agreement to include a longhaul route.
Finnair’s AY flight code is added to one of British Airways’ two
daily services between Heathrow and Toronto.
October
British Airways announces
significant changes to its flying programme for Summer 2001,
which will reduce capacity, measured in Available Seat
Kilometres, by 2 per cent on top of the previously planned 8 per
cent reduction. However, in terms of flying hours, the changes
will mean a 1 per cent increase versus Summer 2000. The changes
include the transfer of two longhaul routes from Gatwick to
Heathrow, the suspension of one loss-making longhaul route and
increased frequencies on some core routes.
Following the completion of the
Club Europe embodiment on its aircraft, British Airways
increases the baggage allowance for that cabin. Passengers now
can take two pieces of hand baggage, weighing up to 18kgs on
board, doubling the previous allowance.
AirNewco, an airline-led B2B
initiative which includes British Airways, and MyAircraft, a B2B
exchange led by aerospace manufacturers, announce their intent
to combine their efforts into one venture.
British Airways launches a new
corporate rewards program for small to medium sized businesses,
called On Business, following a successful nine months trial
period. Each time an employee books an eligible fare with
British Airways, the company earns points, which can be
exchanged for a range of business travel rewards, such as free
flights, chauffeur drives to or from UK airports, Heathrow and
Gatwick Express train tickets and hotel vouchers.
British Airways and Iberia announce
further code-sharing agreements. BA codes will be added to
Iberia services between Gatwick and Oviedo, Palma and Ibiza and
between Palma and Mahon. The IB code will be added to BA flights
between Gatwick and Faro, Oporto, Palma, Tenerife and Bermuda
and between Heathrow and Faro.
September
British Airways and internet agency
DoubleClick signed an on-line advertising deal, spanning 14
countries on four continents with a potential audience of over
33 million people.
August
New Club World flying beds are
available on the Hong Kong route. The seats have been
well-received by customers on the Heathrow - New York JFK route,
with significant rises in customer satisfaction ratings for
cabin crew, catering, sleep, privacy, comfort and space.
World Traveller Plus opened for
sale for travel from October 29 for services between London
Heathrow and New York JFK, Hong Kong and San Francisco.
British Airways announced changes
for its Winter 2000 schedule. Shorthaul frequencies are improved
from Heathrow to Paris, Prague, Bologna, Rome and Munich; and
from Gatwick to Venice and Barcelona. All Tel Aviv
services will operate from Heathrow and increase in frequency
from 10 to 17 per week. Services to Jersey, Venice and Bilbao
transfer from Heathrow to Gatwick. Service reductions include
Heathrow - Paris Orly (reduced from six to three per day),
Gatwick - Verona and Gatwick - Genoa. Operations from London to
Ljubljana and Salzburg will cease. Longhaul changes include
London - Johannesburg becoming a double daily operation, with
the addition of an extra weekly flight. A fourth weekly service
to Nassau is added, and services to Kuala Lumpur reduce by one
frequency to five per week.
British Airways cancelled all
Concorde operations after the Air France Concorde accident.
British Airways remains optimistic that services will resume at
some point.
As a result of the suspension of
Concorde operations, an extra 32 new Club World seats will be
available on two daily Heathrow - New York JFK services from
mid-September.
July
Embodiment of Club World flat beds
is complete for the Heathrow-JFK route.
British Airways launches a trial
offering on-line check-in for its top corporate customers via
the British Airways extranet. The system allows customers to
check in and select seats from home or the office up to 24 hours
before departure. If the trial is successful, the service will
be offered to the top 200 corporate customers by the end of
March 2001.
The British Airways Executive Club
is relaunched with an enhanced range of benefits. In
October, BA Miles replaces AirMiles as the mileage currency for
UK Executive Club members. Members will be able to earn miles on
discount economy fares for the first time and mid and longhaul
destinations will be easier to reach. BA Miles will focus on
rewarding anyone who flies with British Airways, while AirMiles
continues as the UK’s leading frequent shopping reward scheme.
CityFlyer Express orders six new
Avro RJ100 jets, together with options for six more. The
aircraft will be used to upgrade selected routes currently
operated by ATR aircraft, as well as introduce some new routes
on to the CityFlyer network. Delivery of the aircraft is
scheduled from November 2000 through to April 2001.
National Jet Italia, a start-up
carrier, becomes the 11th member of the British Airways
franchise family, flying from Rome to Palermo four times daily.
June
British Airways and KLM commence
talks on a possible combination of their businesses. In
September the two companies announce they will not be proceeding
any further.
With the entry into service of the
ninth Airbus A319 at Birmingham, the last Boeing 737-200 was
retired from the Eurohub terminal.
British Airways and LanChile reach
a code-sharing agreement. From August, LanChile operate
connections between Buenos Aires and Santiago, replacing British
Airways’ London-Buenos Aires-Santiago service, which struggled
to make a profit since introduction in 1993.
Canadian Airlines International
withdraws from the oneworld alliance. The oneworld airlines
continue to provide services to seven Canadian cities with 64
daily flights.
British Airways consolidates its
leisure activities into one division, to offer an integrated
range of leisure products sold through all distribution
channels, including travel agents, tour operators, British
Airways Telesales, Travel Shops and Britishairways.com.
British Airways renews its
franchise agreement with GB Airways for a further eight years.
