Key news archive

As of 2 May 2023, travel partners are able to access British Airways’ NDC content through the Amadeus Travel Platform for the UK market.

This rollout has now been expanded to include the whole of the European market.
The rollout to other regions will follow soon after.

For more information on eligibility, content and registration process, please click here

Effective as of 1 January 2023, the Distribution Technology Charge (DTC) will be increasing on all tickets issued from 0001 on 1 January 2023.  

For more details, click here.

As of 18 August 2022, we will continue to simplify our NDC servicing proposition by moving over to a toll-free, central number for all your British Airways NDC servicing queries and will be available 24/7.

All NDC servicing queries will now be managed by NDC specialists on the following dedicated freephone number:

0800 085 1425

We would like to inform of you changes we’re making to our Schedule Change Guidelines, effective as of 15 June 2022.

Find out more.

As part of ongoing optimisation on credit card fees, effective as of 1 June 2022, there will be a reduction in corporate credit card charges. These new rates are reflective of the costs charged to British Airways by the credit card providers, which are assessed regularly.

Click here to find out more.

Please see below list of flights moving from T3 to T5 for the Summer Season:

From 12 JUL:

Short Haul: Algiers (ALG), Brindisi (BDS), Bologna (BLQ), Budapest (BUD), Faro (FAO), Krakow (KRK), Ljubljana (LJU), Marseille (MRS), Nuremburg (NUE), Olbia (OLB), Prague (PRG), Pisa (PSA), Split (SPU), Toulouse (TLS), Valencia (VLC), Zagreb (ZAG)

Long Haul: Barbados (BGI), Nairobi (NBO), Orlando (MCO), Austin (AUS), Accra (ACC), Sao Paulo/Buenos Aires (GRU/EZE), Phoenix (PHX), Las Vegas (LAS)

As part of ongoing optimisation on credit card fees, effective as of 25 February 2022, there will be a change to corporate credit card charges. These new rates are reflective of the costs charged to British Airways by the credit card providers, which are assessed regularly.

This change applies specifically to charges for the Mastercard Corporate Credit Card.

Click here to find out more

Dear Preferred Partner

As a result of the UK Government’s temporary ban on flights from South Africa, we have cancelled all British Airways flights between the two countries while we wait for further information. We appreciate the difficulty and worry that situation must be causing.

Following the latest travel restrictions from the UK Government, it was only appropriate that we paused our Black Friday offers, which were in market at the time of the announcement.

British Airways has set up a dedicated team to talk to customers in South Africa to help provide advice and support. Customers in South Africa can call the local British Airways customer helpline: +27 10 344 0130 and select option 1 to be connected as quickly as possible to a member of our customer services team.

The BA Travel Trade line will be open this Saturday and Sunday from 10h00-14h00 on +27 10 344 0127 followed by your unique PIN.

Effective Monday 29 November 2021 we will also provide an email contact: sa.tradehelpdesk@ba.com which will be serviced Monday to Friday: 08h30-17h00 local time. The turn-around response time will be 72 hours.

The official information from the UK Government can be found on their website here. From 4am on Sunday 28 November, customers will be required to book and pay for a Government-approved hotel facility for 10 days. Details of this can be found here.

Please note that the red list rules continue to apply if you return via another country, unless you remain there for 10 days before your flight to the UK.  If considering travelling home via another country, please be aware that their entry rules may also change.

We understand that this is a difficult time and we will continue to do all that we can to get you to your intended destination as soon as possible.

We will update you as soon as the Government provides us with additional information or continue to check BATT.com or BA.com for the latest updates.

Kind regards,
British Airways

Starting 01 October 2021, British Airways will introduce a modification to our policy regarding excessive churning in line with industry standards.

Churning refers to repeated cancellation and rebooking of the same itinerary for the same passenger independent of the class and PNR to circumvent or extend ticketing time limits, hold inventory, and/or find a lower booking class.

A maximum of 4 rebookings are permitted, any additional rebooked and cancelled segments will be considered excessive churning.

Agents that engage in excessive churning practice will be subject to an ADM. The ADM amount will be GBP 5.00 (or equivalent in local billing currency) per passenger/per segment.

Read ADM policy

Read ADM policy – US only

As we continue to operate a dynamic schedule in response to COVID-19, it is important that passengers are able to stay informed of any changes which may impact their journey.

We would like to ensure that customers receive relevant and timely information on operational disruption that may impact their itinerary including any Government mandated entry requirements.

To enable us to do that, we would like to remind you to ask each passenger whether they wish to share their contact information (phone number and/or email) with British Airways for the purposes of contact in operational disruption. You should add this information in the PNR with an SSR entry.

