DTN News - AIRLINES NEWS: Boeing Delivers British Airways' First 787 Dreamliner

DTN News - AIRLINES NEWS: Boeing Delivers British Airways' First 787 Dreamliner

Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - June 27, 2013: Boeing (NYSE: BA) and British Airways announced the delivery today of the UK carrier's first Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The British Airways 787 departed Paine Field in Everett, Wash., on Wednesday, June 26, arriving at London's Heathrow Airport today at 12:10 pm local time. The airplane was welcomed to its Heathrow home by Willie Walsh, chief executive officer of International Airlines Group (IAG), the company that owns British Airways.

"The 787 is a tremendous, innovative aircraft which sets new standards for environmental performance and operating efficiency and I'm sure British Airways' customers will love it," said Walsh. "The 787 will become a mainstay of the British Airways fleet over the next few years."

British Airways has announced that the airline will operate the 787 from Heathrow to Toronto from Sept. 1 and Heathrow to Newark from Oct. 1.

"The delivery of the first of BA's 787s is an exciting milestone for Boeing and British Airways," said Todd Nelp, vice president of European Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.  "The 787 is the most technologically advanced and fuel-efficient commercial jetliner in its class. Its improved lighting, bigger windows, larger overhead bins, lower cabin altitude and cleaner cabin air will offer BA's passengers an unparalleled flying experience."

The 787 Dreamliner is composed of lightweight composites and features numerous systems, engine and aerodynamic advancements, with unmatched fuel efficiency using 20 percent less fuel than today's similarly sized airplanes.  It is the first mid-sized airplane capable of flying long-range routes, providing airlines with unprecedented fuel economy and low operating costs and enabling airlines to open new, non-stop routes preferred by passengers. On a 787 with Rolls-Royce engines, UK companies make about 25 percent of the 787 by value.

The British Airways 787 Dreamliner carries 214 passengers and is configured with 35 seats in Club World, 25 in World Traveller Plus and 154 seats in the World Traveller cabin.

British Airways operates more than 140 Boeing airplanes within its fleet including 52 777s, as well as the world's largest fleet of 747s with 52.

This is the first of 24 787s British Airways has on order. In addition, IAG recently announced that it will convert 18 787 options to firm orders for British Airways, subject to shareholder agreement. Twelve of these will be 787-10s, meaning British Airways will operate the entire 787 family – the 787-8, 787-9 and 787-10.

British Airways employs approximately 40,000 people, based mainly in the UK, although it has staff based in more 75 countries around the world. The airline has 14,500 cabin crew and 3,500 pilots. The airline's route network currently serves in excess of 177 destinations and it operates in excess of 300,000 flights per year.

Contact:

Fiona O'Farrell
Boeing European Communications
+44 (0) 7557 160 645
fiona.ofarrell@boeing.com

Matthew Knowles
Boeing UK Corporate Communications
+44 (7785) 463 861
matt.knowles@boeing.com

SOURCE Boeing

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources Boeing
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DTN News: Airlines News March 29, 2010 ~ No End In Sight To BA Strike As Row Becomes Political

DTN News: Airlines News March 29, 2010 ~ No End In Sight To BA Strike As Row Becomes Political Source: DTN News / AFP (NSI News Source Info) LONDON, UK - March 29, 2010: British Airways (BA) cabin crew entered the second day of a four-day strike Sunday, bringing further travel disruption with no end in sight for a dispute that has become increasingly political. The Unite trade union, which represents 12,000 BA cabin crew, is staging its second walkout in a week and says there are likely to be more strikes ahead unless BA makes them an acceptable offer. Amid conflicting reports about the impact of the walkout, Unite claimed more than 130 flights had been cancelled by mid-morning. BA has said it expects 75 percent of passengers booked during the strike period to fly. Just weeks before an election expected on May 6, opposition Conservative leader David Cameron has used the strike to attack Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose Labour party receives much of its funding from Unite. Cameron told the BBC Sunday that Brown had displayed "weakness" in his response to the BA dispute and another planned strike by railway workers, saying this was "partly because he's hocked to the unions". "The unions have scented weakness in the government and that's one of the reasons why were seeing quite so many strikes," he added. Brown hit back in a separate BBC interview, saying there had been "far greater industrial peace" in the past 13 years of the Labour government than there had been in the previous 18 years of Conservative rule. "We have been very tough about this British Airways strike, we've said its not in the public interest, it's not in British Airways' interest and we've said we don't think it's in the workers' interest," he said. "But we also want to make it possible for arbitration and negotiation to take place," the prime minister added. Talks between BA and Unite, Britain's largest trade union, broke down on the eve of the first strikes on March 20 and there is no date for them to resume. "Until such time as a sensible proposal comes on the table, this dispute will continue," Unite's Steve Turner told the BBC on Saturday, adding: "There are no talks that are scheduled right now." The strikes centre on what the union says is BA chief executive Willie Walsh's "slash and burn strategy" to cut costs, which Unite claims would lead to a two-tier workforce and damage standards of customer service. But Walsh has warned the loss-making airline could fold in a decade unless the changes he wants are carried out. "We are trying to transform the way we operate because the industry is changing and the economic conditions have changed so radically that we've got to change," he told the Daily Telegraph Saturday. He added: "If we don't do this, BA won't exist in 10 years." Striking cabin crew set up picket lines outside Heathrow on Sunday, waving flags and banners and singing derogatory songs about Walsh, who the union has accused of bully tactics. "He wants to make it into a premium company with cheap staff but it just won't work," one cabin crew member said, asking not to be named. On Saturday, the picketers were joined by staff from Iberia, the Spanish airline which is in talks to merge with BA, wishing to show their solidarity. BA said it had achieved its target on the first day of the strike to fly more than 75 percent of customers, and said services had got off to a similarly good start Sunday. London's Gatwick and City airports were operating as normal. Walsh visited London Heathrow's Terminal 5 to talk to passengers Saturday and said he found customers "very positive", but said he was "deeply sorry" for the disruption caused. Unite claims six Heathrow flights were loaded with passengers then unloaded Saturday because of lack of crew and that many long-haul services were leaving 30 percent below capacity. This is denied by the airline.

