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76-679: British Airways plc ( BA ) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom . It is headquartered in London , England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport . The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers carried, behind easyJet . In January 2011 BA merged with Iberia , creating the International Airlines Group (IAG), a holding company registered in Madrid , Spain. IAG

152-476: A civil rights dispute when a Christian employee was forbidden to wear a necklace bearing the cross , a religious symbol. BA's practice of forbidding such symbols has been publicly questioned by British politicians such as the former Home Secretary John Reid and the former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw . Relations have been turbulent between BA and Unite. In 2007, cabin crew threatened strike action over salary changes to be imposed by BA management. The strike

228-644: A public company or a state-owned enterprise , while others have been completely privatized . The aviation industry has also been gradually deregulated and liberalized, permitting greater freedoms of the air particularly in the United States and in the European Union with the signing of the Open Skies agreement. One of the features of such agreements is the right of a country to designate multiple airlines to serve international routes with

304-488: A British Airways Board was established by the British government to manage the two nationalised airline corporations, British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways , and two regional airlines, Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines . On 31 March 1974, all four companies were merged to form British Airways. However, it marked 2019 as its centenary based on predecessor companies. After almost 13 years as

380-414: A brand new ad campaign, titled "A British Original" produced by London-based Uncommon Creative Studio. This was to be another record-breaking campaign for its use of 500 unique executions along with a series of 32 short films, coinciding with the launch of Ozwald Boateng's new collection of uniform. British Airways purchased the internet domain ba.com in 2002 from previous owner Bell Atlantic , 'BA' being

456-799: A certificate under Section 401 of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (i.e., any U.S.-based airline operating internationally), and any ship registered in the United States is known as a U.S. flag vessel . The term "flag carrier" is a legacy of the early days of commercial aviation when governments often took the lead by establishing state-owned airlines because of the high capital costs of running them. However, not all such airlines were government-owned; Pan Am , TWA , Cathay Pacific , Union de Transports Aériens , Canadian Pacific Air Lines and Olympic Airlines were all privately owned, but were considered to be flag carriers as they were

532-605: A continuation of the flight to Bahrain. Following the Air France Concorde crash in Paris and a slump in air travel following the 11 September attacks in New York in 2001, it was decided to cease Concorde operations in 2003 after 27 years of service. The final commercial Concorde flight was BA002 from New York-JFK to London-Heathrow on 24 October 2003. In 1981 the airline was instructed to prepare for privatisation by

608-408: A cost savings of £750m and the establishment of a budget airline, Go , in 1998. The next year, however, British Airways reported an 84% drop in profits in its first quarter alone, its worst in seven years. In March 2000, Ayling was removed from his position and British Airways announced Rod Eddington as his successor. That year, British Airways and KLM conducted talks on a potential merger, reaching

684-785: A decision in July to file an official merger plan with the European Commission. The plan fell through in September 2000. British Asia Airways ceased operations in 2001 after BA suspended flights to Taipei. Go was sold to its management and the private equity firm 3i in June 2001. Eddington would make further workforce cuts due to reduced demand following 11 September attacks in 2001, and BA sold its stake in Qantas in September 2004. In 2005 Willie Walsh , managing director of Aer Lingus and

760-407: A dramatic increase in travel, and the company now faced a worker shortage, forcing it to cancel more than 1,500 flights. During February 2023, The international airlines group, the owners of British Airways announced that the group has returned to making an annual profit of €1.3 billion for the first time since the pandemic, following a €2.8 billion loss in 2021. The company warned that due to

836-472: A former pilot, became the chief executive officer of British Airways. BA unveiled its new subsidiary OpenSkies in January 2008, taking advantage of the liberalisation of transatlantic traffic rights between Europe and the United States. OpenSkies flies non-stop from Paris to New York's JFK and Newark airports. In July 2008, British Airways announced a merger plan with Iberia , another flag carrier airline in

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912-448: A given sovereign state , enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Historically, the term was used to refer to airlines owned by the government of their home country and associated with the national identity of that country. Such an airline may also be known as a national airline or a national carrier , although this can have different legal meanings in some countries. Today, it

