Inside British Airways’ new £7billion makeover – with posh seats, free WhatsApp on flights and an app to rival Amazon
BRITISH Airways has revealed more of it’s huge £7billion makeover plans.
Announced earlier this year, the massive project is set to entirely overhaul the flag carrier.
And this includes updating both the website and the app, which are often slammed for being difficult to use as well as going down.
British Airways CEO Sean Doyle compared the app changes to an “Amazon-style” system which allows passengers to book flights in just a few clicks.
He told the Telegraph at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) airline summit that this upgrade was “very different” to anything else they have done, with the entire website scrapped and rebuilt from scratch.
He explained: “It’s embracing technology in a way we haven’t done since the dot.com boom and looking ahead at future proofing the business.
“The website’s been around for 22 years. We were leaders in it many years ago and we’d improved it down through the years.
“But we’ve been falling behind and we need to catch up and leapfrog the rest.”
The new website is being tested for a number of passengers, with plans to roll it out further later in the year following positive feedback.
Passengers flying from London Gatwick to Bari, Cagliari and Catania, as well as Montpellier in France and Turkey‘s Antalya can trial the website.
Mr Doyle added that the app will be primarily for repeat travellers, as well as make it easier to rebook or cancel flights as well as claim refunds.
It will create an “omni-channel” design which means both the website and app will have the same experience, to allow passengers to simply have “three clicks and then check out”.
It’s not the only huge new change coming to the airline as part of the overhaul.
New seat and cabin designs are being rolled out across their Airbus 1320neo and A321 planes.
This new seats are made from Scottish leather, with adjustable headrests.
Club Europe – the short-haul business class – will reintroduce the leather tray that comes between the aisle and window seat.
Both cabins will also have USB-A and USB-C charging ports.
New overhead lockers are to be introduced too, with the extra-large bins allowing more luggage to be stored.
It’s embracing technology in a way we haven’t done since the dot.com boom
Sean Doyle
Rather than lying flat, suitcases will be stacked on their side, which is great news for hand luggage travellers.
British Airways Executive Club Members – which anyone can sign up for for free – can now send free messages using the airline’s WiFi.
A new First Suite will also be launched on flights between the UK and US.
And around £3.5billion of the plans will be spent on ordering new planes.
Mr Doyle previously said: “We’re on a journey to a better BA for our people and for our customers, underpinned by a transformation programme that will see us invest £7bn over the next two years to revolutionise our business.”
“We’re 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. ”
The new overhaul also includes a new security-restricted nerve centre, using new AI technology in a bid to reduce delays.
The Sun was the first to take a look inside, which has created one huge global interface dubbed ‘Mission Control’ rather than six separate systems.
What are the new British Airways planes like?
The Sun’s Assistant Travel Editor, Sophie Swietochowski, flew on one of the new planes earlier this year, and this is what she made of it:
“Every element of the A321neo aircraft I travelled on to Rome is British.
“The leather is from Muirhead in Scotland, with stitching from High Wycombe.
“The curtains and carpet are the only outliers, sourced from Ireland’s capital Dublin.
“However, it still feels typically BA with red and navy blue motifs that match updated cabin crew uniforms, introduced seven months ago.
“For me, it’s the addition of USB-C power ports above the table in the back of every seat, that’s most beneficial – a nifty idea that came from cabin crew.
“With just one of these new aircrafts currently flying, it’ll be down to chance as to whether you’ll get on it.”
And a new decision support tool ‘Pathfinder’ will work out the best combination between aircraft and flights up to 10 days before departure.
In the mean time, here are some discounted British Airways package holidays.