If the passenger does not wish to provide their contact information, you should actively advise them that they may not receive information from us relating to operational disruption or any Government mandated entry requirements. You should also add the appropriate SSR entry in the PNR.

Please be aware that contact details will be exclusively used for operational disruption, we will not use these details to send marketing communications to customers.

You can find more information and the GDS formats for the SSR entries here.  

We have extended the validity of our tickets and EMDs.  If you are able to display the document, the coupon status is ‘O’ or ‘A’ and a refund is eligible, your GDS will permit the refund to be processed and the refund webform should not be completed.   
 
If you are currently waiting for a refund to be processed by us, where the ticket is beyond 12 month validity, we recommend you process the refund in your GDS to avoid our standard administration fee.
 
Completing the refund webform, is confirmation that you cannot process the refund via your GDS and the standard administration fee will be charged.  
 
NDC agents should continue to complete refund webform for tickets outside ticket validity and no administration fee is charged.

Find out more about refunds

British Airways has reached a transformational agreement with Amadeus which will allow the distribution of NDC content.

Through this partnership agreement, content from IAG operating airlines, including British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Vueling, will be made available for travel sellers, agents and corporations through the Amadeus Travel Platform via Amadeus’ NDC-enabled solutions.
This is planned from the second half of this year.
It allows for an improved user selling experience and future personalised offers.

Today’s announcement means that travel agencies will be able to access British Airways’ NDC content through Amadeus. For NDC bookings, the DTC will be replaced by a small fee of £1.60, $2.20, €1.80, JP¥235, 2CHF for 2021 per passenger segment journey (PSJ) to recover costs*.

* The value may change depending on currency fluctuations and will be reviewed later in the year

Visit NDC Comms Hub to find out more.

We are launching two new fares brands – Select and Select Pro. These are both refundable fares, which will give your customers the flexibility to cancel a flight and claim a full or partial refund should their travel plans change from as little as £50. There will also be no change fee payable for Select and Select Pro bookings.
Please familiarise yourself with dedicated versions below.

Trade 

Corporate

Atlantic Joint Business -Trade

Atlantic Joint Business - Corporate

Find out more about shorthaul and longhaul fares.

From 20 January 2021, customers travelling in the Euro Traveller cabin will be able to pre-order and purchase gourmet items from the new ‘Speedbird Café’ menu, which has been developed in partnership with Michelin-starred British Chef, Tom Kerridge.
By moving to a pre-order proposition, this will help ensure customers receive their first choice as well as reduce food and packaging waste, one of our sustainability commitments. The menu will not be available to purchase on board.

We will continue to offer complimentary refreshments, introduced in response to the pandemic, alongside the new ‘Speedbird Café’ pre-order menu.

Learn more about our partnership with Tom Kerridge

Check the Speedbird Café menu

We will migrate our group time limit compliance platform to a new platform called Amadeus Group Time Limit (GTL) on 8 December 2020. This change only applies to group bookings, normal trade bookings will not see any changes. To ensure a smooth transition, here are a few key points for trade partners to be aware of:

Compliance messages
• New compliance messages will appear as OPW (warning) or OPC (action) instead of previous SSR OTHS messages.

Time limit rules
• Old time limits messages (SSR OTHS) will not be deleted in PNRs, they will remain as historical. When an OPC is inserted in the PNR by GTL, the OPC will take precedence over the SSR OTHS.
• Time limits will be automatically added by GTL in real time after End and Retrieve (ER). They will be displayed in the PNR face after doing Ignore and Retrieve (IR).
• The Time Limit (TL) entry can be used in cryptic manually to display OPC/OPW in real time, even before the first ER.
• Changes in time limits:
   o For PNRs which already had a time limit prior to cutover, new time limit in GTL will be the same as before, unless:
        A PNR is only partially compliant in which case the TTL could be stricter.
        Agent is no longer exempt from TTL in which case appropriate TTL will be applied.
   o For PNRs without a time limit prior to cutover, they may get a new time limit in GTL in an OPC format if they are not part of an exemption.

Cutover
• Update of all PNRs’ time limits will be done in one batch, two days after cutover on the 08th of December by the new GTL platform.
• New PNRs created after cutover on 8 December 2020 will be eligible to new GTL Time Limits and ignored by the old time limit compliance platform.
• Old PNRs created before cutover on 8 December 2020 and updated after cutover will be ignored by the old compliance platform and actioned by new GTL when eligible. Time Limits will remain unchanged.

We are increasing the checked baggage allowance for World Traveller (economy) customers between the UK and all our India and Pakistan gateways.The increase will double the checked baggage allowance to 2 pieces each weighing a maximum of 23kgs. In addition, customers can take 2 carry-on bags.