988-443: A pay offer. Strike action continued throughout 2017 in numerous discontinuous periods, resulting in one of the longest running disputes in aviation history. On 31 October 2017, after 85 days of discontinuous industrial action, Mixed Fleet accepted a new pay deal from BA which ended the dispute. British Airways serves over 170 destinations in 70 countries, including eight domestic and 27 in the United States. British Airways co-founded

1064-637: A state company, BA was privatised in February 1987 as part of a wider privatisation plan by the Conservative government . The carrier expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian in 1987, Dan-Air in 1992, and British Midland International in 2012. It is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance, along with American Airlines , the now-defunct Canadian Airlines , Cathay Pacific , and Qantas . The alliance has since grown to become

1140-419: Is " ultrasonic ", but the older meaning sometimes still lives on, as in the word superheterodyne The tip of a bullwhip is generally seen as the first object designed to reach the speed of sound. This action results in its telltale "crack", which is actually just a sonic boom . The first human-made supersonic boom was likely caused by a piece of common cloth, leading to the whip's eventual development. It's

1216-422: Is any international airline with a strong connection to its home country or that represents its home country internationally, regardless of whether it is government-owned. Flag carriers may also be known as such due to laws requiring aircraft or ships to display the state flag of the country of their registry . For example, under the law of the United States, a U.S. flag air carrier is any airline that holds

1292-428: Is crack formation faster than the speed of sound in a brittle material. The word supersonic comes from two Latin derived words ; 1) super : above and 2) sonus : sound, which together mean above sound, or faster than sound. At the beginning of the 20th century, the term "supersonic" was used as an adjective to describe sound whose frequency is above the range of normal human hearing. The modern term for this meaning

1368-444: Is more complex. The main key to having low supersonic drag is to properly shape the overall aircraft to be long and thin, and close to a "perfect" shape, the von Karman ogive or Sears-Haack body . This has led to almost every supersonic cruising aircraft looking very similar to every other, with a very long and slender fuselage and large delta wings, cf. SR-71 , Concorde , etc. Although not ideal for passenger aircraft, this shaping

1444-653: Is the world's third-largest airline group in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest in Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the FTSE 100 Index . British Airways is the first passenger airline to have generated more than US$ 1 billion on a single air route in a year (from 1 April 2017, to 31 March 2018, on the New York-JFK – London-Heathrow route). BA was created in 1974 after

1520-650: The 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict . Over its history, BA has had many subsidiaries. In addition to the below, British Airways also owned Airways Aero Association, the operator of the British Airways flying club based at Wycombe Air Park in High Wycombe , until it was sold to Surinder Arora in 2007. British Airways obtained a 15% stake in UK regional airline Flybe from the sale of BA Connect in March 2007. It sold

1596-545: The COVID-19 pandemic and the vehicle was put up for sale. Most modern fighter aircraft are supersonic aircraft. No modern-day passenger aircraft are capable of supersonic speed, but there have been supersonic passenger aircraft , namely Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144 . Both of these passenger aircraft and some modern fighters are also capable of supercruise , a condition of sustained supersonic flight without

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1672-506: The Conservative Thatcher government. Sir John King , later Lord King, was appointed chairman, charged with bringing the airline back into profitability. While many other large airlines struggled, King was credited with transforming British Airways into one of the most profitable air carriers in the world. The flag carrier was privatised and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in February 1987. British Airways effected

1748-594: The ThrustSSC . The vehicle, driven by Andy Green , holds the world land speed record, having achieved an average speed on its bi-directional run of 1,228 km/h (763 mph) in the Black Rock Desert on 15 October 1997. The Bloodhound LSR project planned an attempt on the record in 2020 at Hakskeenpan in South Africa with a combination jet and hybrid rocket propelled car. The aim was to break