DTN News: Airlines News TODAY September 19, 2009 ~ Qantas Jettisons JAL Merger Rumour

DTN News: Airlines News TODAY September 19, 2009 ~ Qantas Jettisons JAL Merger Rumour

*Source: DTN News / THE AUSTRALIAN By Steve Creedy and Peter Alford

(NSI News Source Info) SYDNEY, Australia - September 19, 2009: QANTAS says speculation it has joined forces with American Airlines and British Airways to bid for Japan Air Lines is untrue. The rumours spread rapidly yesterday from Tokyo but were dismissed last night by Qantas head of government and corporate affairs David Epstein. "Obviously because we're close partners with both JAL and American Airlines and we're fellow members of the One World group," Mr Epstein said. "We have keen interest in both the future of JAL and any discussions American Airlines may be having with JAL. "But Qantas is not involved in any of the formal negotiations taking place between any parties nor are we engaged in any M&A (merger and acquisition) or consolidations discussions with any other airline." American moved last weekend to head off a proposal by its US rival Delta, the world's largest passenger carrier, to inject up to Y=50 billion ($629 million) of equity into JAL on condition it switched to the SkyTeam alliance. The Japanese flag-carrier, which secured a Y=100m government-guaranteed credit line in June, needs an estimated Y=250m more by March 31 to meet debt obligations, restructure its fleet and cover the costs of a drastic downsizing. American has also offered an equity injection, but it was unclear yesterday whether Qantas and BA were also offering funds. "We are considering various options but we can't specify anything further," a JAL spokeswoman told The Weekend Australian yesterday. With the US and Japan this week committing to negotiating an "open skies" agreement, JAL's ultimate choice of alliance and code-sharing partners will have a major bearing on winners and losers from the deregulation of Asia's most lucrative air passenger market. JAL, which joined One World in 2007, code-shares with American on trans-Pacific services and on Japan-Australia routes with Qantas and Jetstar. Although the largest foreign passenger carrier operating out of Japan, Delta and SkyTeam, has no Japanese code-sharer, a serious disadvantage in a cut-throat environment where the most cost-efficient way to move passengers in distant markets is by a domestic partner.

DTN News: British Airways Cuts Spending And Delays Airbus Orders Amid Passenger Downturn

DTN News: British Airways Cuts Spending And Delays Airbus Orders Amid Passenger Downturn *Source: DTN News / Telegraph UK By Garry White

(NSI News Source Info) LONDON, U.K. - July 4, 2009: British Airways has cut its spending plans by 20pc and will reduce the number of available seats in its summer schedule as it prepares for a prolonged downturn. Europe's third-largest airline said that it carried 3.8pc fewer passengers in June when compared with last year Photo: PA The company said it now planned to spend £580m in the current year, down from £725m, and maintain spending at this level next year. These cuts in expenditure include delaying orders for 12 new Airbus A380 aircraft for up to two years. The delivery schedule for the first six A380 double-decker aeroplane will be delayed for five months, with the first delivery still due in 2012. The final aircraft is now expected to be delivered in 2016. Europe's third-largest airline said that it carried 3.8pc fewer passengers in June when compared with last year, including a 14.9pc fall in premium traffic, which includes business and first class. Economy traffic fell just 1.3pc over the month. The company's load factor, which is a measure of how full the group's aircraft are, slipped 1.8 percentage points to 79.6pc. The biggest fall in passenger numbers was seen in the Asia Pacific region, where the total number of people carried fell 15pc over the month. In Europe, passenger numbers were down 4.3pc and in the Americas fell 1.3pc. "Market conditions continue to be very challenging with trading at levels well below last year", the airline said in a statement. "However on an underlying basis both premium and non-premium volumes and seat factors have now been stable for more than three months." Shares in British Airways finished up 6.5 at 121.8p.