Air passengers on British Airways flights could soon be able to skip the check-in desk.

BA is trialling a new system which sees passengers given the option of being automatically checked in 24 hours ahead of their flight.

Travellers on selected flights in France will be invited to take part in the automatic check-in trial. Those who are automatically checked in will be assigned a seat and receive their boarding passes electronically.
The scheme is part of a £5 billion investment by BA, and will become available to more travellers early next year.

If the trial is successful, they hope to introduce it as an option for all passengers by the end of next year.

Holidaymakers would simply need to drop off their bags and make their way to the plane.

BA claims the initiative will “change the future of airline check-in”.
The airline’s brands and customer experience managing director, Frank van der Post, said: “Customers have so much to think about prior to a trip, be that finishing up in the office or getting the kids’ suitcases packed. We’re aiming to give them one less thing to think about by giving them the choice to be checked in automatically and sent their boarding pass electronically.”

Copyright © Press Association 2012

Air passengers on British Airways flights could soon be able to skip the check-in desk.

BA is trialling a new system which sees passengers given the option of being automatically checked in 24 hours ahead of their flight.
Travellers on selected flights in France will be invited to take part in the automatic check-in trial. Those who are automatically checked in will be assigned a seat and receive their boarding passes electronically.

The scheme is part of a £5 billion investment by BA, and will become available to more travellers early next year.
If the trial is successful, they hope to introduce it as an option for all passengers by the end of next year.
Holidaymakers would simply need to drop off their bags and make their way to the plane.
BA claims the initiative will “change the future of airline check-in”.

The airline’s brands and customer experience managing director, Frank van der Post, said: “Customers have so much to think about prior to a trip, be that finishing up in the office or getting the kids’ suitcases packed. We’re aiming to give them one less thing to think about by giving them the choice to be checked in automatically and sent their boarding pass electronically.”

Copyright © Press Association 2012

British Airways has confirmed that it will soon be offering its first class service on four of its Caribbean routes from London Gatwick.
The airline’s premium cabin, complete with a 60% wider seat, private wardrobes and personal electronic blinds, will be available on flights on Boeing 777-200 aircrafts to Barbados, Bermuda, St Lucia and Port of Spain in Trinidad from July 30.

The food and drink options on offer in BA’s World Traveller Plus premium economy cabin on long-haul flights from Gatwick have also been improved and Colm Lacy, BA’s head of commercial at the airport, is delighted with the changes.
“These are significant steps forward for our premium customers at Gatwick,” he said.
“The introduction of the new First cabin means our customers can enjoy the very best travel experience British Airways has to offer.”

Passengers in World Traveller Plus premium economy also get a welcome drink prior to take-off and a selection of two entrees from the Club World menu as well as bigger seats with adjustable headrests, lumbar support and leg rests.
Flights operate between Gatwick and Piarco Airport in Port of Spain, LF Wade International Airport in Bermuda, Grantley Adams International Airport in Bridgetown and Hewanorra Airport in St Lucia on most days.

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The increasing popularity of South Korea among air passengers has been recognised by British Airways, which has announced a new route from Heathrow Airport to Seoul.

Tickets are now on sale for the six-flights-a-week service to the South Korean capital, which begins on December 2. Fares to South Korea have been fairly high in recent years due to high demand for tickets driven by a reluctance among airlines to put on flights to the country.
Flights to the country were axed by the airline in 1998 for “economic reasons” but made a brief return last year after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan. British Airways staff stayed in Seoul overnight due to safety fears over staying in Tokyo.
The Foreign Office said around 100,000 British people visit South Korea every year. Popular sights among tourists include the Great Gates of Seoul, the historic city of Gyeongju, and the semi-tropical Jeju Island.

Commercial director at BA, Drew Crawley, said: “We have seen significant growth in customers wanting to travel to Seoul for both business and pleasure. It is a vibrant city with a strong economic base.
“Equally, there are vast numbers of South Korean companies wishing to come to the UK to do business as Asia’s economies continue to grow. We want to ensure that we do our bit in bringing as much business and tourism to the UK as we can.”

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Winter-weary travellers who want to escape the British weather and head for the tropical paradise of Barbados could do worse than consult British Airways about its range of flights from London Gatwick.

Flexibility is one of the key considerations in the BA schedule, with 12 direct flights every week going from London Gatwick to Grantley Adams international airport in Bridgetown on the Caribbean island.

All flights operated by British Airways now run out of the £76 million extension to Gatwick’s North terminal. The revamp also includes a new approach to customer service designed to give travellers more control of their journey as part of a more innovative experience.

Customers at the North terminal are now able to do more things – like checking in, picking seats and printing bag tags – on their own. The design and organisation of the new system has been drawn up to make things simpler for passengers.

With flights to Bridgetown taking about nine hours, and with most departures in mid-morning, sunseekers can be relaxing by the pool in the Barbados heat by early afternoon.

British Airways can also make travelling to Gatwick accessible and hassle-free for customers from all over the UK through its extensive network of connections from regional hubs the length and breadth of the country.

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British Airways, which flies to a number of UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton, has been voted the best airline in a poll of 3,000 people.

