The UK's British Airways is starting the new year with 20 new year resolutions after a tumultuous centenary year.
The carrier is part-way through a £6.5 billion investment and upgrade programme that will see the delivery of 73 new aircraft including Airbus A350's and Boeing 787s. The airline is refurbishing its long-haul fleet with new cabins so they look and feel new. The recently introduced Club Suite is a new business class seat with direct aisle access currently on the brand new A350 aircraft, which will now slowly be rolled out across the British Airways' long-haul fleet over the next few years.
It's not just the aircraft that are getting a revamp, new dining across all cabins is being introduced, new bedding and amenity kits for First, Club World and World Traveller Plus will also start appearing on flights. BA will also install onboard WiFi to every aircraft and providing access to power at every aircraft seat. The airline is still proceeding with its slow economy cabin onboard service reductions as it moves away from a full-service carrier and towards the low-cost no-fill model for its lowest price offering.
20 New Years Resolutions
1 New destinations – the airline has already announced nine new routes for 2020 including the Kosovan and Montenegrin capitals Pristina and Podgorica, Perugia in Italy, Antalya, Dalaman and Bodrum in Turkey, San Sebastián in Spain, Rhodes in Greece and Portland, Oregon, and it’s promising even more new destinations for customers to come.
2 New aircraft – the airline is due to take delivery of more than 20 new aircraft in 2020, including 787-10s and A350s which are up to 40% more fuel-efficient than the aircraft they replace.
3 Club Suite - more aircraft will be flying with the airline’s new business class seat, Club Suite, which offers privacy via a suite door, 40% more storage space and a 1-2-1 layout with direct aisle access for all passengers.
4 Caring for the environment – from January British Airways will be offsetting all its domestic flights, customers travelling further afield can offset their individual emissions. The airline will be making additional announcements about sustainability throughout the year.
5 First – customers can expect to see more aircraft fitted with the airline’s newest First seat, currently available on its 787-9 aircraft.
6 World Traveller comfort – in addition to enhancements made in 2019, customers travelling in the airline’s economy cabin will experience refreshed bedding.
7 Designed by Savile Row tailoring expert Ozwald Boateng OBE, new uniforms for a new decade will be revealed.
8 Food for thought - the airline is introducing new menus across its network thanks to new partnerships with gourmet caterers Do&Co at Heathrow and Newrest at Gatwick.
9 Lounge luxury – the airline’s lounges at Heathrow, Edinburgh and Berlin will be refreshed to ensure customers are relaxed ahead of their flights. The Elemis Spa at JFK will also be re-designed and re-launched.
10 Connectivity - the majority of eligible aircraft will be WiFi ready by the end of 2020.
11 BA.com - expect a newly re-designed Manage My Booking experience enabling customers to navigate to information and services in a more intuitive way.
12 Appy days – customers using the British Airways’ app will benefit from a slicker design and additional functionality improving the experience as they make and manage their bookings.
13 Robots – British Airways is trialling new autonomous wayfaring robots at Heathrow to help customers navigate through the airport.
14 3D printing – the airline’s tech experts will continue their trial of printing non-essential aircraft parts like tray tables, to ensure flights are able to depart on time and without seats going out of service.
15 Concorde – British Airways Premier Card and Gold Guest List Executive Club members will be looked after by new Concorde teams when they travel through Los Angeles, New York JFK, London Heathrow, Delhi, Los Angeles and Mumbai.
16 Customer service training – thousands of British Airways’ airport hosts worldwide will receive additional training to provide a service that goes above and beyond expectations.
17 Executive Club – the airline has committed to making continuous improvements to the Executive Club with new partners and exciting deals throughout the year
18 Flying Start - British Airways celebrates the 10-year anniversary of its Flying Start charity which has so far raised more than £24m+ for good causes in the UK and overseas.
19 Internships – from summer, British Airways will become the first UK airline to offer paid summer internships to future aviators.
20 Documentary – customers will have the chance to watch the 2019 documentary about British Airways, British Airways Access All Areas, 24/7 on board long-haul flights.
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