Double baggage allowance on India and Pakistan routes - from UK

Double baggage allowance on India routes - from IN

Customers can now purchase a Lounge pass and enjoy access to non-British Airways airport lounges across the globe, no matter what airline they are flying with or cabin they are travelling in.

• They can choose from 600 non-British Airways lounges, at over 350 airports worldwide, including more than 45 in the UK
• They can collect 5 Avios per $1 spent, when they book on the British Airways Lounge Pass website
• Pre-booking is available up to 15 months in advance*, for access to an airport VIP lounge from US$19.00 per person
• They can enjoy light refreshments, complimentary Wi-Fi and even spa treatments in selected lounges

Find out more

*Due to Covid-19, a number of lounges in affected areas are temporarily closed, and when booking you will be informed that it is ‘temporarily unavailable’.

We are pleased to announce the launch of The Double Avios Promotion. We want to reward our Executive Club Members by giving them double Avios on flights booked before the end of August.

To qualify for the Double Avios Promotion, customers need to:

We are pleased to announce the launch of The Double Avios Promotion. We want to reward our Executive Club Members by giving them double Avios on flights booked before the end of August.

To qualify for the Double Avios Promotion, customers need to:

Register for the campaign, via the email splashpage or by going to www.ba.com/goodtimes before 31 August 2020

Book their flights or holidays before 31 August 2020. Up to a maximum of 10 flights

Complete all flights and holidays, before 31 December 2020We are pleased to announce the launch of The Double Avios Promotion. We want to reward our Executive Club Members by giving them double Avios on flights booked before the end of August.

• Register for the campaign by going to www.ba.com/goodtimes before 31 August 2020
• Book their flights or holidays before 31 August 2020. Up to a maximum of 10 flights
• Complete all flights and holidays, before 31 December 2020

Find out more

Following our previous longhaul additional price points announcements for the AJB on 17 April, we will be adding further routes from 27 May 2020.
The following routes will have additional price points in World Traveller and Club World:

From LHR

• AMM, DME, SVO, TLV
• HKG, ICN
• AUH, KWI, JNB, CPT, DUR

From LGW

• CPT

The additional price points are available in selected World Traveller and Club World classes and will be controlled dynamically.  
The additional price points are available if you are connected to our NDC APIs, either through a technology provider or through the IAG Booking Portal.

Find out more

From 13 May on all shorthaul reservations there will be a small additional YQ (CIC) charge included on all bookings departing Gatwick. The YQ (CIC) charge will be applied for travel from 1st June 2020 and applies to LGW hub.  

When does this charge go live?
13 May 2020

What does this apply to?
This applies to all reservations made and tickets issued from 13 May 2020, for travel from 1 June 2020
For Tour Operator bookings YQ is captured at time of booking so will not be applied to existing bookings

What airports/hubs are included?
This applies to Gatwick hub, on the short-haul network, exlcuding LH transfers. 
Includes inbound to Gatwick from EDI, GLA & JER

Where will we see this change?
The YQ charge will be included in the taxes fees and charges and will be clearly visible to the customer on BA.com and as an additional line on the GDS/NDC.

Why the change?
YQ is used as a carrier imposed charge (CIC)and can be flexed for commercial requirements.

A submission to extend our joint business with Qatar Airways between certain destinations in Australia and Europe has been approved by the Australian commission. 
This partnership will provide customers with greater flexibility and choice of flights between Australia and Europe, taking effect from May 29, 2020.

From 17 April, we are adding further content to our Longhaul Additional Price Points for Atlantic Joint Business routes through NDC.

These will be available in the World Traveller cabin, on BA marketed and operated routes, for journeys commencing from London Heathrow and London Gatwick only.

Find out more

British Airways have announced some exciting content and capability initiatives which confirm our commitment to NDC.

Find out more

We’ve teamed up with Royal Air Maroc to offer a codeshare partnership on flights between Europe and Africa. This means that customers can now connect seamlessly from British Airways services to Royal Air Maroc’s Casablanca hub and onto their extensive network beyond including Agadir, Abidjan and Freetown.
Royal Air Maroc will become the newest member of oneworld on 1 April.

Please note this is a historic post. Our ADM Policy is regularly updated and Agents should always check for the most recent version which can be found here.

From 01 April 2020, Agents that do not remove passive, inactive or non-productive segments from a PNR at least 24 hours prior to departure will receive an ADM of 10 GBP (or equivalent local currency). Segments created as part of a Group booking or where British Airways is not charged are exempt.

Those passive segments that are created for the purpose of NDC bookings only will not receive an ADM until 01 October 2020. 

