TTN

British Airways scores a ‘first’ with new jets

Share  
De Renzis ... paving the way for a stronger presence in the region

British Airways has become the first airline in Europe to introduce both the Airbus A380 and the Boeing 787 into its fleet. The airline took delivery of its first two 787s last month while the first A380 comes on-board on July 4, 2013.

The new aircraft deliveries form the centrepiece of British Airways’ £5 billion ($7.8 billion) investment in new aircraft, smarter cabins, superb lounges and new technologies to make travel more comfortable in the air and on the ground.

Last year the airline celebrated its 80th anniversary of flying into the Middle East. TTN spoke to Paolo De Renzis, regional commercial manager, Middle East and Central Asia, to find out more.

What are your plans for the Middle East sector this summer?

We have regular special offers in the markets, in both premium and non-premium cabins, and this summer we will be offering passengers some great deals, details of which will be coming out soon.

In order to better serve our customers and respond to their demands, we recently increased the capacity on some of our regional routes. We have increased our Amman flights from seven per week to 11 per week for our summer schedule, which means that we have added almost 1200 more seats per week to and from Amman. We’ve also increased our Beirut flights from seven per week to 10 per week. In Kuwait, we’ve seen a 21 per cent increase in capacity to London compared with our summer 2012 schedule, something which has been made possible by replacing the Boeing 777 aircraft with a Boeing 747.

We have also invested £100 million ($156 million) in the new First cabin that is now fitted on more than 90 per cent of our long-haul fleet – meaning that customers from the region flying to onward destinations from London Heathrow can experience the new cabin on a more regular basis.

What are your load factor predictions for this period?

As usual we are predicting a busy summer on flights from the Middle East. We are seeing some of the usual recurring travel trends that come with the summer period, as well as some different travel periods due to the date shift in Ramadan and Eid this year. Travel from the Middle East continues to be robust and we remain committed to offering some of the best airfares in the market to the UK, Europe, US and Canada.

Where are Middle Eastern guests flying to? What new trends have you witnessed from the region?

London and the North Atlantic routes remain extremely popular with our Middle East travellers, as these are very popular destinations with tourists, students, those visiting friends and family, and also those going on business trips. In terms of trends, the classic destinations of London, New York, Toronto, Washington, and Los Angeles remain in high demand. We offer an excellent route network to the US and Canada with 24 destinations served daily, and we’ve seen an increase in traffic to other North Atlantic destinations such as Chicago and Las Vegas.

Last year British Airways completed 80 years in the region. How did you celebrate this achievement? What can we expect going forward?

Yes, indeed our 80th anniversary of flights to the Middle East is a huge milestone. It was on October 7, 1932 that British Airways, then known as Imperial Airways, first landed at Sharjah Airport, in the UAE. The flight took six days to reach its destination, flying from Croydon to Paris, then Athens, Castelrosso, Galilee, Rutbah Wells, Baghdad, Basra, Kuwait, Bahrain and then Sharjah. Today, a flight from London Heathrow to Dubai on a Boeing 747-400 takes approximately six and a half hours.

For me, the most important thing about this milestone is that we have used it to consolidate our commitment to the region and work towards another successful 80 years here. Now is an incredibly exciting time for British Airways, with our on-going investments paving the way for an even stronger presence in the region which will build on everything we’ve already achieved over the last eight decades.

As part of this we are currently two years into a £5 billion ($7.8 billion) investment plan that includes new aircraft, smarter cabins, elegant lounges and new technologies. We recently added the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and our first A380 to our fleet. Passengers from the Middle East can now look forward to exceptional service both in the air and on the ground, with our ever-expanding fleet and six exceptionally designed lounges.

Our exclusive Concorde Room for example, available in London Heathrow and JFK, offers fine dining in elegantly designed booths with waiter service, the exclusive Concorde Bar, and a concierge desk enabling customers to manage various aspects of their lives, from booking theatre tickets and taxis to changing flight details.

Give us an update on the 777 refurbishment plans?

We are pleased to announce that the refurbishment of the Boeing 777 fleet serving the Middle East market is now complete. The refurbishment and upgrade offers customers an even better experience, providing First and Club World (business class) travellers with on-demand, in-flight entertainment technology and fully-flat seating for enhanced comfort.

The aircraft refit also means that our First customers can enjoy the experience of our new First cabin, which is the ultimate in luxury and features top quality furnishings, catering and service. Passengers travelling in World Traveller Plus can enjoy a service, which includes seat back entertainment and wider seats, as well as an enhanced food service of the Club World menu on all flights. World Traveller customers benefit from ergonomically designed seats, video on demand entertainment, family friendly service and great value for money fares. At the same time, passengers on some of our Boeing 777 aircraft will also experience a brand new World Traveller Plus premium economy cabin, and World Traveller economy class cabin.

Major expansion plans for the Saudi Arabia market were announced last year. What kind of market share does the airline have today and what is your strategy looking ahead?

Our strategy in Saudi Arabia revolves heavily around customer feedback and listening to what our passengers want – which allows us to tailor our service according to the local demands.

A prime example of this are the changes we recently made to our Riyadh service; in line with customer demand we moved to a daily 747 aircraft on the route and introduced a new schedule. These changes mean that capacity on the route increased by more than 1,000 seats per week, while the flights now arrive into Heathrow in the early morning, enabling customers to land in time for a full working day in London and making timings extremely convenient for those transiting in London and connecting through Terminal 5 to our North Atlantic destinations. We have also recently increased our operations to Jeddah King Abdulaziz International Airport to daily.

Spacer