The Gatwick-based carrier has been a franchise carrier since
1995.
May
Three new Directors are appointed
to the British Airways Board. Rod Eddington joins as Chief
Executive. Martin Broughton, Chairman of British American
Tobacco p.l.c. and Dr Martin Read, Managing Director and Chief
Executive of Logica plc, are appointed Non-Executive Directors.
Sir Michael Angus, Non-Executive Deputy Chairman, will step down
from the Board at the Annual General Meeting in July.
British Airways sells its 86 per
cent shareholding in the parent company of Air Liberté to
Taitbout Antibes BV. British Airways’ net cash proceeds FFr457
million (£40 million). Accounting rules require goodwill
previously written off to be reinstated, leading to a loss on
disposal of approximately £56 million. The net effect of the
disposal is to increase reserves by £117 million, and eliminate
the continuing trading losses of Air Liberté.
In conjunction with ten other major
airlines, British Airways announces the creation of the first
European, multi-airline, on-line travel agency. The new site
will offer the public access to the most up-to-date fare
information, including the airlines’ lowest branded fares.
Passengers will also be able to book hotels, car hire, insurance
and other travel services through the site.
British Airways sells its 14.1 per
cent stake in Hogg Robinson to the management buy-out
consortium, leading to a £4.9 million profit on disposal.
British Airways rolls out a free
on-line information service for leisure and business travel
agencies. This will give the UK travel trade extranet
capability, allowing the agent to view product and service
information, special promotions, training information and an
on-line service to enable agents to talk to the trade query
centre.
April
Six major world airlines, including
British Airways, announce the formation of a company to create
and operate an internet marketplace, linking airlines worldwide
with sellers of airline-related goods and services. The company
will handle approximately $32 billion of the six airlines’
supply chain business annually. The other founding member
airlines are American Airlines, Air France, Continental
Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines.
British Airways announces it will
transfer management of British Airways’ flight booking,
departure control, inventory and related information systems to
Amadeus.
British Airways teams up with
GetThere.com, the leading supplier of internet-based
business-to-business travel systems in the US, to launch a new
on-line business travel management system. The private access
website will be available to travel agents for their medium to
small sized corporate clients and also to corporate customers
who wish to book directly.
Following extensive consultation
with trade bodies and UK travel agents, British Airways
announces the payment levels for the agents’ remuneration
scheme, which in 2001 will replace the standard seven per cent
commission payment. Payments are higher for longhaul than for
shorthaul, and for full fare flexible tickets than restricted
tickets to reflect the increased workload.
March
Bob Ayling resigns as Chief
Executive. Chairman Lord Marshall takes on the role
temporarily.
British Airways completes its
acquisition of 9 per cent of the shares in Iberia, at a total of
Ptas41 billion (£155 million). If the price of the shares in
Iberia offered through its public flotation is less, the sum
paid by British Airways will be reduced accordingly.
British Airways and Cathay Pacific
sign a code-share agreement, adding Cathay’s CX code on British
Airways’ flights linking Heathrow with Belfast, Edinburgh,
Glasgow and Manchester.
February
British Airways announces its
e-business strategy, comprising e-Commerce, e-Working,
e-Procurement and e-Ventures. E-procurement is targeted to
increase on-line purchasing in the UK from 25 per cent to 80 per
cent by March 2002, saving more than £175 million on the
airline’s £3.7 billion a year purchasing spend. E-Working will
transform the way the company carries out its business
internally. e-Ventures includes three new on-line ventures, in
which up to £100 million of investment is planned over the next
two years. These are an on-line travel agency; a lifestyle
portal; and a significant expansion of the on-line activities of
Air Miles.
British Airways and Qantas announce
the introduction of new services between the UK and Australia.
Together, the airlines’ will offer four daily services between
London and Sydney. Qantas will also add a second daily service
between Melbourne and London. Frequencies between Singapore and
Perth will rise to 18 per week, with Singapore-Brisbane
frequencies rising to 11 per week. These legs will be operated
by Qantas 767s and will offer more connections to London via
Singapore. To support the new schedules, Qantas will lease seven
Boeing 767s, released as a result of the new British Airways
fleet strategy.
The oneworld alliance announces the
formation of a central management team to drive future growth
and the launch of new customer services and benefits. It will be
led by Peter Buecking, who will step down from his role as Sales
and Marketing Director with Cathay Pacific Airways. As oneworld
Managing Partner, he will report to the alliance’s Governing
Board, comprising the Chief Executives of the member airlines.
January
British Airways announces plans for
fundamental change to the way the airline works with UK travel
agents following extensive consultation with agents and
customers. The standard seven per cent commission payment will
be replaced by a fee based structure, with charges paid for the
basic service of making a booking, issuing travel documents and
collecting the fare. Agents will be free to charge additional
fees for any other services which customers require such as
dedicated service desks and travel policy advice. Some fares
will be adjusted to take this new scheme into account.
British Airways announces the
introduction of a new cabin class, World Traveller Plus. This
cabin will offer more space and facilities than World Traveller
for a premium to the full World Traveller fare. Services between
London and New York JFK will be fully embodied with both the
Club World ‘Lounge in the Sky’, the world’s first fully flat bed
in business class, and World Traveller Plus by Summer 2000.