1824-562: The Tupolev Tu-160 and Rockwell B-1 Lancer are also supersonic-capable. The aerodynamics of supersonic aircraft is simpler than subsonic aerodynamics because the airsheets at different points along the plane often cannot affect each other. Supersonic jets and rocket vehicles require several times greater thrust to push through the extra aerodynamic drag experienced within the transonic region (around Mach 0.85–1.2). At these speeds aerospace engineers can gently guide air around

1900-524: The fuselage of the aircraft without producing new shock waves , but any change in cross area farther down the vehicle leads to shock waves along the body. Designers use the Supersonic area rule and the Whitcomb area rule to minimize sudden changes in size. However, in practical applications, a supersonic aircraft must operate stably in both subsonic and supersonic profiles, hence aerodynamic design

1976-467: The speed of sound decreases somewhat with altitude, due to lower temperatures found there (typically up to 25 km). At even higher altitudes the temperature starts increasing, with the corresponding increase in the speed of sound. When an inflated balloon is burst, the torn pieces of latex contract at supersonic speed, which contributes to the sharp and loud popping noise. To date, only one land vehicle has officially travelled at supersonic speed,

2052-486: The supersonic Concorde airliner, and the world's first supersonic passenger service flew on 21 January 1976 from Heathrow Airport to Bahrain International Airport . Services to the U.S. began on 24 May 1976 with a flight to Washington Dulles airport, and flights to New York JFK airport followed on 22 September 1977. Service to Singapore was established in co-operation with Singapore Airlines as

2128-546: The wave motion travelling through the bullwhip that makes it capable of achieving supersonic speeds. Most modern firearm bullets are supersonic, with rifle projectiles often travelling at speeds approaching and in some cases well exceeding Mach 3 . Most spacecraft are supersonic at least during portions of their reentry, though the effects on the spacecraft are reduced by low air densities. During ascent, launch vehicles generally avoid going supersonic below 30 km (~98,400 feet) to reduce air drag. Note that

2204-531: The "main national airline" and often a sign of their country's presence abroad. The heavily regulated aviation industry also meant aviation rights are often negotiated between governments, denying airlines access to an open market. These Bilateral Air Transport Agreements similar to the Bermuda I and Bermuda II agreements specify rights awardable only to locally registered airlines, forcing some governments to jump-start airlines to avoid being disadvantaged in

2280-547: The 12,000 job cuts and pay cuts. On 12 October 2020, it was announced that Sean Doyle , CEO of Aer Lingus (also part of the IAG airline group) would succeed Álex Cruz as CEO. The key trends for the British Airways PLC Group are shown below. On the merger with Iberia, the accounting reference date was changed from 31 March to 31 December; figures below are therefore for the years to 31 March up to 2010, for

2356-614: The British Airways Board unified its branding, effectively establishing British Airways as an airline on 31 March 1974. Following two years of fierce competition with British Caledonian , the second-largest airline in the United Kingdom at the time, the Government changed its aviation policy in 1976 so that the two carriers would no longer compete on long-haul routes. British Airways and Air France operated

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2432-519: The Flag", and "To Fly, To Serve". BA had an account for 23 years with Saatchi & Saatchi , an agency that created many of their most famous advertisements, including "The World's Biggest Offer" and the influential "Face" campaign. Saatchi & Saatchi later imitated this advert for Silverjet , a rival of BA, after BA discontinued their business activities. Since 2007, BA used Bartle Bogle Hegarty as its advertising agency. In October 2022, BA launched

2508-519: The Iranian route is "not commercially viable". As a result, BA decided to stop its services in Iran, effective 22 September 2018. In 2018, British Airways partnered with British tailor and designer Ozwald Boateng to redesign the company's historic uniforms, in honour of its approaching centenary , creating a new look for BA, while adhering to its traditional style. The new collection "A British Original"

2584-557: The Olympics minister Hugh Robertson and the London Mayor Boris Johnson , along with the footballer David Beckham . On 27 May 2017, British Airways suffered a computer power failure. All flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers were affected. By the following day, the company had not succeeded in reestablishing the normal function of its computer systems. When asked by reporters for more information on

