British Airways workers throw out pay offer

British Airways is battling to stave off airport strikes this summer after unions "overwhelmingly" rejected cost-saving measures put forward by its management.

The flag carrier had called for 3,700 job cuts before talks broke down last month, in addition to pay freezes for two years and a radical re-think of working conditions.

It claimed the measures were necessary to keep the business viable, but workers have now labelled the move an "assault" on their pay and hinted at industrial action.

British Airways staff to meet to discuss cutbacks

British Airways' (BA) staff are to meet later today (Monday) for an update on progress in negotiations with the airline.

BA had set a deadline of June 30 for unions to reach an agreement on almost 4,000 job cuts, a pay freeze and other measures, but this date came and went without a deal being struck.

On Wednesday, July 8, Acas, the conciliation service, will chair a meeting between BA and the unions to hammer out a deal.

British Airways tweaks winter flights schedule

Last week we reported on British Airways' changes to its winter flights schedule. Now the airline has announced further tweaks. From October 25, there will be changes to services from London Gatwick and Heathrow airports.

The changes are as follows:

Gatwick to Rome - two flights per day will go down to one per day.

British Airways' workers agree to pay cuts

British Airways staff have responded to Willie Walsh's calls to dig deep for the future of the airline. Almost 7,000 employees agreed to voluntary pay cuts, which will save the airline as much as £10 million.

About 4,000 staff will take unpaid leave, 1,400 will work part-time and 800 employees will work for free in July. Among those working for free next month will be Walsh, the Chief Executive, and Keith Williams, the Finance Director.

Walsh to staff: British Airways future at risk

Willie Walsh has given his gloomiest assessment yet of the future of British Airways, effectively telling staff that the flag carrier faces potential bankruptcy.

In a startling internal email sent to employees, the chief executive confirmed that BA is "definitely at risk" if trade unions reject its call for voluntary redundancies.

He warned that the £401 million loss BA made last year left it in a perilous situation, saying the downturn was "beyond anything that we can save from our costs".

British Airways amends winter schedule

British Airways has made a number of revisions to its winter timetable from Gatwick Airport, ditching some services but boosting several others.

The flag carrier will no longer offer Gatwick flights to Alicante, Malta, Krakow and Palma during the season, though it will be operating extra services to Bermuda, Barbados, St Lucia and Port of Spain.

BA is also transferring five routes from Gatwick to Heathrow Airport on October 25, shifting connections with Barcelona, Gibraltar, Madrid, Malaga and Pisa.

No-frills charges exposed by BA 'value calculator'

British Airways has gone on the offensive against its no-frills competitors by launching an online Value Calculator that exposes their hidden charges.

The new facility allows would-be passengers to select preferences such as baggage and optional extras, before comparing surcharges from BA, Ryanair and easyJet.

British Airways to fly 'City to Wall Street'

© BA

British Airways' (BA) new business-only service from London City Airport to New York JFK is to start on September 29.

The flights will not come cheap. Costing about £5,000 return, the service will be for travellers with deep pockets. However, BA is touting the service as the most convenient link between the City of London and Wall Street.

BA and bmi perform badly for lost luggage

British Airways and bmi are among the airlines with the worst record in Europe for losing luggage, newly released performance figures show.

People travelling with bmi have a 1-in-58 chance of having their bags misplaced, while for BA passengers the ratio improves only marginally to 1-in-64.

That places Britain's flag carrier 22nd and bmi 23rd in a league table of 26 European airlines.

British Airways unions spurn 'free work' bid

Unions have reacted with disdain to a letter from Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways, who is asking employees to sacrifice their pay packets.

Mr Walsh made the appeal in an in-house newspaper, warning that the flag carrier is in a "fight for survival" and calling on staff to volunteer for unpaid work.

But his plea appears to have fallen on deaf ears, with a spokesman for the GMB union saying that its members would have difficulty taking it seriously.

British Airways: Passengers should foot carbon bill

Passengers must be willing to pay higher fares if they want the airline industry to offset the environmental damage caused by flights, the CEO of British Airways has stated.

Willie Walsh proposed that the flying public face green taxes to the tune of $5 billion (£3 billion) a year, thereby enabling the industry to counterbalance its carbon emissions.