British Airways takes delivery of
its first two Boeing 777 Extended Range aircraft.
British Airways completes the £17
million (R168 million) purchase of an 18.3 per cent shareholding
in Comair, its franchise partner in Southern Africa.
British Airways agrees to sell
Galileo UK to Galileo International Inc.
British Airways launches the
world’s first commercial interactive TV service offered by an
airline. The service will appear within the interactive TV
travel sections of the UK cable companies Cable & Wireless
Communications, ntl and Telewest.
1999
December
British Airways sells a second
tranche of 1.1 million shares in Equant for £58 million profit.
British Airways remains the beneficial owner of 2.1 million
shares in Equant.
British Airways doubles hand
baggage allowances on Club World to 18kg.
The British Airways London Eye, the
world’s biggest observation wheel, was activated by the Prime
Minister on 31 December to mark the new millenium.
November
British Airways and Aer Lingus sign
a co-operative agreement to codeshare on 14 routes across the
Irish Sea and to eight continental European destinations from
March. Both airlines’ frequent flyers will be able to earn and
redeem miles on each other’s networks. In December Aer Lingus is
confirmed as the ninth member of the oneworld alliance.
British Airways and American
Airlines file an application with the US DoT to codeshare on
flights serving some 75 destinations in the UK, USA, Europe and
Africa.
British Airways complete its
purchase of CityFlyer Express. This follows approval from the
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, subject to
undertakings which were offered by British Airways during the
Competition Commission’s investigation of the transaction.
British Airways launches a new £25
million transfer baggage sorting system at Gatwick.
The first operation into London
City Airport by an aircraft in British Airways’ livery begins,
when British Regional Airlines begin their 3 per day weekday
operation from Sheffield.
October
British Airways orders 12 new 100
seat Airbus 318s, with options to purchase 12 more.
British Airways and LanChile
announce an agreement to co-operate further on air travel
between the UK and Chile. Frequent flyer miles will be
redeemable on each other’s services, with further exploration
into codeshare opportunities. The new benefits will begin in
June, shortly after which LanChile will join the oneworld
alliance.
British Airways announces that it
is to increase services between Heathrow and Lagos, Nigeria, in
conjunction with Nigeria Airways from three to six services a
week.
September
British Airways announces the
disposal of 34 of its 53 Boeing 757s. The aircraft will be
converted by Boeing into freighters for DHL. Deliveries
will begin in July 2000. The airline also welcomes a new
generation of aircraft with the arrival in Britain of its first
Airbus A319.
The airline announces a £50 million
programme of improvements to British Airways Club Europe,
including faster check-in, and re-designed seats and interiors.
July
British Airways and American
Airlines re-affirm their commitment to developing their
alliance, despite US DoT rejection of their application for
anti-trust immunity for joint venture operations on North
Atlantic routes. Both airlines envisage many opportunities
to broaden the alliance in ways which do not require anti-trust
immunity, both jointly and through the oneworld alliance.
The Irish Government endorse plans
for the British Airways alliance with Aer Lingus. The two
airlines plan to code-share extensively and offer reciprocal
benefits to frequent flyers. In the longer term both
companies intend to deepen the alliance, co-operating in many
areas.
The European Commission rule
against some of the airline’s UK sales arrangements.
British Airways announces its
intention to save a further £225 million (excluding one-off
severance costs) in the current financial year to support
profitability in a challenging trading environment. The main
focus of the actions is on improving efficiency in support areas
of the plans include a reduction of around 1000 staff in total
by March 2000. A reduction of 300 managers (a 10 per cent cut)
is targeted. Staff reductions are expected to be managed by
voluntary means, the cost of which is expected to be in the
region of £40 million.
The airline announces that it would
suspend its own services between Heathrow and Basle, and
codeshare with Crossair on that route.
British Airways announces plans for
a £14 million upgrade to Concorde. The plans include new seats,
new toilets, interiors, tableware and a new lounge at Heathrow.
June
In line with its strategy of
reducing the rate of capacity growth, the airline announces that
it is to terminate the lease on one Boeing 767-300 as permitted
under the lease agreement.
British Airways sells to Galileo
International Inc its subsidiary that indirectly held 7,000,400
shares of Galileo International Inc. The disposal realised a
profit before tax of £149 million.
British Airways sells its in-flight
catering facility at Gatwick to ALPHA Catering Services for £14
million. In addition, ALPHA and British Airways enter into a
new ten year agreement for the supply of in-flight catering
service at Gatwick and eight UK regional airports.
British Airways receives the
Investor award for Best Investor Relations Website at the annual
Investor Relations Magazine Awards ceremony.
May
British Airways announces that it
is developing radical new products which redefine longhaul
business travel and set new benchmarks in comfort and design.
The plans include improved Club World featuring completely flat
beds, a new state-of-the-art entertainment system with bigger
screens, in-seat power for lap top computers, e-mail, phones and
fax.
Linea Aerea Nacional de Chile
(LanChile) becomes the eighth member of oneworld.
British Airways and Royal Bank of
Canada (RBC) announce the launch of British Airways Global
Financial Services. The first in a range of innovative
products is the Offshore Deposit Account available from June 1
and provided by RBC’s international private banking arm.