2660-679: The Oneworld alliance, wherein each airline would retain its original brand. The agreement was confirmed in April 2010, and in July the European Commission and U.S. Department of Transportation permitted the merger and began to co-ordinate transatlantic routes with American Airlines. On 6 October 2010 the alliance between British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia formally began operations. The alliance generates an estimated £230 million in annual cost-saving for BA, in addition to

2736-475: The Treasury blocked the proposal. Consequently, it was only following the recommendations of the 1969 Edwards Report that a new British Airways Board, managing both BEA and BOAC, and the two regional British airlines Cambrian Airways based at Cardiff, and Northeast Airlines based at Newcastle upon Tyne, was constituted on 1 April 1972. Although each airline's branding was maintained initially, two years later

2812-552: The Union ), while other branches of Unite the Union and the GMB Union represent other employees. Bob Ayling's management faced strike action by cabin crew over a £1 billion cost-cutting drive to return BA to profitability in 1997; this was the last time BA cabin crew would strike until 2009, although staff morale has reportedly been unstable since that incident. In an effort to increase interaction between management, employees, and

2888-481: The acquisition of Brymon Airways in May, formed British Airways Citiexpress (later BA Connect ). In September 1998, British Airways, along with American Airlines , Cathay Pacific , Qantas, and Canadian Airlines , formed the Oneworld airline alliance . Oneworld began operations on 1 February 1999, and is the third-largest airline alliance in the world, behind SkyTeam and Star Alliance. Bob Ayling's leadership led to

2964-533: The airline alliance Oneworld in 1999 with airlines American Airlines , Cathay Pacific and Qantas . British Airways has codeshares with the following airlines: As of January 2024, the British Airways operates a fleet of 253 aircraft with 47 orders. BA operates a mix of Airbus narrow and wide-body aircraft, and Boeing wide-body aircraft, specifically the 777 and 787 . In October 2020, British Airways retired its fleet of 747-400 aircraft. It

3040-530: The airline was agreed the next month, and the sale was completed for £172.5 million on 30 March 2012. The airline established a new subsidiary based at London City Airport operating Airbus A318s . British Airways was the official airline partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games . On 18 May 2012 it flew the Olympic flame from Athens International Airport to RNAS Culdrose while carrying various dignitaries, including Lord Sebastian Coe , Princess Anne ,

3116-452: The airline's look as it prepared for privatization. To celebrate its centenary in 2019, BA announced four retro liveries: three on Boeing 747-400 aircraft (one in each of BOAC, Negus & Negus, and Landor Associates liveries), and one A319 in BEA livery. Flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in

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3192-453: The airline. The airline used a cartoon safety video from circa 2005 until 2017. Beginning on 1 September 2017 the airline introduced the new Comic Relief live action safety video hosted by Chabuddy G , with appearances by British celebrities Gillian Anderson , Rowan Atkinson , Jim Broadbent , Rob Brydon , Warwick Davis , Chiwetel Ejiofor , Ian McKellen , Thandie Newton , and Gordon Ramsay . A "sequel" video, also hosted by Chabuddy G,

3268-470: The city. As a result of the case BA management apologised "unreservedly", and the company agreed to pay £110,000 in damages to Virgin, £500,000 to Branson personally and £3 million legal costs. Lord King stepped down as chairman in 1993 and was replaced by his deputy, Colin Marshall, while Bob Ayling took over as CEO. Virgin filed a separate action in the U.S. that same year regarding BA's domination of

3344-645: The combined International Airlines Group; Iberia's other shareholders received the remaining 45%. As a part of the merger, British Airways ceased trading independently on the London Stock Exchange after 23 years as a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . In September 2010 Willie Walsh, now CEO of IAG, announced that the group was considering acquiring other airlines and had drawn up a shortlist of twelve possible acquisitions. In November 2011 IAG announced an agreement in principle to purchase British Midland International from Lufthansa . A contract to purchase