This includes any segments with a status of AK/AL/AN/BK/BL/BN/GK/GL/GN/MK/PK/PU/PL/YK/ZK 

We will continue to discuss with our GDS partners to explore alternative solutions. Agents should speak to their GDS to understand which segments British Airways is charged for.

ADM policy

ADM policy US only

Following a thorough review, our current surcharging (Credit Card Fee) policy no longer reflects the high merchant costs of accepting corporate credit card payments. To ensure that we can continue offering competitive pricing to our customers, we will implement the following changes from 17 February 2020. We do not profit from these charges, they simply contribute toward the fees levied by credit card companies.

Changes include:

• Revised levels
• Fees will be applied regardless of country of card issuance
• Different fees will be levied for each card scheme 
• Addition of Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands as new surcharging countries

Revised Corporate Credit Card Fee Levels
New percentage levels will be charged as follows:

 
Note: These levels apply to the total ticket value (fare plus taxes, fees and charges including the Carrier Imposed Charge) up to a maximum of GBP20/EUR25/CHF30 per ticket.

Application
The new Credit Card Fees apply to:

• Any ticket issued on a BA 125 ticket validation where the form of payment is a corporate credit card. 
• All fare types 
• Transactions made using British Airways’ card acceptance agreements (Merchant Agreements) 
• Flights involving interline travel or codeshare 
• Prime ticket issue only and not to any subsequent reissue or revalidation. 

Note: The Credit Card Fee is non-refundable

GDS Automation
British Airways will file the Credit Card Fee with ATPCO. The GDS will pick up the filed feed and will show this optional charge in the GDS’ merchandising functionality. When an eligible itinerary with a chargeable card is ticketed, the GDS will automatically apply the Credit Card Fee to the transaction. For further details of your specific GDS functionality please contact your GDS Helpdesk. ATPCO will be responsible for updating corporate and consumer card splits. 

Disclosure 
Travel Agents must disclose that the Credit Card Fee is non-refundable and that it is charged by British Airways. 

Additional Charges
Travel Agents should not levy additional payment fees to the customer when the British Airways Merchant agreement is used to issue the ticket.

Customers can relax and enjoy the views or settle down to sleep with ergonomically designed seats and newly crafted comforts based on classic British design. Our World Traveller (economy) Cabin sees the launch of freshly designed comfort items including a new look blanket, headrest and cushion with classic herringbone design. 

The refreshed cabin is available now on London Heathrow flights and available on London Gatwick flights from 1 March 2020.

Find out more

Royal Air Maroc will join the oneworld® alliance effective 1 April 2020, becoming oneworld’s first full member in the African continent and bringing even more destinations and benefits for oneworld’s frequent flyers.
The entry of Royal Air Maroc into oneworld from 1 April follows a 15-month implementation programme to integrate Royal Air Maroc into the alliance. The airline’s regional subsidiary Royal Air Maroc Express will also join as a oneworld affiliate member from 1 April.
Royal Air Maroc was first announced as a oneworld member-elect in New York in December 2018, weeks before oneworld celebrated its 20th anniversary and launched a transformation of the alliance. oneworld and Royal Air Maroc will host a joining ceremony in March in Marrakesh to celebrate the airline coming on board.

Find out more

British Airways has been appointed the official airline partner of Team GB and ParalympicsGB ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games this summer. 

The airline will fly hundreds of athletes and support team, along with their equipment to and from the Games as part of the partnership. British Airways has been supporting British Olympic and Paralympic athletes for over a decade, since the Beijing 2008 Games.

To mark the announcement, athletes from a range of sports officially launched the partnership at London Heathrow airport. Representing skateboarding, which is being introduced at Tokyo for the first time, was 11-year-old Sky Brown who is set to be GB’s youngest summer Olympian, athlete Dina Asher-Smith, and boxer Cheavon Clarke who hopes to represent Team GB. In addition, Ali Jawad, powerlifter, Maisie Summers-Newton, Para swimmer and Alfie Hewett, wheelchair tennis player, were also in attendance and all hope to represent ParalympicsGB.

With a long-standing history in supporting national sporting events and teams, British Airways will ensure Great Britain’s medal hopefuls arrive in Japan refreshed and ready to perform at their best. The airline will fly hundreds of athletes back to the UK ready for a warm welcome at the end of the Games.

Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience, said: “We’re so proud to be the official airline of Team GB and ParalympicsGB for the fourth consecutive Games. The Olympic and Paralympics Games always instil a sense of national pride and it’s an honour to fly the best of British talent in sport and be part of their journey – from start to finish.”

British Olympic Association CEO, Andy Anson, said: “British Airways is one of the most recognisable and prestigious brands in the world, so it is with great pride that we partner with them for the fourth consecutive Games.