His recommendation, published today in The Times, marks the first time that a member carrier of the Aviation Global Deal (AGD) has called for a carbon tax on passengers.

British Airways resumes Saudi Arabia flights

British Airways has operated its first flights to Saudi Arabia in four years, restoring two lucrative connections with Jeddah and capital city Riyadh.

The flights touched down in the kingdom on Sunday (May 31), marking the start of BA's new five-times-per-week timetable for both destinations.

BA adds flights to Sharm El Sheikh and Maldives

British Airways has confirmed that it is launching two new connections from Gatwick Airport for people hoping to soak up some winter sun.

From October 25, the flag carrier will be running thrice weekly direct services to Male in the Maldives and the Egyptian holiday resort of Sharm El Sheikh.

British Airways to axe Gatwick-JFK flights

British Airways is to stop flying between London Gatwick Airport (LGW) and New York JFK on October 25, almost a year after services commenced.

A spokesman for British Airways, quoted by The Times, said: “We constantly review our network and have decided that the performance of LGW-JFK was not as good as we had expected when we launched the route.

BA eyes more Heathrow slots despite losses

British Airways would consider buying more slots at London Heathrow Airport in spite of the tough economic climate, The Financial Times reports.

The flag carrier announced annual losses of £401 million last week, but according to chief executive Willie Walsh opportunities to expand are still on the table.

His comments follow speculation that bmi, Heathrow's second biggest carrier, may relinquish some Heathrow slots as its dispute with Lufthansa rumbles on.

British Airways ditches First Class cabins

British Airways, which posted record losses of £401 million last week, has said it is removing First Class cabins from four of its new long-haul planes.

The flag carrier did not directly blame the recession for the cut-backs, though analysts say the global downturn has decimated premium bookings.

Two new Caribbean routes from British Airways

British Airways will be launching twice weekly services from London Gatwick to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic this winter, TravelMole reports.

The UK flag carrier is adding new connections to Montego Bay and Punta Cana on October 25, with frequencies also increasing on several other Caribbean routes.

Gatwick flights to St Lucia and Port of Spain will increase to five a week, while BA will also raise its number of weekly flights to Barbados to ten.

Lions Tour jet christened Air Force Scrum

The aircraft that will fly the British and Irish Lions team to South Africa this weekend has been christened Air Force Scrum, following a public competition.

Judges selected the slogan, put forward by Dublin Trinity College student Dara Fahy, after British Airways invited rugby fans to suggest a motto for the jet.

US businesses voice support for BA/AA alliance

© British Airways

Almost 3,400 business and consumer groups have written letters of support for the proposed union between British Airways (BA) and American Airlines (AA).

Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA, said the US Department of Transportation (DoT) has been inundated with favourable responses to the transatlantic tie-up.

But not everyone supports the move, with Virgin Atlantic renewing its opposition today by warning of a "monster monopoly" that will stifle competition on key routes.

British Airways goes all-in with flights to Las Vegas

British Airways (BA) has confirmed that it will be launching a new direct service from London Heathrow Airport to Las Vegas on October 25.

Bookings for the daily connection are being accepted now, with return fares costing from £467, including taxes, fees and surcharges.

British Airways lays on free black cab rides

Long-haul passengers flying with British Airways in Club and First Class will now be offered a free black cab ride to and from Heathrow Airport, thisislondon.co.uk reports.

The perk is reminiscent of Virgin Atlantic's chauffeur service for Upper-Class passengers, and it comes as BA attempts to drum up demand for its premium products.

British Airways to open new lounge

British Airways is adding the finishing touches to its brand new passenger lounge in Terminal 3 of Heathrow Airport, ahead of the official launch on May 11.

The 300-seat Galleries Club Lounge will be open to premium passengers and top-tier oneworld members travelling to Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Helsinki, Vienna and Malaga.

BA offers free flights to small firms

British Airways has unveiled details of a multi-million pound package intended to help Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) attract overseas business.

The flag carrier is giving away 5,000 return flights from the UK – worth the equivalent of £15 million – in order to encourage firms to expand beyond the British Isles.

BA joins chorus against Air Passenger Duty

British Airways has urged the Chancellor to scrap proposed tax increases on UK flights, warning they would "pile yet more misery" on airlines and passengers.