3420-437: The company owns 52% of the slots as of 2019. In August 2014, Willie Walsh advised the airline would continue to use flight paths over Iraq despite the hostilities there. A few days earlier Qantas announced it would avoid Iraqi airspace, while other airlines did likewise. The issue arose following the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, and a temporary suspension of flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport during

3496-515: The company set out plans to make up to 12,000 staff redundant because of the global collapse of air traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that it may not reopen its operations at Gatwick airport. They reopened at Gatwick in March 2022. In July 2020, British Airways announced the immediate retirement of its entire 747-400 fleet, having originally intended to phase out the remaining 747s in 2024. The airline stated that its decision to bring forward

3572-478: The company's initialism and its IATA Airline code. British Airways is the official airline of the Wimbledon Championship tennis tournament , and was the official airline and tier one partner of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics . BA was also the official airline of England's bid to host the 2018 Football World Cup . High Life , founded in 1973, is the official in-flight magazine of

3648-469: The date was in part due to the downturn in air travel following the COVID-19 pandemic and to focus on incorporating more modern and fuel-efficient aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 . At the same time, British Airways also announced its intention to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050. On 28 July 2020, the company's cabin crew union issued an "industrial action" warning in order to prevent

3724-460: The existing record, then make further attempts during which (the members of) the team hoped to reach speeds of up to 1,600 km/h (1,000 mph). The effort was originally run by Richard Noble who was the leader of the ThrustSSC project, however following funding issues in 2018, the team was bought by Ian Warhurst and renamed Bloodhound LSR. Later the project was indefinitely delayed due to

3800-421: The face of foreign competition. Some countries also establish flag carriers such as Israel 's El Al or Lebanon 's Middle East Airlines for nationalist reasons or to aid the country's economy, particularly in the area of tourism. In many cases, governments would directly assist in the growth of their flag carriers typically through subsidies and other fiscal incentives. The establishment of competitors in

3876-568: The first time. British Airways holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. The airlines' head office, Waterside , stands in Harmondsworth , a village that is near Heathrow Airport. Waterside was completed in June 1998 to replace British Airways' previous head office, Speedbird House, located in Technical Block C on

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3952-406: The form of other locally registered airlines may be prohibited or heavily regulated to avoid direct competition. Even where privately run airlines may be allowed to be established, the flag carriers may still be accorded priority, especially in the apportionment of aviation rights to local or international markets. Near the end of the 20th century, many of these airlines have been corporatized as

4028-418: The four-way merger between BOAC, BEA, Cambrian, and Northeast were temporarily given the text logo "British airways" but retained the original airline's livery. With its formation in 1974, British Airways' aeroplanes were given a new white, blue, and red colour scheme with a cropped Union Jack painted on their tail fins, designed by Negus & Negus. In 1984, a new livery designed by Landor Associates updated

4104-418: The grounds of Heathrow. British Airways' main base is at Heathrow Airport, but it also has a major presence at Gatwick Airport. It also has a base at London City Airport, where its subsidiary BA CityFlyer is the largest operator. BA had previously operated a significant hub at Manchester Airport . Manchester to New York (JFK) services were withdrawn; later all international services outside London ceased when

4180-405: The nine months to 31 December 2010, and for the years to 31 December thereafter: In 2020, due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, British Airways had to reduce its 42,000-strong workforce by 12,000 jobs. According to the estimate by IAG, a parent company, it will take the air travel industry several years to return to previous performance and profitability levels. However, 2022 saw

4256-636: The objects move faster than the speed at which sound propagates through the medium. In gases, sound travels longitudinally at different speeds, mostly depending on the molecular mass and temperature of the gas, and pressure has little effect. Since air temperature and composition varies significantly with altitude, the speed of sound, and Mach numbers for a steadily moving object may change. In water at room temperature supersonic speed means any speed greater than 1,440 m/s (4,724 ft/s). In solids, sound waves can be polarized longitudinally or transversely and have higher velocities. Supersonic fracture