“Tokyo 2020 promises to be an incredible event and securing a partnership of this calibre can only assist with our preparations ahead of the Games in July.”

The Olympic Games will take place between 24 July - 9 August 2020 and for the first time will include skateboarding, sport climbing, surfing, karate and baseball/softball. The Paralympic Games will take place from 25 August - 6 September 2020, and for the first time will include Para badminton and Para taekwondo.

Nick Webborn, Chair of the British Paralympic Association, said: “We are delighted to be flying to and from the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games with British Airways and believe that, once again, the ParalympicsGB team couldn’t be in better hands.

“Partnering with British Airways will undoubtedly mean that our Para athletes get the best possible start to their journey to Tokyo 2020, and a truly memorable celebratory return home.”

British Airways have signed an agreement with China Southern Airlines, for travel from 2 January 2020. Seats are on sale from now. 

The agreement will provide customers travelling between the UK and China with more choice, more flexibility and more benefits. Customers will now enjoy: 

• More UK and Chinese destinations, with 31 direct flights a week between London and Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Sanya, Wuhan and Zhengzhou.
• A greater choice of flight times and shorter connecting times, with the ability to book flights via both airlines’ websites or apps.
• Enhanced frequent flyer benefits and increased opportunities to collect points.
• More flexible flight options and better prices, with the ability to combine fares across both airlines.
• Enhanced lounge access and access to high-quality Chinese and British products and services on board and on the ground.

This is just the first stage of the agreement and the codeshare network and customer benefits will continue to develop during 2020.

We periodically review our distribution costs to ensure that the amount of the Distribution Technology Charge (DTC) reflects the current additional costs incurred for bookings that are not made using an NDC-based connection or through other low-cost channels.

Following our most recent review, the DTC for bookings ticketed on or after 1 January 2020 will change to €13.00; £11.00; $14.00; JPY 1,500; CHF 14.00. 

Where the fare sold uses a currency other than those listed above, the USD amount will be used (other than in Europe, where the Euro amount will be used), and then converted into the selling currency. The charge may also be filed in other local currencies where required by local regulations. 

Find out more - DTC guide

Since implementing the DTC in 2017, many trade partners have connected to our New Distribution Capability (NDC) solutions and are able to offer customers the new and innovative products that are accessible through NDC enabled solutions, such as ancillaries and additional price points on shorthaul and longhaul products.

You can also offer customers these new products through our IAG agency booking portals and other low-cost channels, such as our websites, airline sales offices and call-centres.

If you have any questions about how to offer your customers these new products or in regard to the change above, please contact your account manager or find out more about NDC.

Along with Iberia, we have announced our commitment to roll out further NDC only content:

• To continue rolling out additional price points (APP) on both airlines’ longhaul networks in the coming months. Iberia will start with APP on Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Juan from mid-December.
• Iberia to move Basic fares to NDC only distribution starting with A and O class on shorthaul from mid-December.
• British Airways will move the lowest shorthaul Basic fare booking classes to NDC only distribution during 2020.

The APP and Basic fares will be available if to you if you're connected to BA and IB NDC APIs, either directly or through a service provider.

Is it not possible to make the APP fares work in the GDS?
We have worked for 18 months with our GDS partners to identify ways to make APP fares bookable and changeable in the GDS. So far, we have not been able to identify a method that protects airline, agents and travellers’ interests.

How do I connect to NDC?
Please go to https://ndc.ba.com/ to learn more about different connection methods and to register. 

When will specific announcements be made about content enhancements and changes?
Specific plans are commercially sensitive. We will aim to give as much notice as we reasonably can.

Do these announcements impact the relationship with the travel trade?
All the content referred to above is available to the trade through NDC. NDC is an industry standard which trade partners of all types are increasingly connecting to. NDC enables us to deliver innovative, high value content, that we believe can lead to a strengthened and more lucrative relationship between us and our trade partners.

Do these announcements impact corporate customers?
The changes are focussed on fares aimed for leisure customers. We recognise that sometimes corporate customers book leisure focussed fares. On Short Haul Economy, if our customers make use of these products, we will address the impact of removing content from the GDS. We continue to work with all our TMC partners to make sure they have access to NDC content.

Is NDC mature enough to support these content developments?
We continue to invest significantly in NDC capability, with new functionality constantly being delivered. This is reflected in November's announcement that we have now achieved IATA Level 4 Certification and will achieve NDC@Scale by the end of 2019. We welcome further feedback from our TMC and agency partners on further capability enhancements.

Following the longhaul additional price points trial on Boston and Dubai, we will be rolling out more routes in October.
 