British Airways officially opens
its New World Cargo Centre fitted with state-of-the-art
technology. Business is scheduled to transfer to the new
facility progressively over the next 18 months, enabling an
increased focus on higher-yielding loose freight and significant
improvements to the customer offering. This should raise
average yields and the new technology and working practices are
expected to improve productivity by 30 per cent.
April
The airline’s last McDonnell
Douglas DC10 aircraft leaves service as part of the new fleet
strategy. The DC10 fleet has been sold and will be converted to
cargo freighters.
British Airways launches an issue
of Euro 300 million (approximately £200 million) fixed interest
perpetual preferred securities. This is the first Euro
dominated issue of its type by a non-financial UK business. The
non-voting, cumulative preferred securities have no fixed
maturity but may be redeemed by the issuer at any time after
five years.
March
Base Airlines of Holland becomes
the airline’s 10th franchise partner and will offer services
between Eindhoven and Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester,
and Zurich.
British Airways and LOT announce
additional code-sharing and deeper frequent flyer integration.
Combined Heathrow to Warsaw services will increase to 35 per
week.
A High Court judgement confirms the
right of airlines to freely exchange slots and that an exchange
may be accompanied by financial consideration. The decision was
made in the course of a Judicial Review that considered slot
exchanges between British Airways and Air UK in 1997.
February
British Airways confirms that it is
to take a 9 per cent stake in Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA
as part of the Spanish airline’s privatisation programme. The
expected price will be in the region of £200 million with a
maximum of £215 million. The final price will depend on a number
of adjustments, such as the eventual value of Amadeus in which
Iberia has a 29 per cent stake and which is planning an Initial
Public Offering. American Airlines confirms that it will take a
1 per cent holding in Iberia. British Airways and American
Airlines will have the right to appoint two directors to
Iberia’s 12 person board as well representation on all Board
sub-committees. Iberia announces that it has accepted an
invitation to join oneworld.
British Airways and Iberia sign a
commercial agreement under which they plan to co-operate in a
wide area of activities, including code-sharing on flights
beyond the UK and Spain, reciprocal frequent flyer programmes,
and common ground handling and cargo.
British Airways sells just under 30
per cent of its holding in Equant the telecommunications company
for a profit of £49 million.
January
British Airways and Japan Airlines
(JAL) announce a deepening of their relationship. Members of the
British Airways Executive Club and JAL’s Mileage Bank will be
able to earn and redeem miles on both international networks
from June. The airlines also plan, subject to approvals, to
code-share on JAL’s daily service between Heathrow and Osaka
from late summer.
1998
December
Finnair becomes the first new
recruit to oneworld.
British Airways opens its new
Concorde Room at New York’s JFK airport.
November
The New York City Industrial
Development Authority launch a $115 million 34 year tax exempt
bond to assist in financing improvements to the British Airways
terminal at JFK.
The first jumbo jet to join a
British airline retires from British Airways service as part of
the sale of the airline’s fleet of 15 747-100s.
British Airways announces that it
will not resume regional transatlantic services to New York from
Glasgow and Birmingham for Summer 1999. Neither of the
services operate in the winter season due to poor demand and
financial performance.
British Airways launches a
comprehensive range of new services and benefits for “World
Traveller” passengers. New features include new seats with
adjustable headrests and footrests and more knee room; and
personal video screens for every passenger.
British Airways and Qantas announce
six new code-share routes with flights to Australia from
Gatwick, Birmingham and Manchester connecting over Paris or
Frankfurt.
British Airways and Finnair
announce code-sharing on two daily British Airways flights from
Heathrow to Glasgow and Edinburgh. The airlines also join
their codes on four daily services between Birmingham and
Helsinki, operated via European hubs, offering the most
convenient connecting times. British Airways also adds its
code to Finnair flights from Helsinki and Stockholm to Turku in
Finland.
British Airways and Malev announce
code-sharing on services between Budapest and Birmingham and
Manchester. The code-share flights operate via Frankfurt,
which Malev serves from Budapest twice daily, where passengers
can connect to British Airways’ three daily flights each to
Manchester and Birmingham.
October
On the third day of open skies
discussions between the UK and US, the US negotiators call an
end to the discussions. The US DoT also postpone
evidentiary hearings. British Airways and American
Airlines continue to press for approval of their proposed
alliance on commercially acceptable terms, but reiterate that
the terms of the EC proposal are too harsh.
British Airways and Emirates sign a
code-share agreement covering selected flights between Britain
and the United Arab Emirates. Subject to Government
approval, from December British Airways’ flights between
Heathrow and Abu Dhabi will carry Emirates’ EK code, and
Emirates services between Manchester and Dubai will bear the BA
prefix.
British Airways and LOT further
extend their code-sharing to their six weekly flights between
Krakow and Gatwick. At the same time, LOT moves its
operations from Gatwick’s South Terminal to the North Terminal.
The agreement is supported by a link-up of mileage award
programmes, enabling frequent flyers to earn and redeem miles on
the code-shared flights.
September
American Airlines, British Airways,
Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways and Qantas Airways
announce new the oneworld global alliance. From early
1999, the five airlines will together phase in a wide range of
initiatives designed to provide greater customer benefits,
including more information and support, greater value and
increased opportunities for rewards and recognition.
British Airways and Nigeria Airways
announce an agreement over services between London and Lagos
which has the approval of the UK and Nigerian authorities. A
three times a week B747-400 service will be operated by British
Airways in co-operation with Nigeria Airways.
