• British Airways has announced plans for an exclusive Whispering Angel rosé bar, inviting customers to enjoy the refreshing French tipple ahead of their flight from Heathrow Terminal 5
• Opening this summer, the bespoke bar will be located in the British Airways lounge near the B gates at London Heathrow Terminal 5 (Terminal 5B)
• The airline will also be refreshing this lounge over the coming months

British Airways has announced plans for an exclusive Whispering Angel lounge bar, becoming the first airline to have a bespoke bar dedicated to the famed rosé wine.

The bespoke bar, which will exclusively offer Caves d’Esclans’ Whispering Angel rosé, will be located in the airline’s lounge at Terminal 5 B at London Heathrow – often referred to as one of Heathrow’s best kept secrets.

The bar, colored pale pink to emulate the light tones of the rosé served, is expected to open this summer. The opening will coincide with a refresh of the airline’s B gates lounge which will include new and reupholstered furniture, as well as a refreshed layout.

Across the rest of the airline’s Club (business class) lounges at Heathrow and Gatwick, eligible British Airways’ customers can enjoy The Pale rosé, which is produced by the same winemakers as Whispering Angel. Whispering Angel is currently available in British Airways’ First and Club (business class) lounges.

Château d’Esclans’ Whispering Angel boasts a delicate Provençal pink hue, spoiling customer with sun-kissed creamy flavours of peach and raspberries, with refreshing citrus undertones and a smooth, dry finish.

The bar is part of British Airways’ continued elevation of its drinks offering, following the appointment of a full time Master of Wine – one of only 415 Masters of Wine in the world and believed to be the only one appointed by an airline. March 2023 saw the introduction of four new English sparkling wines served on board. The four English Sparkling wine options are available on a quarterly rotation, changing every three months. Rich in variety, customers will be able to choose from two sparkling options when travelling in Club World, including the current Champagne resident Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Silver Top Non-Vintage Champagne, and now an exclusive English Sparkling wine option.

On board, the current English Sparkling is Digby Fine English Brut NV, and from July the airline will serve the Balfour Rosé de Noirs, grown on the Balfour Hush Heath Estate in Kent, and made only from red grapes. This lighter rosé sparkling wine is an exclusive blend for British Airways, making it only available at 35,000ft for customers in the airline’s Club World cabin.

From October, Simpsons Chalklands Cuvee Brut NV, also from Kent will be available for three months, so customer can end the year with a toast. Looking to the new year, from January 2024, customers can try Wiston Estate Brut NV from the South Downs, is refreshing in flavour, with citrus and toasty notes.

From Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-fines-british-airways-11-million-over-delayed-refunds-2023-06-01/

• British Airways has begun the roll out of its first uniform for 20 years, starting with its colleagues working in its operational ground teams across the world
• From today, the uniform designed by Ozwald Boateng will be worn by more than 5,000 airline colleagues
• It comes ahead of colleagues working as cabin crew, pilots and customer-facing airport colleagues, who will receive their new uniforms later this summer

British Airways has started the roll out of its brand-new uniform, with more than 5,000 colleagues working in the airline’s engineering, maintenance and airport operations teams across the world wearing the new garments from today. 

The uniform, designed by British, Ghanaian Saville Row fashion designer and master tailor, Ozwald Boateng OBE, will be worn by more than 30,000 of the airline’s colleagues in total, later this year. The next stage of the rollout will include British Airways’ cabin crew, pilots and customer facing colleagues in September this year.

More than 128,000 garment items have been ordered by British Airways’ operational ground colleagues, with the new wardrobe offering more choices than ever before. The entire operational collection offers more than 20 unique garments, including a brand-new quilted jacket with a contemporary design featuring a bespoke airwave print. This unique airwave print is a consistent feature across garments in the collection. The jacket has a fleece lining and is showerproof, ensuring colleagues are kept warm and dry. Garments have also been designed with practicality in mind, including additional pockets for tools, detachable tool belts and gloves with touch screen technology.

The entire collection was developed in collaboration with the airline’s colleagues over five years, with more than 1,500 colleagues across the airline volunteering their time to help shape the look and feel. Colleagues took part in more than 50 workshops from design workshops to prototype feedback and garment trials to help create the iconic British designs.

During the design process, Boateng shadowed different airport roles to understand each role’s requirements and ensure the suitability of the designs. Once developed, the new garments were put to the test with secret trials. As part of the trials, deluge showers and freezers at -18 degrees Celsius were used to ensure water resistance and durability of the garments. 

As part of the airline’s sustainability programme BA Better World, sustainability has been integral to the design of the new uniforms and the recycling of the old uniforms. As British Airways’ operational ground teams begin to wear their new uniform, they will hand back their current uniform, which will be donated to chosen charities or recycled. The airline is still exploring multiple options for recycling the garments, including creating a sustainable range of merchandise and gifting certain items to the British Airways Heritage Centre.

“There is a light for attracting attention, and who doesn’t love attention?”

• British Airways has launched its new onboard safety video, featuring many incredible colleagues from across the airline
• The safety video encompasses British wit; playing on the British obsession with the weather to a love for fish and chips, and celebrating things that make Britain original
• In addition to the airline’s people, the video features members of the public and some well-known faces
• The safety video will feature on board British Airways’ long-haul aircraft from 1 May 2023*

British Airways has today premiered its new onboard safety video, which stars the airline’s colleagues, Britons going about their daily activities and some familiar faces, showcasing everything that makes Britain unique and truly original.