The following routes will have additional price points in World Traveller and Club World:

• NAS-GCM, PUJ, SJO
• LIM, EZE, GIG
• HYD, BLR, MAA, ISB,  BKK, MRU

The additional price points are available in selected World Traveller and Club World classes and will be controlled dynamically. The price points are available on point to point fares, primarily aimed at leisure travellers, so may typically have minimum stay rules.
 
The additional price points are available if you are connected to our NDC APIs, either through a technology provider or through the IAG Booking Portal.

Consistent with our existent terms of appointment in the Travel Agency Addendum section 3.c, it is the Agent's responsibility to ensure that ticketing or bookings are only in respect of customers' genuine travel requirements and that Agent must not offer any ticketing or booking that does not reflect the genuine travel requirements of the customer.

Agent is prohibited from seeking to manipulate ticketing or booking in any way, attempt to circumvent journey controls for any reason including - but not limited to - marriage misuse, obtaining sold out inventory, etc…

From 01 October 2019, if this policy is breached an Agency Debit Memo will be raised per misused coupon and value will differ per cabin.

Under no circumstances are agents permitted to pass these ADM costs to the customer.

Read ADM policy

Read ADM policy - US only

Welcoming the latest addition to our family, we’ve proudly taken delivery of the first A350 to join our fleet.

The state-of-the art A350 1000 utilises the latest technology and advanced materials to reduce its environmental impact, boasts Wi-Fi and gate to gate IFE and is the first aircraft to premiere our new Club Suite.

It takes to the skies from August 2019, when it will be operating selected Madrid flights. It officially enters longhaul service in the Autumn with Dubai and Toronto as the launch routes, followed by Tel Aviv and Bangalore later in the winter 19/20 season.

Find out more

Following the introduction of our new culinary offering in February, World Traveller Plus (Premium Economy) sees further enhancement from 1 July. Customers can look forward to an upgraded amenity kit crafted from recyclable materials and a new suite of comfort items including, stylish and luxurious quilts, cushion and amenities as well as two signature cocktails and a mocktail. The new items will be introduced on London Heathrow flights from 1 July and London Gatwick flights from 1 August.

New features include:

• All new suite of comfort items developed with a classic British herringbone design
• Enhanced comfort – with a stylish new quilt and a larger, more luxurious cushion
• A new amenity kit designed with sustainability in mind, the bag is made using material from recycled plastic bottles and includes a new lip balm added from the Scaramouche & Fandango range, eye shade, pen, socks, toothbrush and toothpaste. Earbuds are also available on request.

Find out more

We are pleased to announce that from 17 June 2019 you will now be able to upgrade existing bookings for Executive Club members when using their Gold Upgrade Vouchers, as well as new bookings.

The instructions on how to upgrade an existing booking are the same as they are for upgrading a new booking.

Find out more

We're making changes to paid seating in Club World. From 14 May, we have introduced side and centre seat prices. Currently, we charge the same for the side seats and the centre seats - the side being the 2 by the window, the centre being the 4 in the middle of the aircraft. Our new price points have a higher seat price for side seats than centre seats in the same zone.

Customers who have already purchased seats in Club World can visit Manage my Booking on ba.com and won’t see any new price points. All new seat bookings in Club World will see the new price points.

There will be a total of 6 price points - Front Side, Front Centre, Middle Side, Middle Centre, Rear Side, Rear Centre which replace the existing 3 price points of Front, Middle, Rear

Price changes apply to the main cabin and from 11 June will also be effective for the upper deck.

On 1 June 2019, IATA Resolution 830d will be changing to require all IATA accredited Agents (excluding agents in USA) to provide Airlines with customer contact information for the purposes of airline contact during operational disruption.

This new standard ensures that the customer has access to relevant and useful information during operational disruption.

Resolution 830d can be found in the latest copies of the Passenger Agency Conference Resolutions within the Travel Agent’s Handbook (TAH). These are available at: https://www.iata.org/services/accreditation/travel-tourism/Pages/resolutions.aspx.

From 1 June 2019, British Airways and Iberia will be monitoring compliance with this policy and any Agent found not to be following the correct reservations procedures from 1 October 2019 will be subject to appropriate action by the Airline.

Read FAQs about the changes to standards supporting involuntary flight changes

The Distribution Technology Charge (DTC) is increasing on tickets issued from 0001 on 31 May 2019.

Find out more

Pre order duty free is available now on all shorthaul services to and from London Heathrow and London Gatwick.

Customers can select from a wide range of goods at https://www.highlifeshop.com, which will then be delivered directly to their seat on board either their outbound or inbound flight (the customer can choose).