August
The
Secretary of State for Trade and Industry publishes the advice
of the Director General for Fair Trading which sets out the
basis on which he would recommend approval of the alliance with
American Airlines. His advice includes the making available of
250 slots at Heathrow and Gatwick and the suggestion that slots
might be sold.
British Airways orders 59 aircraft
in the Airbus A320 family with options on a further 129. The
airline also orders 16 Boeing 777s, with options on a further
16, whilst cancelling
5 firm orders and 7 options for Boeing 747-400s. The
airline announces in September that Rolls-Royce has won the
contract to supply the engines to power the new Boeing 777s.
British Airways announces that it
will suspend services to Osaka as a result of worsening
passenger demand and the continued fall in the value of the
Japanese yen.
British Airways and Malév Hungarian
Airlines begin code-sharing on Malév’s services between Gatwick
and Budapest. Members of both airlines’ mileage programmes
are also able to earn and redeem miles on the code-share
flights.
July
The European Commission (EC)
publishes its draft remedies on the proposed alliance between
British Airways and American Airlines. The draft opinion
says that the Commission intends to approve the alliance
provided that certain conditions are fulfilled.
British Airways announces a
code-share agreement with LOT Polish Airlines covering eight
weekly flights between the UK and Poland from August.
Frequent flyers will be able to earn and redeem miles on the
code-share flights.
British Airways resumes services to
Nigeria after a break of 14 months. The move follows the
Nigerian Government lifting a ban on all UK-registered aircraft
from operating to Nigeria.
British Airways announces a further
realignment of capacity in the Asia-Pacific region. From
October, flights between Jakarta and London decrease from six to
two a week. A new route connecting the UK and Australia via
Kuala Lumpur will be opened up, with Qantas coming off the Kuala
Lumpur to Sydney leg. British Airways also announces a 14th
weekly flight between London and Tokyo.
June
British Airways and Canadian
Airlines expand their codesharing to include new flights between
London and Ottawa and an additional daily service between London
and Toronto.
May
The High Court refuses easyJet’s
request for an injunction against ‘go’, British Airways’ new
low-cost airline. ‘Go’ operates its first flight from
London Stansted to Rome as planned.
The US Department of Justice (DoJ)
issues its advice to the US Department of Transportation (DOT)
on the suggested remedies for anti-trust immunity for the
proposed alliance between British Airways and American
Airlines. The DoJ suggests that sufficient slots be made
available at Heathrow for 14 new daily services to the US to
remedy the competition aspects of the alliance. In a separate
matter not directly related to the proposed alliance, the DoJ
also suggests that a further 10 weekly slot pairs be made
available to US carriers to remedy what it sees as a
disadvantageous position as a result of the existing bilateral
air services agreement between the UK and the USA.
April
British Airways and Qantas
announces an expansion of their co-operation on the “kangaroo
route”, with the launch of code-sharing services via Bangkok.
Manchester Airport’s new £75
million terminal - named Terminal 1 British Airways - is
officially opened. The new terminal, funded largely by
Manchester Airport Plc, is capable of handling up to six million
passengers a year and enables all British Airways domestic and
international flights - and those of its partners - to be
brought together under one roof, offering a minimum connection
time of just 30 minutes for transfer passengers.
February
British Airways announces its link
up with Finnair, with code-sharing on 15 return flights a day
between London and Helsinki as well as Stockholm, effective form
March. Deutsche BA will also code-share with Finnair from March
on seven routes. As well as codesharing, the agreement will
enable frequent flyers to earn and redeem miles on each other’s
networks.
January
British Airways opens a new
business centre at the Club Europe lounge in Terminal 1. It is
equipped with personal computers, modem connections for laptop
computers, faxes, phones and printers, photocopying and scanning
facilities.
British Airways introduces
electronic ticketing on international routes. It is available
on all routes between the UK and Germany and on all internal
German routes with Deutsche BA.
1997
December
British Airways sells its Heathrow
catering production units to Gate Gourmet, part of the SAir
Group. The 1200 staff transfer to Gate Gourmet.
A US Court throws out most of the
claims in a lawsuit against the airline by US Airways.
November
British Airways announces that it
is to introduce a new reward scheme in the UK and US for travel
agents. The airline is also modifying its commission structure
in other markets.
British Airways confirms that it is
to launch a new low-fare, no-frills airline which will start
flying in Europe in early 1998. The new airline will operate as
a separate business with its own name, identity, management and
employees.
September
British Airways and the Transport
and General Workers Union announce the settlement of the cabin
crew dispute. The agreement secures the £42 million annual
savings targeted from cabin crew as part of the Business
Efficiency Programme. It also paves the way for a new
relationship between the airline and the unions representing its
cabin crew.
British Airways announces the sales
of its Landing Gear business to Hawker Pacific Inc. and its
Wheels and Brakes business to AlliedSignal Aerospace.
British Airways announces
extensions of the relationships with Qantas and with Canadian
Airlines with further codeshares added.
August
British Airways Engineering
announces a strengthened focus on maintaining British Airways’
own aircraft. It will continue to sell services to other
operators, but on a more selective basis. This results in a
streamlined organisation and a reduction of 450 managerial and
support jobs.