4332-506: The ongoing problems, British Airways stated "The root cause was a power supply issue which our affected our IT systems - we continue to investigate this" and declined to comment further. Willie Walsh later attributed the crash to an electrical engineer disconnecting the UPS and said there would be an independent investigation. Amidst the decline in the value of Iranian currency due to the reintroduction of U.S. sanctions on Iran, BA announced that

4408-508: The result that there is no single "flag carrier". The chart below lists airlines considered to be a "flag carrier", based on current or former state ownership or other verifiable designation as a national airline. Minority (20.05%) in the Lufthansa Group acquired in 2020 was sold in 2022. Supersonic Sounds are traveling vibrations in the form of pressure waves in an elastic medium. Objects move at supersonic speed when

4484-519: The stake in 2014. BA also owned a 10% stake in InterCapital and Regional Rail (ICRR), the company that managed the operations of Eurostar (UK) Ltd from 1998 to 2010, when the management of Eurostar was restructured. Staff working for British Airways are represented by a number of trade unions, pilots are represented by British Air Line Pilots' Association , cabin crew by British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (a branch of Unite

4560-534: The subsidiary BA Connect was sold. Passengers wishing to travel internationally with BA either to or from regional UK destinations must now transfer in London. Heathrow Airport is dominated by British Airways, which owns 50% of the slots available at the airport as of 2019, growing from 40% in 2004. The majority of BA services operate from Terminal 5 , with the exception of some flights at Terminal 3 owing to insufficient capacity at Terminal 5. At London City Airport,

4636-443: The surge in demand for flying this could lead to more disruption. British Airways is the largest airline based in the United Kingdom in terms of fleet size, international flights, and international destinations and was, until 2008, the largest airline by passenger numbers. The airline carried 34.6 million passengers in 2008, but, rival carrier easyJet transported 44.5 million passengers that year, passing British Airways for

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4712-619: The takeover of the UK's "second" airline, British Caledonian, in July of that same year. The formation of Richard Branson 's Virgin Atlantic in 1984 created a competitor for BA. The intense rivalry between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic culminated in the former being sued for libel in 1993, arising from claims and counterclaims over a "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin. This campaign included allegations of poaching Virgin Atlantic customers, tampering with private files belonging to Virgin, and undermining Virgin's financial reputation in

4788-497: The third-largest, after SkyTeam and Star Alliance . Proposals to establish a joint British airline, combining the assets of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA), were first raised in 1953 as a result of difficulties in attempts by BOAC and BEA to negotiate air rights through the British colony of Cyprus . Increasingly BOAC was protesting that BEA

4864-527: The trans-Atlantic routes, but it was thrown out in 1999. In 1992 British Airways expanded through the acquisition of the financially troubled Dan-Air , giving BA a much larger presence at Gatwick Airport . British Asia Airways , a subsidiary based in Taiwan, was formed in March 1993 to operate between London and Taipei . That same month BA purchased a 25% stake in the Australian airline Qantas and, with

4940-418: The unions, various conferences and workshops have taken place, often with thousands in attendance. In 2005, wildcat action was taken by union members over a decision by Gate Gourmet not to renew the contracts of 670 workers and replace them with agency staff; it is estimated that the strike cost British Airways £30 million and caused disruption to 100,000 passengers. In October 2006, BA became involved in

5016-726: The unions: the story was later withdrawn. A strike was announced for May 2010, British Airways again sought an injunction. Members of the Socialist Workers Party disrupted negotiations between BA management and Unite to prevent industrial action. Further disruption struck when Derek Simpson , a Unite co-leader, was discovered to have leaked details of confidential negotiations online via Twitter. Industrial action re-emerged in 2017, this time by BA's Mixed Fleet flight attendants, whom were employed on much less favorable pay and terms and conditions compared to previous cabin staff who joined prior to 2010. A ballot for industrial action

5092-405: The use of an afterburner . Due to its ability to supercruise for several hours and the relatively high frequency of flight over several decades, Concorde spent more time flying supersonically than all other aircraft combined by a considerable margin. Since Concorde's final retirement flight on November 26, 2003, there are no supersonic passenger aircraft left in service. Some large bombers , such as

