British Airways (BA), has celebrated 77 years of its operations in Ghana with a commitment to continue flying to serve its Ghanaian customers.Accrording to Moran Birger, British Airways’ Commercial Manager for Ghana, the airline has always been committed to making life comfortable in the air and on the ground.
“Our slogan ‘To fly, to serve, ’ has been at the centre of everything we do because for us, it’s a fundamental promise that we would continue to show our commitment to Ghana for many more years to come,” he stated.
He recalled that on October 13, 1937, a DH86 Diana class aircraft operated by Elders Colonial Airways on behalf of Imperial Airways, arrived in Accra for the first time, at the end of a one-week journey, which involved nine stops between the UK, via Khartoum.
He said seventy-seven years later, this trip now takes a little over six hours, and Ghanaian passengers are able to so daily, adding that
British Airways is celebrating this amazing milestone this October by looking back on 77 years of its operation in Ghana.
Mr Birger maintained that Accra has been one of the airline’s most important routes, and a particular favourite among passengers to the USA.
“We’re privileged to be the oldest and one of the most beloved airlines operating out of Ghana, and we feel particularly rewarded by the fact that our customers in Ghana are just as committed to us as we are to them.”
He further recalled that the Airline began operating daily non-stop flights to and from Accra on a Boeing 767 aircraft in 2002, and upgraded to a Boeing 777 aircraft in 2009.
He said It responded to increasing customer demand by re-introducing its First Class cabin on the route in 2011, and currently operates the daily service on a Boeing 747 Super Jumbo aircraft with four cabins – First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller – catering to both premium and value conscious customers.
“One of the reasons our service is so popular is because our business travellers are able to enjoy the convenience of a full working day in Ghana before flying out to an early morning arrival in London. From there it is an extremely easy onward connection to other destinations, or one can freshen up in the lounges at our award-winning Heathrow Terminal Five before starting the working day in London.”
Mr Birger disclosed that in the last decade, the Airline has invested over five billion pounds in new aircrafts, enhanced cabins, improved catering and in-flight entertainment, and technology.
He said in 2004, British Airways upgraded its online check-in service which was launched in 2000, to enable passengers print out their own boarding passes ahead of travel from the airline’s website ba.com as well as self-service technology available at selected airports.
He said in June this year, British Airways treated customers traveling from London to Accra, to a live football match, courtesy of a high-speed “wi-fi” Internet service the airline is trialling around the world. “This was one of our biggest and most exciting treats for passengers ever. Imagine sitting next to Ghanaian football legends like John Paintsil and Joseph Addo, cheering on the national team at 35,000 feet! We hope that once it is fully operational, this technology could be rolled on across the fleet.
Mr Birger promised even more exciting and interesting updates in 2015, including an upcoming cabin refresh on the 747 aircraft – which would involve a state-of-the-art in-flight entertainment system that will give passengers the choice of more than 130 movies and 400 TV programmes on larger, hi-resolution screens, capable of touch and swipe gestures; universal power socket on every World Traveller Plus seat; and personal USB socket for passengers who go for World Traveller.
He said British Airways’ route network currently serves more than 170 cities in 75 countries, and it has also been flying to Australia for over 75 years, and currently operates a daily service between Sydney and London Heathrow via Singapore, adding that British Airways is now the only European Airline to continue servicing the Australian market.
The Airline, Mr Birger disclosed, operates from the state-of-the-art Terminal Five at London Heathrow, which is exclusive to British Airways’ and Iberia Airlines’ customers and is capable of handling 30 million customers a year.
He said in March this year, Terminal Five was named by Skytrax as the Best Airport Terminal for the third year running, based on surveys of 12 million frequent travellers, adding that the terminal also won the Best Airport Shopping Award.
British Airways, he said, has also won several awards, including Best Airline, Best Short-Haul Airline, Best Business Class and Best Frequent Flyer Programme by Business Traveller, following a survey of the magazine’s readers in the UK.
Recently, British Airways was named the UK’s Consumer Superbrand of 2014, securing the top position against 1,500 other brands and becoming the first airline or travel brand to win the prestigious title, he concluded.
Source: GNA