The safety video plays on things synonymous with the UK, from discussing the weather to enjoying fish and chips by the sea, it celebrates the timeless quirks and its unique people that put the nation on the map.

The five-minute film will be shown on the airline’s long-haul aircraft from 1 May 2023, and showcases British Airways colleagues from across the airline in their roles on the ground and in the air. One of the stars, British Airways engineer Carl Carpenter, drives across an engineering hangar while asking customers to unplug their devices, before his own vehicle comes to an abrupt stop. Cabin crew member Sima Patel-Pryke asks customers for their attention as the safety instructions may differ from other aircraft they’ve travelled on previously. In response, British rapper, Little Simz takes off her headphones, and remarks ‘What?!’

As well as shining a light on the airline’s incredible colleagues, the video also features some of the Great British public. When cabin crew member Emily Mae Jackson reminds customers that life jackets should not be inflated inside the aircraft, viewers see the instruction playfully taken out of situ with a real-life farmer near Dover and two fishermen on Deal beach in Kent all inflating their life jackets.

Calum Laming, British Airways’ Chief Customer Officer, said: “We have all sat through safety demonstrations before, so we knew we needed to create something different that would capture attention and was totally in line with our British Original positioning. We wanted this to be a real celebration of originality and for us, it is our people who – together with where we’re from – make us unique. That’s why it was important for us to hero so many of our amazing colleagues doing what they do each and every day for our customers and for each other. We also wanted to inject some wit and showcase Britishness, and all the quirks that put us on the map by shining a light on real life people – from fishermen and chip shop workers to friends hanging out, as well as some well known faces who help put Britain on a stage. So, seats in the take-off position and we hope you really enjoy our new safety video.”

British Airways engineer, Carl Carpenter, said: “My day-to-day role involves making sure our aircraft are safe for our customers, so to feature in the safety video itself is quite surreal. We had so much fun filming the video and I can’t wait to finally see it on board when I next go on holiday.”

Tennis player, Emma Raducanu, said “As a British Airways Brand Ambassador, it was a privilege to be a part of the new safety video and film alongside so many British Airways colleagues and household names from across the country. It’s fresh, engaging and I know customers will be in for a treat when video is rolled out for the first time on board.”

The airline’s colleagues star alongside celebrities including Ncuti Gatwa, Little Simz, Robert Peston, Kaya Scodelario, Steven Bartlett, Emma Raducanu, chef Tom Kerridge and British Airways’ new uniform designer Ozwald Boateng.

The airline is championing and showcasing British Originality across its customer experience, from its menus featuring the best of British cuisine, to its dedicated British Original in-flight entertainment channel, and is proud to show off the best of Britain.

Later this year, a second version of the safety video will be released, featuring the airline’s colleagues in its new uniform.

British Airways has introduced award-winning English Sparkling wines in its Club World (business class) cabin so customers can enjoy the ‘best of British’ bubbles at 35,000ft.

The airline’s Master of Wine has worked carefully with several award-winning wineries to source, taste and select a range of English Sparkling wines for customers to sample in the comfort of their seat. The introduction of four English Sparkling wines in Club World will be a first for the airline, previously only available in the airline’s First cabin with Hattingley Valley from Hampshire.

The four English Sparkling wine options will be available on a rotational basis, changing every three months. This means that customers will be able to choose from two sparkling options when travelling in Club World, including the current Champagne resident Heidsieck & Co. Monopole Silver Top Non-Vintage Champagne, and now an exclusive English Sparkling wine option.

The first English Sparkling wine will be the Digby Fine English Brut NV, which has over three years’ maturation, giving it great complexity and finesse for customers to savour. This wine pairs well with delicate dishes on the airline’s Club World menu, such as the grilled cod with sweet potato mousseline, mozzarella mezzaluna or an after-dinner selection of cheeses.

From July, the airline will serve the Balfour Rosé de Noirs, grown on the Balfour Hush Heath Estate in Kent, and made only from red grapes. This lighter rosé sparkling wine is an exclusive blend for British Airways, making it only available at 35,000ft for customers in the airline’s Club World cabin.

Later in the year, Simpsons Chalklands Cuvee Brut NV, from Kent will be available from October for three months. This epitomises English elegance and is pale gold in colour, with delicate notes of crisp green apple. Finally, Wiston Estate Brut NV from the South Downs, is refreshing in flavour, with citrus and toasty notes and available for customers to try in the airline’s Club World cabin from January 2024.

The airline continues to spotlight a destination through its premium wine selection, celebrating a different destination in its network each quarter. In April, the airline will spotlight wines from the regions surrounding the city of Porto, Portugal, in its Club World and First cabins, including Anselmo Mendes’ Muros Antigos Loureiro Vinho Verde and Casa Ferreirinha’s Callabriga Douro.

Elsewhere, British Airways continues to elevate its drinks portfolio with the launch of Whispering Angel Provence Rosé and The Pale, curated from the same Château d’Esclans vineyards. Customers can enjoy these varieties across its lounges at London Heathrow and London Gatwick.

British Airways recently introduced new seasonal menus across its cabins to celebrate Valentine’s Day and promote the best of British cuisine, and is launching Easter and Eid menus over the coming weeks. The airline has also been trialling menu variations and service styles with the airline’s cabin crew to ensure they meet customers’ expectations.