The extension to this service means that shorthaul customers have access to the wide range of goods that was previously available to longhaul customers, even when the High Life Shop service is not available on board their shorthaul flight.

As an added bonus, customers can also collect Avios when they shop – they will earn 2 Avios for every £1 they spend.

Following the successful launch of additional price points in the Euro Traveller cabin in March 2018, we have launched new fares on all point to point routes in Club Europe, to grow the number of price points in our shorthaul premium cabin.

Find out more

Club Suite is the final step in our Club World investment, following on from the introduction of luxurious The White Company bedding, new personalised service and a restaurant style dining experience last year.

Our redefined business cabin offers direct aisle access from every seat and a door for enhanced privacy. The modern design creates a sense of space and freedom and adapts to our customers’ needs with a larger 79” fully flat bed and conveniently located storage spaces. Technology is embedded into the Club Suite, with digital seat functions, high speed Wi-Fi, charging points and 17” high resolution screens with entertainment on offer from gate to gate. Attentive service will be tailored to the customer and hand delivered for a more personal touch.

The Club Suite will launch on the A350 when it’s added to our fleet later this year, and will also be retrofitted onto the existing fleet. It will be on four A350s and two 777s by the end of 2019 and will roll out gradually across the London Heathrow long haul fleet in a phased approach.

The Club Suite is on sale for selected flights on board our brand new A350 aircraft. Selected Toronto services are now available from 1 October and selected Dubai services from 8 October.

Find out more

We are set to deliver significant changes to the on board product and service in our First cabin as part of our £6.5bn investment for customers.

From 31 March, First passengers will enjoy a new fine dining experience and a host of thoughtfully created new comforts on board. Including exclusive male and female Temperley London loungewear, high performance Meridian headphones, plus a specially crafted luxury skincare collection from Elemis.

The rollout of new First products will start 31 March and will be complete by mid-April.

Find out more

We're moving to a new  location in Terminal 8 at New  York's JFK airport, investing in the new, improved terminal alongside American Airlines. This forms part of a significant reinvestment by the Port Authority of New  York and New  Jersey.

Over the next four years, more than £250 million ($344m) will be invested to recreate and customise the terminal, making it ready to offer British Airways’ customers an exciting, world-class experience every time they fly to New York.  Changes to the terminal will include additional stands, enhanced state-of the-art baggage systems, new  lounges, premium check-in areas and upgraded concessions.

We celebrate our centenary this year and will remain in Terminal 7 until 2022. With thousands of customers flying between London and New York every week, we're committed to improving our customer experience at JFK with an investment of £52 million ($65m) which includes brand new lounges for First and Club World customers and an upgraded customer experience for all customers in the main areas of the building.

We will be investing £6.5 billion for customers over five years, including new  aircraft, new  cabins, new  catering, new  lounges, WiFi, and new  routes.

Our World Traveller baggage allowance to and from Brazil has been reduced from 2 pieces of baggage to 1 piece of baggage for fares booked from 1 February 2019.

Extra bag charges to and from Brazil will also be brought in line with the rest of our baggage charges as follows:

We're launching new World Traveller Plus menus from 1 February 2019 on our London Heathrow and London Gatwick routes.

With an emphasis on the very best of British, our new culinary offering brings travellers greater choice and quality with delicious seasonal menus created with only the finest locally-sourced ingredients.

With an emphasis on the very best of British, our new culinary offering brings travellers greater choice and quality with delicious seasonal menus created with only the finest locally-sourced ingredients. 

Changes include: newly-redesigned menu cards with a choice of three gourmet main meals, stylish and contemporary tableware designed exclusively for World Traveller Plus and a second delicious hot snack or light meal served to travellers before landing.

Find out more

A number of oneworld Circle Trip fares & all oneworld Visit Pass (Air Pass) fare products are being withdrawn from 31 January 2019.

The following Circle Trip fare products are being withdrawn from sale:

• Circle Trip Explorer
• Circle Atlantic 
• Circle Asia/SWP Explorer 

In addition, all Visit Pass (Air Pass) products will be withdrawn from sale:

• Visit Europe 
• Visit Africa
• Visit North America
• Visit South America
• Visit Australia/New Zealand 
• Visit Asia  
• Visit Japan YOKOSO 
• Visit Japan TOHOKU 
• Visit South Asian sub-continent 
• Visit Malaysia 
• Visit Middle East

Find out more about round-the-world fares

We're introducing a new request form for round-the-world fares assistance. This change will bring global alignment in the way we provide assistance for these products.

The new webform will be live from 1 February 2019 and should only be used for round-the-world fare and Circle Trip fare requests or change requests.

