British Airways (BA) celebrates its 50th birthday this April, having begun its journey on 1 April 1974 with the merger of British European Airways and intercontinental airline BOAC, as well as two regional UK operators.
Today it is part of the Spanish (and partly Qatari owned) IAG group, a powerful alliance with other carriers such as Iberia, having survived the economic turbulence of the seventies and eighties, privatisation in 1987, the post-9/11 downturn in aviation and most recently the Covid-19 crisis along the way.
“The best and most profitable European legacy carrier”
Boasting the majority of slots at the UK’s London Heathrow, which in 2023 was Europe’s busiest airport and had the world’s highest number of internation connections, BA is “arguably, the best and most profitable of the legacy European carriers” according to Rob Burgess, founder of Head for Points, writing for The Independent.
Notably BA has outlasted other defunct carriers such as “Pan Am, Sabena, East African, Swissair, Eastern Air Lines” notes Jonathan Hinkles, airline industry executive. The carrier’s history of innovation, (from ancestor airlines that operated the De Havilland Comet and the Vickers Viscount turboprop, to Concorde and the Boeing 777), as well as its ability to adapt through mergers, privatisation and the birth of budget airlines, have helped it see off the competition.
Best widely used business class?
Critics say capital expenditure is not something the airline shies away from, but the firm suffers from a lack of day to day spending which shows through in the passenger experience.
While it has recently rolled out Club Suite giving it the “best widely used business class seat of any European carrier”, according to Burgess, some of its infrastructure needs a refresh, its food and drinks offer is weak, and IT is patchy at a time when other carriers are beginning to offer free Wi-Fi.
And at a time when businesses are not spending on travel and therefore more business class seats are being purchased at low prices by leisure flyers, it remains to be seen if BA’s offer meets the expectations of passengers who are paying out of their own pocket.
A £7-billion birthday present
Going forward, BA has embarked on a substantial £7bn investment plan in which, according to Chief Executive Sean Doyle, it is going to “take delivery of new aircraft, introduce new cabins, elevate our customer care, focus on operational performance and address our environmental impact by reducing our emissions and creating a culture of sustainability.”
By any measure, that’s not a bad birthday present.
