The late 1980s to early 1990s were a key period for British Airways, as it consolidated and developed into the self styled "world's favourite airline".
Following privatisation and acquisition of British Caledonian Airways, this film begins in 1989 where we see the arrival of the first of the new Boeing 747-400s into the fleet; with G-BNLA and BNLC being delivered in July 1989. Poignantly the Chairman of the airline, Lord King remarks "I suppose one day they'll make something better but until then, this is it".
Profits for the airline grew steadily in the late 1980s, evidenced by a generous profit share scheme for staff. New service enhancements were rolled out too, beginning in September 1989 with the relaunch of BA's Domestic "Super shuttle" service - guaranteed seats or a back up aircraft; an all day on board meal service and a regular schedule across an expanded super shuttle network covering Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and London Heathrow.
The film also shows the beginning of a trial in the economy cabin on Houston and Dallas routes, where a new product was developed offering enhanced leg room, an upgraded cabin service and menu and other benefits. Known as "Economy select", this would develop over time to become what we now know as "World Traveller Plus".
The role of Europe - particularly EU legislation features in the early 1990s - the film picks up on the impending EU legislation that will come to impact all of our working lives - from Health and Safety Manual Handling, to Employment legislation.
You'll also see when BA announced its' investment in a new Maintenance and overhaul facility in Cardiff, to be ready for operation in 1993, as well as glimpses of some of the aircraft found in the fleet at the time, including the Boeing 737-300s (G-BOZ series) which were subsequently transferred to the subsidiary "Go" and then in turn acquired by EasyJet on the sale of Go.
Terminal 1 features quite significantly in the film too - those who travelled from it will remember the check in Islands (D-M being the BA check in, and A-C being shared by Aer Lingus and British Midland); as well as glimpses of the Gate 5 Shuttle Lounge in Pier 4; which formed the hub for departing 757 shuttle services. You'll also see one of the early mobile phone "bricks" if you look carefully, as well as other "state of the art" technology like the self-service ticket machines, which now look quite dated!
The film ends with a look to the future redevelopment of Terminal 1 in 1993/4, with the embryonic steel structure of the Flight Connections Centre and the new departures lounge as well as the new baggage system, designed to future proof operations up to the year 2000. I remember all of this so well!
I hope this will bring back fond memories for those of us who travelled with BA during this time - and for the millennium generation, will provide a glimpse into recent history! Enjoy. Best wishes, Steve
Jumpin Boogie Woogie by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Artist: audionautix.com/