July
British Airways extends its network
in Australia with code-shares on certain Qantas domestic
flights, and Qantas extends its network in the UK and Europe by
code-sharing on certain British Airways flights from Heathrow.
Some of the cabin crew workforce at
the airline hold a three-day strike. Talks between British
Airways, the Transport and General Workers Union, and the
British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association aimed at
resolving the dispute progressed.
British Airways sells 45.7 per cent
of its holding in Galileo International for net proceeds of
US$136.8 million.
British Airways announces that it
has agreed a memorandum of understanding with Iberia which
commits the two airlines to discussing a co-operation agreement.
June
British Airways unveils its new
corporate identity.
May
British Airways sells its
investment in USAirways, realising total proceeds of US$625
million.
Members of the Cabin Crew 89 union
at British Airways vote overwhelmingly in favour of proposals
which include pay restructuring and lower starter rates.
April
The airline announces a
streamlining of its Engineering department. Plans include
disposal of the Wheels & Brakes and Landing Gear overhaul units,
outsourcing the management of the department’s IT systems,
establishing the parts supply organisation as a profit centre,
and a new £20 million Pneumatics and Hydraulics workshop.
British Airways and Canadian
Airlines International announce an expansion of their
code-sharing to all flights from London to Toronto and
Vancouver.
March
British Airways and American
Airlines link their frequent flyer programmes enabling members
to “earn and burn” on each other’s networks excluding
transatlantic services.
The airline transfers its Ground
Fleet Services vehicle maintenance business at Heathrow and
Gatwick to Ryder plc on a five year contract.
British Airways announces a US$100
million investment to improve facilities for passengers
travelling to and from New York. The project includes expanding
the airline’s terminal at JFK, major new road access to the
building and new premium passenger facilities at Newark.
February
British Airways and British
Mediterranean Airways announce a new franchise partnership on
routes between Britain and the Levant.
British Airways announces a £250
million investment in a new World Cargo centre at Heathrow.
The airline announces that it is to
combine its general accounting activities at a new Global
Accounting Centre at Ruislip which will result in a reduction of
290 jobs over three years.
January
British Airways and American
Airlines submit a joint application to the US Department of
Transportation, requesting formal approval of their alliance.
The application requests anti-trust immunity which would permit
the two carriers to co-ordinate their activities between the US
and Europe, and introduce extensive code-sharing across each
other’s networks.
Deutsche BA introduces major
changes on its domestic routes including an expanded network,
simplified pricing and a standard on-board service with a single
class product.
1996
December
British Airways gives notice of its
intention to sell all of its shares in USAir and in January
announces the resignation from the Board of USAir of its three
nominated directors.
The President of the Board of Trade
announces that the alliance between British Airways and American
Airlines should be approved without referral to the Monopolies
and Mergers Commission if suitable undertakings are given. The
undertakings include the two airlines making available up to 168
weekly slots (equivalent to 12 slot pairs a day) at Heathrow for
use exclusively on UK-US services. These slots would be made
available over a phased period with some of the slots being
leased to other carriers until competitors obtained slots of
their own through normal channels.
November
The airline announces a
restructuring of its Passenger Revenue Accounting Department
which will result in a reduction of 600 UK jobs through
automation and work to be contracted to World Network Services,
a new development based in India.
October
British Airways submits a bid, in
conjunction with Paris-based Groupe Rivaud, to offer to invest
FFr 630 million of share capital in Air Liberté.
Deutsche BA (DBA) and Regional
Airlines of France the sale of DBA’s turboprop activities to the
French company, freeing DBA to concentrate on its core jet
operations.
British Airways announces a £10
million a programme of improvements to its UK domestic
services. The programme includes more frequencies, more
capacity, more lounge space and new electronic ticketing and
self-service machines for speedier check-in.
USAir serves notice to end its
code-share and frequent flyer relationship with British Airways
with effect from 29 March 1997.
Under a franchise arrangement with
British Airways, the Airlines of Britain Group will take over
six loss making routes serving Orkney, Shetland and the Western
Isles.
September
British Airways announces the
closure of its Contract Handling unit which carries out ground
handling for other airlines at Heathrow. All 750 staff are
offered the choice of voluntary redundancy and severance
payments, or redeployment and retraining.
August
The European Commission approves
British Airways’ purchase of the remaining 50.1% of the share
capital of its French partner TAT European Airlines.
British Airways announces that from
March 1997, British Airways' services to Faro, Malaga and Oporto
will be operated by GB Airways as a British Airways franchise.
July
British Airways announces it is to
switch its Latin American services from Heathrow to Gatwick
from March 1997.
A threatened strike by members of
the pilots union, BALPA, is averted.
June
British Airways and American
Airlines announce plans for a broad alliance. From April 1997,
the two airlines plan to co-ordinate their passenger and cargo
activities between Europe and the USA, introduce extensive
code-sharing across each other's networks and establish full
reciprocity between their frequent flyer programmes.
The airline signs a franchise
agreement with the South African regional airline Comair,
starting from October.
May
The airline announces the Business
Efficiency Programme for the three years from 1997/8 worth £1
billion.
Canadian Airlines International and
British Airways announce code-sharing on selected routes and
reciprocal frequent flyer programmes.
British Airways announces its first
franchise agreement with a company based outside the UK.