BA scooped almost a fifth (19.1%) of the votes for the best airline, while Virgin Atlantic (13.8%) finished second in the Gocompare.com survey.

Participants of the poll were asked to rate their favourite and least favourite airports in terms of cost, service and overall comfort of their journey.

Many who took part also added extra comments about their travel experiences, some complimentary and some not so complimentary.

The poll discovered that more than a third (35%) of travellers find airports stressful, while a similar number (33%) think it takes too long to check in.

A total of 11% feel that security checks are too stringent, while once they are on the plane, 40% do not want to sit near families with young children.

Meanwhile, 17% of those polled want airlines to ban the consumption of alcohol on flights.

Jeremy Cryer, Gocompare travel head, said: “Clearly some airlines will get your holiday off to a better start than others and it’s interesting that even with the bucket shop pricing of the budget airlines plenty of passengers still don’t consider their service good value for money.

“Our research found that while some people will put up with poor service in return for low fares many have vowed never to fly with a particular airline again.”

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The British Airways Galleries Lounge at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is to be jointly run by British Airways and American Airlines.

The aim of the move is to further strengthen the joint business relationship between the two carriers.

This development means the lounge will be the second to be run by American and British Airways. The first one, the Denver Admirals Club, opened in November last year.

With the PHL lounge, which is situated at Terminal A-West, American Airlines Admirals Club customers will have a lounge within the security checkpoint. This is a big enhancement for American Airlines passengers who will be departing from Philadelphia.

The lounge co-location, which lies next to the A-East security entrance on the second level at the airport, is another instance of the two airlines’ shared efforts to provide passengers with a more seamless and enhanced travel experience as a result of the joint business agreement, said Nancy Knipp, American’s president – Admirals Club.

She said that moving into the lounge brought their guests closer to American’s gates, and offered state-of-the-art amenities and relaxing lounge experience which they have come to expect and enjoy in the Admirals Clubs.

American Airlines and British Airways premium-service representatives will together staff the jointly operated lounge at Philadelphia International.

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British Airways (BA) has launched a new 90-minute television advert in the biggest brand campaign by an airline in the last 10 years. 

The commercial will be premièred online on BA’s Facebook page before it makes its small screen debut on Channel 4. 

Promoting the airline’s motto To Fly, To Serve, the airline’s new multimillion-pound marketing drive will also appear in the print media. 

In addition, BA will invest more than £5 billion in services and costumer products over the next five years. 

These will include things such as better catering, a refurbished first-class section, new aircraft and improvements to services at London’s Gatwick Airport.

Managing director of brands and customer experience, Frank van der Post, said: “This campaign marks out territory that other airlines can’t claim.

“BA is a world-renowned airline. We do not need to reinvent ourselves, but it’s time to turn up the volume. ‘To fly, To serve’ is not a slogan. It is not the invention of an advertising copy writer. It is on the uniform of our crew. It’s what we do.”

Mr Van der Post, who joined BA from the luxury hotel industry, added: “The ad puts a stake in the ground. It will be shown many times and supported by print and online campaigns.”

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The Airmiles reward scheme will relaunch as Avios in November, offering customers greater flexibility by allowing them to use one-way flights and to travel in and out of different airports such as Stansted, Luton and Gatwick.

Additional changes to the Avios scheme, officially launch on November 16, will also enable customers to collect points by paying cash for British Airways and Iberia flights, which was not an option in the past.

Avios has also introduced a £27 flat fee for trips within Europe. Under the Reward Flight saver, anyone who has collected a minimum of one Avios point in the last 12 months will have the option of paying just £27 – along with airline taxes, fees and charges – on top of the loyalty points they have cashed in if they’re travelling to selected airports with British Airways or Iberia.

However, the scheme’s completely inclusive flights have been removed as part of the rebrand.

Andrew Swaffield, managing director of scheme operator the Mileage Company, said: “We have made a series of changes, including the removal of the completely inclusive flights with Airmiles. Unfortunately it’s been untenable for us to be able to completely subsidise this. We had been unique in offering that.

“However, 87% of customers use their points for redeeming on European flights, and that’s why we have capped the cost for regular users at £27. We believe that makes Avios the most valuable travel reward currency available for European flights.”

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UK airlines have been laying on extra flights to help Britons stranded in New York. 

A number of flights had to be cancelled over the weekend as Hurricane Irene struck the east coast of America, leaving some passengers waiting for flights out of the New York area.

British Airways, which flies to New York from London airports including Heathrow, put on extra services from Newark in New Jersey to help its passengers get home. 

The airline also offered an extra flight back to London from JF Kennedy airport in New York.

Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic laid on two extra flights from New York to London in a bid to help its stranded passengers. 

Passengers at major UK airports such as Gatwick and Stansted were left facing the possibility of disruption over the weekend as operators anticipated the effects of Hurricane Irene.

A BA spokesman said: “Quite a few people have been on to us, or gone online, to rebook. We are allowing people affected by the cancellations to rebook to a later date.” 

Virgin and BA were both able to resume their normal New York and Newark flight schedules by Monday. 

BA normally offers seven return flights a day from London to New York, and three returns a day between London and Newark.

Virgin runs five return flights a day to both airports.

Copyright © Press Association 2011