Speaking on the eve of the Budget, BA chief executive Willie Walsh said plans to hike Air Passenger Duty (APD) by up to 112 per cent would have a disastrous economic impact.

His sentiments echoed comments made earlier this week by Cheapflights General Manager Francesca Ecsery, who has called for APD to be axed altogether.

BA asks rugby fans to name Lions Tour jet

Rugby fans have the chance to select the name of the official aircraft that will transport the British and Irish squad to the Lions Tour in South Africa this May.

BA is holding a public competition to choose the motto that will be branded onto the livery of the special plane, which will fly all the players and coaches to the republic.

New home for British Airways in Spain?

British Airways could be relocating from Harmondsworth, England to a new home – in Spain. That is according to a report in The Times which confirms the merger between BA and Iberia is imminent.

BA and Iberia deal nears conclusion

The protracted merger of British Airways and Iberia is expected to reach a conclusion by the end of this month.

That is according to reports in The Guardian which suggested that the long-awaited partnership is to be completed after BA accepted an offer from the Spanish airline proposing a 45 per cent to 55 per cent split in control of the company.

BA reduces Gatwick fleet

British Airways has disclosed that it will reduce the number of aircraft it holds at London Gatwick Airport as it cuts its services from the Crawley-based hub.

The UK flag carrier announced that it would be removing three aircraft from London's second largest airport before the start of its 2009 winter schedule, thought it has not yet detailed which routes will be affected.

BA Iberia decision due in March

Iberia Airlines is expecting a "preliminary decision" on its proposed merger with British Airways by the end of March 2009.

The Spanish flag carrier and the British airline have been holding talks regarding a deal since July, which, if agreed, would create the world's third largest airline.

A number of issues have complicated the two carriers' talks, including the pound's recent decline against the Euro and BA's decreasing market value.

BA to half CO2 emissions

British Airways (BA) has pledged to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 50 per cent by 2050.

The UK's flag carrier disclosed that it will reduce its CO2 output from 2005 levels of 16 million tons to eight million by the middle of this century.

Specifically, BA outlined a number of methods it would rely on to achieve this reduction, including investment in cleaner aircraft, alternative jet fuels, efficient flight routes and increased emissions trading.

BA Iberia deal hits turbulence

The planned merger between Iberia and British Airways is under threat as the UK's flag carrier announced a gloomy profits warning.

BA has predicted that its operating loss for 2009 up until March 31 will reach £150 million, as a fall in sterling and the official announcement of a recession impact on the aviation industry.

BA announces on-board internet

British Airways has announced that its business class travellers will soon be able to benefit from in-flight internet and text messaging.

The UK's flag carrier has revealed that the service will be available to passengers on its London City Airport to New York JFK Airport route.

BA cuts Tokyo service

British Airways has announced that it will reduce the number of flights on its London Heathrow Airport to Tokyo's Narita International Airport route.

That is according to businesstravelworld.com, which reported that the UK's flag carrier is planning to cut the number of services it operates to Tokyo from two to one a day.

BA introduces Nassau flight

British Airways has announced that it will be flying an additional service to the Bahamas this summer, giving customers more opportunities to escape to sunnier climes.

Travel Bite has reported that the UK's flag carrier will be adding a Thursday service to its current five flights a week schedule, which depart from London Heathrow Airport and arrive at Nassau.

BA to acquire stake in GoAir?

British Airways is considering buying a stake in GoAir, it has been reported.

According to The Economic Times, BA is debating whether or not to acquire a 25 per cent stake in the low-cost Indian carrier.

Citing sources with knowledge of the potential deal, the newspaper said that a meeting is due to take place between the two airlines in London next month.

BA orders new London City aircraft

British Airways has ordered an entire new fleet of environmentally-friendly aircraft for its services from London City Airport.

The British flag carrier has placed orders for six Embraer 170 and five Embraer 190SR jets, which are significantly more fuel efficient than current commercial aircraft and emit less carbon dioxide.

The new aircraft will be used on routes from London City Airport to a number of domestic and European destinations and will provide more "personal space" for passengers.

BA and Qantas call off merger talks

Merger talks between British Airways and Qantas have collapsed after the two airlines failed to reach an agreement.

The British flag carrier and Australia's national airline held discussions earlier this month regarding a potential "dual-listed" partnership; however, neither of the parties could come to a fair settlement.