Sun-Air, the Danish regional airline will fly as British Airways
Express from August on a network linking with British Airways at
Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm.
April
The airline announces a
code-sharing agreement with America West, enabling British
Airways Gatwick-Phoenix passengers to fly on to some America
West destinations.
January
Bob Ayling becomes Chief Executive
of British Airways Plc. Sir Colin Marshall continues as
Chairman, but on a non-executive, part-time basis.
British Airways confirms that it
would not be exercising its rights to subscribe for additional
preference shares in USAir.
1995
November
United Airlines announces it will
not pursue talks on the possibility of acquiring USAir.
British Airways takes delivery of
its first Boeing 777.
October
British Airways and Qantas commence
services on the "kangaroo route" between Europe and Australia
under the joint services agreement between the two airlines.
September
British Airways announces a £500
million three-year plan to revolutionise air travel. The
programme kicks off with the relaunch of Club World and
Executive Club frequent flyer programme. A completely new First
Class service, renamed First, will lift off in the winter, with
every other cabin then following suit.
USAir reports preliminary
conversations with both American Airlines and United Airlines
concerning possible strategic relationships up to and including
the acquisition of USAir. British Airways says it will evaluate
a number of options in relation to its investment in USAir and
the airline's future alliance strategy in North America.
July
Trading in Qantas shares commences
on the Australian Stock Market.
June
HM Government reaches agreement
with the US Government on a new "mini-deal" annex to the Bermuda
2 air service agreement which secures US approval for British
Airways' outstanding codeshare requests, and confirms that the
airline may operate a double-daily service from Heathrow to
Philadelphia. Under the agreement, the US DoT approves
applications to add 57 codeshare points to the 65 previously
approved.
British Airways announces the
transfer of eleven weekly Central and East African services to
Gatwick in Spring 1996. The transfer will release slots and
terminal capacity at Heathrow for the launch of additional
intercontinental services.
March
British Airways sells its charter
airline subsidiary Caledonian Airways, including its fleet of
five Lockheed TriStar aircraft, to Inspirations plc.
British Airways and BAA plc
restructure leases covering 224 acres at Heathrow, giving the
airline security of tenure on its core maintenance base for 150
years.
January
Eight additional destinations are
added to the British Airways route network as Manx Airlines
Europe becomes a franchise operator.
1994
December
GB Airways, 49 per cent owned by
British Airways, announces that from February 1995 it will
operate scheduled services as a franchisee in British Airways
livery.
September
British Airways launches its new
Club Europe brand, with a £70 million package of improvements
including new seats, lounges at key business destinations
throughout Europe, telephone check-in, Fast Track through
passport and security checks at Heathrow's Terminal 1, better
food and a choice between a snack and a full meal.
August
British Airways and Qantas announce
a much greater level of co-operation on services between Europe
and Australasia. The airlines will co-ordinate scheduling,
sales and marketing on their 35 weekly Boeing 747-400 Kangaroo
route services and the Qantas network of Boeing 767 services
between Australia, Singapore and Bangkok.
June
British Airways announces changes
on services to the Caribbean from Gatwick, including
discontinuing the under-utilised First Class to provide more
Club World seats.
April
British Airways and Loganair
announce plans to protect loss-making Scottish routes with
British Airways redeploying resources on strengthening
cross-border routes. Loganair will enter into a franchise
arrangement to provide services on several Scottish routes in
British Airways Express livery from July.
March
British Airways launches "World
Offers" fares to more than 50 destinations, cutting prices by an
average of a third, to sell seats that would otherwise probably
be unsold.
January
The US Department of Transportation
(DoT) approves British Airways and USAir codesharing to 65
destinations across the USA until March 17, 1994. In March the
DOT renews approval for one year and says it will not act on
British Airways’ application to extend these arrangements to
further destinations.
1993
December
The airline opens a new £23 million
avionics facility in South Wales, which will create some 375
jobs by October 1994. The new workshop will be capable of
handling over 130,000 avionic components a year, more than
double the workload at Heathrow, with a three day turnaround
compared with the industry norm of up to 28 days.
August
As a result of redeployment of
aircraft in the fleet and the airline's drive to improve
utilisation, the last four Boeing 737-400 aircraft due for
delivery (in the period September - December 1993) will be
placed into storage pending disposal.
July
British Airways announces a new
marketing agreement with CityFlyer Express. From August the
airline operates all scheduled services under the name British
Airways Express, with British Airways' livery, uniforms and
service standards. The agreement, for an initial five years, is
designed to increase feeder traffic at Gatwick to the benefit of
both airlines.
June
British Airways launches daily
flights between Gatwick and Pittsburgh using a USAir B767 in
British Airways livery and staffed by USAir crews in British
Airways uniforms. Similar services are launched to Baltimore in
October and Charlotte in January 1994.
British Airways Maintenance Cardiff
(BAMC), the new £70 million aircraft maintenance base at
Cardiff-Wales Airport, is formally opened.
May
British Airways raises
approximately £442 million, net of expenses, by way of a Rights
Issue on the basis of one New Ordinary Share for every four
Ordinary Shares. Acceptances are received in respect of 92 per
cent of the shares offered.
British Airways and Maersk Air of
Denmark announce a conditional agreement to each inject £6
million into The Plimsoll Line to enable it to meet its
outstanding debts and restructure. Brymon Aviation and Plymouth
City Airport will become wholly-owned British Airways
subsidiaries and Maersk Air Ltd (formerly Birmingham European
Airways) will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Maersk Air.