5168-457: The £330 million which would be saved by the merger with Iberia. This merger was finalised on 21 January 2011, resulting in the establishment of International Airlines Group S.A. (IAG), the world's third-largest airline in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest airline group in Europe. Prior to merging, British Airways owned a 13.5% stake in Iberia, and thus received ownership of 55% of

5244-446: Was called off at the last minute, British Airways losing £80 million. In December 2009, a ballot for strike action over Christmas received a high level of support, action was blocked by a court injunction that deemed the ballot illegal. Negotiations failed to stop strike action in March, BA withdrew perks for strike participants. Allegations were made by The Guardian newspaper that BA had consulted outside firms methods to undermine

5320-915: Was distributed to Mixed Fleet crew in November 2016 and resulted in an overwhelming yes majority for industrial action. Unite described Mixed Fleet crew as on "poverty pay", with many Mixed Fleet flight attendants sleeping in their cars in between shifts because they cannot afford the fuel to drive home, or operating while sick as they cannot afford to call in sick and lose their pay for the shift. Unite also blasted BA of removing staff travel concessions, bonus payments and other benefits to all cabin crew who undertook industrial action, as well as strike-breaking tactics such as wet-leasing aircraft from other airlines and offering financial incentives for cabin crew not to strike. The first dates of strikes during Christmas 2016 were cancelled due to pay negotiations. Industrial action by Mixed Fleet commenced in January 2017 after rejecting

5396-522: Was first used in a 1984 advertisement directed by Tony Scott , in an arrangement by Howard Blake . It was reworked by Malcolm McLaren and Yanni for 1989's iconic "Face" advertisement , and subsequently appeared in many different arrangements between 1990 and 2010. The slogan 'the world's favourite airline', first used in 1983, was dropped in 2001 after Lufthansa overtook BA in terms of passenger numbers. Other advertising slogans have included "The World's Best Airline", "We'll Take More Care of You", "Fly

5472-409: Was launched in 2023. This design initiative also included English bone china manufactured by William Edwards and cutlery by Studio William for the company's first class service. In 2019, as part of the celebrations of a centenary of airline operations in the United Kingdom, British Airways announced that four aircraft would receive retro liveries. The first of these is a Boeing 747-400 (G-BYGC), which

5548-530: Was one of the largest operators of the 747, having previously operated the -100, -200, and -400 aircraft from 1974 (1969 with BOAC ). The airline has its own engineering branch to maintain its aircraft fleet, this includes line maintenance at over 70 airports around the world. Amongst the company's various hangar facilities are its two major maintenance centres at Glasgow and Cardiff Airports . The musical theme predominantly used on British Airways advertising has been " The Flower Duet " by Léo Delibes . This

5624-425: Was released in 2018, with Michael Caine , Olivia Colman , Jourdan Dunn , Naomie Harris , Joanna Lumley , and David Walliams . The two videos are part of Comic Relief's charity programme. On 17 April 2023, the airline launched a new safety video as a part of “A British Original” campaign, with Emma Raducanu , Robert Peston , Little Simz , and Steven Bartlett . The aeroplanes that British Airways inherited from

5700-445: Was repainted into the former BOAC livery, which it retained until its retirement. Two more Boeing 747-400s were repainted with former British Airways liveries. One wore the " Landor " livery until its retirement in 2020 (G-BNLY), the other (G-CIVB), wore the original "Union Jack" livery until its retirement in 2020 also. An Airbus A319 was repainted into British European Airways livery, which is still flying as G-EUPJ. On 28 April 2020,

5776-602: Was using its subsidiary Cyprus Airways to circumvent an agreement that BEA would not fly routes further east than Cyprus, particularly to the increasingly important oil regions in the Middle East . The chairman of BOAC, Miles Thomas, was in favour of a merger as a potential solution to this disagreement and had backing for the idea from the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, Rab Butler . However, opposition from

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