Regardless of this set-back the two airlines will continue to cooperate on their joint businesses between the UK and Australia.

BA and Qantas fined for price fixing

British Airways and Qantas have been fined after admitting engaging in a price fixing alliance.

An Australian federal court in Sydney imposed a punishment equating to £8.7 million to Qantas and £3.3 million to the UK's flag carrier, after the two airlines admitted agreeing an illegal arrangement.

BA criticised over regional service

British Airways has been criticised for the allegedly inadequate service that it offers from the UK's regional airports.

A group of Labour MPs signed a Commons motion which suggested that the UK's flag carrier should be rebranded as "London Airways" if it continues to ignore the needs of the rest of the country.

Qantas gives BA ultimatum

Qantas has suggested that British Airways must decide between the Australian flag-carrier and Iberia airlines as its merger partner.

The Asia Pacific-based airline has disclosed that it believes that only one of the transactions can endure, despite protestations from BA that suggest otherwise.

BA and Qantas merger stalls during take-off

British Airways this week confirmed that it is in talks with Qantas over a potential merger between the two airlines.

The UK's flag carrier is already in discussions with the Spanish carrier Iberia over a proposed takeover proposal, which has left some analysts questioning the airline's motives for the move.

Qantas presently transports 38 million passengers annually, compared to BA's 33 million; however, the London Heathrow Airport-based carrier serves 154 destinations, which is greater than the 'Flying Kangaroo's' 85.

BA explores Qantas merger

British Airways (BA) has confirmed that it is exploring the possibility of a merger with Qantas Airways.

The UK's flag carrier has released a statement that disclosed it is in talks with the Australian airline, which operates services from a variety of UK bases including London Heathrow Airport and Manchester International Airport.

BA resumes Saudi flights

British Airways is set to resume flights to Saudi Arabia, after a four year break from the gulf state.

The UK's flag carrier plans to offer five flights a week to both Jeddah and Riyadh from London Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5.

BA suspended services to both destinations in March 2005 due to poor performance, but will now recommence operations using a Boeing 777 and a Boeing 767.

BA unveils air miles sale

Book by November 28: British Airways has halved the number of air miles required to earn award flights to all destinations over the next few days.

The UK's flag carrier has unveiled the offer through its Executive Club frequent flyer programme, enabling members to earn flights in any cabin with as few as 4,500 miles, instead of the usual 9,000.

BA: Failing to expand Heathrow will have '30 year impact'

British Airways has warned the government that the UK economy will be held back by 30 years if plans for a third runway at London Heathrow Airport are not approved.

Britain's flag carrier has suggested that the rejection of the extension project will leave the country without an airport to match the capacity of rivals in Europe and the Middle East.

BA gives passengers 'more comfort'

British Airways will be improving the comfort and privacy of its Club Europe customers from February 2009, by removing the use of the middle seat.

Business class customers of BA's Club Europe cabin will be guaranteed a window or aisle seat, while their ability to work or rest onboard will be improved.

BA signs in-flight entertainment deal

British Airways has signed a multi-million pound deal for the installation of a new in-flight entertainment system on its latest aircraft.

The UK's flag carrier will benefit from Thales TopSeries latest multimedia systems, which will give customers access to more than 100 movies, 300 programmes and 400 CDs on enhanced widescreens.

BA adds fourth daily Dubai flight

 

British Airways has announced that it will add a fourth daily service for its London Heathrow Airport to Dubai route.

The UK's flag carrier revealed that it will operate the additional service, five days a week from January 2 on a four-class BA Boeing 777.

BA introduces pre-arrival US clearance

British Airways has revealed that customers flying business class on its service from London City Airport to New York will now be able to clear US customs at a Shannon airport stop-over.

The UK's flag carrier's introduction of a pre-clearance service means that customers will be allowed to bypass the normal arrivals checks when they land at JFK.

BA reduces fleet capacity

British Airways has announced that it has suspended four services from its 2009 summer schedule, as the company reported a 92 per cent slump in first-half pre-tax profits.

BA will reduce its capacity, measured by the total distance its fleet will cover, by one per cent next summer, with the cancellation of Heathrow services to Dhaka and Kolkata in India and the Gatwick shorthaul flights to Dublin and Zurich.