Following approval to the restructuring by Office of Fair
Trading, British Airways announces in August that flights
operated by Brymon and Maersk Air Ltd are to fly in the colours
of British Airways.
April
In conjunction with USAir's sale of
10 million shares of common stock, British Airways exercises its
right under the investment agreement of January 1993 to invest
US$101 million additional preferred stock to maintain its 24.6
per cent holding in USAir.
Fast Track, a dedicated channel for
premium passengers opens at Heathrow Terminal 4, providing a
fast service from check-in to the departure lounge.
TAT European Airlines commences
operations from Gatwick's North Terminal.
March
British Airways purchases a 25 per
cent stake in Qantas.
The US Government approves British
Airways' alliance with USAir, with clearance for the normal
period of one year for codesharing and wet-lease operations. The
two airlines commence in May a phased programme of codeshare
flights to 38 cities.
British Asia Airways, a wholly
owned subsidiary, inaugurates direct services between the UK and
Taiwan.
February
Lord King retires as Chairman and
becomes the first President of British Airways. The Board
appoints Sir Colin Marshall as Chairman and Robert Ayling as
Group Managing Director.
January
British Airways announces a new
alliance with USAir, including an immediate investment of US$300
million (£198 million) by British Airways in new convertible
preferred shares in USAir for an initial 19.9 per cent voting
interest. The agreement gives British Airways options over the
next five years to invest up to a further US$450 million in
preferred shares in USAir in two tranches if financial and
regulatory conditions permit. Commercial arrangements announced
simultaneously cover codesharing on USAir flights in the USA,
and the launch by British Airways of three new transatlantic
services using USAir crews and aircraft leased from USAir. Both
parties intend to explore other areas in which they will be able
to work together to their mutual benefit.
British Airways pays £610,000 in
settlement of a libel action brought by Mr Richard Branson and
Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited.
1992
November
British Airways acquires for £1 the
assets of the holding company for Dan-Air.
September
British Airways announces it will
acquire a 49.9 per cent share in TAT European Airlines (TAT) for
£17.25 million, subject to adjustment at the time of completion
(January 1993).
July
British Airways and USAir Group Inc
announce an agreement to forge links through an investment by
British Airways of US$750 million in convertible preferred
shares in USAir. The transaction is conditional upon obtaining
the necessary regulatory and legal consents and the approval of
USAir shareholders. The agreement was terminated in December
after the US Government indicated the transaction would not be
approved without unwarranted and unilateral concessions by the
UK Government under the two countries’ bilateral air services
agreement.
Lord King announces he is to step
down as Chairman in July 1993 after 12 years.
March
British Airways Regional, a new
business to run and improve the profitability of services from
Birmingham, Manchester and Scotland, is announced.
Deutsche BA, the company formed by
a consortium of German Banks and British Airways, announces the
acquisition of the German regional airline, Delta Air.
February
The airline agrees the sale of its
property maintenance branch to Drake and Scull.
January
A three-year plan to restore the
airline's Gatwick operation to an acceptable level of
profitability is announced.
1991
October
Boeing 737-400 enters service
August
The airline orders 15 Boeing 777
aircraft powered by General Electric GE90 engines with a further
15 options. The aircraft form part of a £4.3 billion package,
including orders and options for 24 Boeing 747-400s and 11
British Aerospace ATPs.
British Airways agrees in principle
to sell the business previously carried on by British Airways
Engine Overhaul Limited to General Electric of the US for around
£272 million.
July
An agreement is signed to begin
work on setting up a new international airline based in Moscow
to be known as Air Russia. British Airways would have a 31 per
cent stake.
March
A campaign designed to bring back
traffic after the Gulf War is spearheaded by “The World's
Biggest Offer” to give away free every seat on international
services on 23 April.
February
Losses of 4,600 jobs, through early
retirement and severance, and the standing down on half pay for
up to a year of a further 2,000 employees are announced because
of the significant downturn in traffic following the outbreak of
the Gulf War.
January
World Traveller and Euro Traveller
brands are introduced.
1990
February
Boeing 767 enters service.
1989
December
Agreement is reached to acquire a
20 per cent shareholding in Sabena World Airlines. Other
partners in the joint venture are Sabena and KLM. The proposal
is approved by the UK Monopolies and Mergers Commission in July
1990, but the European Commission issues a statement of
objection, requesting further information, in June 1990. The
three partners eventually decide not to proceed with the plan in
December 1990.
October
Shareholders approve a 15 per cent
investment in United Airlines. The bid was withdrawn when other
partners in the planned buy-out failed to raise financing.
September
Super Shuttle relaunched.
July
Boeing 747-400 enters service.
March
New First Class service introduced.
January
BAe Advanced Turbo-Prop (ATP)
enters service.
1988
April
British Airways and British
Caledonian (Bcal) merge.
British Airtours Ltd renamed
Caledonian Airways Ltd.
March
British Airways services at Gatwick
transfer to the new North Terminal.
January
New Club World and Club Europe
brands introduced.
1987
December
British Airways and United Airlines
announce a worldwide marketing partnership.
February
Trading in British Airways shares begins on
11 February.