The itinerary should contain at least one active British Airways sector for us to calculate a fare. You will receive a response within 48 hours of the request being made. If the request is made on a Friday, then a response will be received on the following Monday. We will respond to you in SSR format in English.

Find out more about round-the-world journeys

Raise a round-the-world request

On Business customers could always use their On Business Points to upgrade bookings they made directly with British Airways.

We’ve enhanced this functionality, so they can now upgrade bookings that you have made for them too.

View summary pdf about upgrades using On Business Points for trade bookings

View details about upgrades using On Business Points for trade bookings

At 0001 GMT on 10 December, we will be withdrawing the following classes from use on the Boston and Dubai routes, impacting any connecting itinerary using the affected classes:

• A class used in the First Class Cabin
• S and Q class used in the World Traveller Cabin

Find out more about the fare class realignment for Boston & Dubai

Thereafter, from 11 December, we are beginning a trial of new inventory buckets on our Boston and Dubai routes. 

The new fares are available on itineraries from UK, US and UAE point of sale on point to point journeys only. The fares are only available on British Airways marketed and operated services on the two routes.

Find out more about the new longhaul fares

As per the British Airways ADM Policy published in June 2018, we are now introducing an ADM administration fee of £10 (or local equivalent) effective for ADMs issued from December 2018.

The ADM administration fee will be shown as an MF tax code on the ADM.

The fee will be applicable to all ADMs and will only be reversed upon full acceptance of an ADM dispute for invalid ADM issuance.

Read ADM Policy (for UK agents and agents outside of USA)

Read ADM Policy (for agents in USA only)

We have announced a new codeshare partnership with Indian domestic carrier, Vistara, opening up more routes between London and India.

As part of the new agreement, customers can book seats on Vistara flights to destinations across India including Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. Bookings can now be made for travel from 27 September 2018.

Find out more

We're launching new Club Europe menus from 12 September on our London Heathrow and London Gatwick routes.

The new menus will showcase the very best of the British Isles, featuring signature warm bread rolls, a selection of new quality wines plus coffee from our new specialty coffee partner, Union Hand-Roasted Coffee.
 
The new menu comes as part of a multi-million pound investment for Club Europe.

Find out more on ba.com

This key news is historic and may have been updated - please refer to the latest information 

We periodically review our distribution costs to ensure that the amount of the Distribution Technology Charge (DTC) reflects the current additional costs incurred for bookings that are not made using an NDC-based connection or through other low-cost channels. Following our most recent review, the DTC for bookings ticketed on or after 18 September 2018 will change to €10.50, £9.00, $12.00, JPY 1,300, CHF 11.50. 

Where the fare sold uses a currency other than those listed above, the USD amount will be used (other than in Europe, where the Euro amount will be used), and then converted into the selling currency.  The charge may also be filed in other local currencies where required by local regulations. Further details on the DTC are provided in the Distribution Technology Charge guide.

Since implementing the DTC in 2017, many agencies have connected to our New Distribution Capability (NDC) solutions and are able to offer their customers the new and innovative products that are accessible through NDC enabled solutions, such as ancillaries and additional price points on short haul products.

Agents can also offer their customers these new products through our IAG agency booking portals and other low-cost channels, such as our websites, airline sales offices and call-centres.

Find out more

From 29 May 2018, we will introduce a new and improved process whereby you'll be able to process bookings out of system range in your GDS. The new process means that you'll no longer have to call Trade Support to request authority.

Find out more

We provide no-cost processes for agents to accept payment from customers where they book tickets with us for all fare types. Consistent with your existing terms of appointment, our Travel Agency Addendum clause 3(l) and Agent Reporting Agreement section 25.1.2 and F 1.10 of the ARA IAG, our policy remains agents should use those forms of payment and not use the agency’s own payment card to make bookings.

From 1 June 2018, if this policy is breached an Agency Debit Memo will be raised for 5% of the unauthorised form of payment amount.

Under no circumstances are agents permitted to pass these ADM costs to the customer as an “airline charge” or “credit card charge” (or any equivalent in each case) as there are alternative free payment methods available to the agent.

Read ADM policy

Customers can now use Avios to pay for and reserve seats in advance using Manage My Booking on ba.com. There are full and part payment options available and this new benefit provides more options to spend Avios. Pay for seats using Avios is available on British Airways operated flights.

Executive Club Bronze, Silver or Gold Members can continue to reserve seats for free in many instances.

Read terms and conditions on ba.com

This key news is historic and may have been updated - please refer to the latest information 

Following the announcement that we will be introducing a new longhaul Basic Economy fare on selected North Atlantic (NATL) and non-NATL routes, British Airways is pleased to announce that the new fares are now available.

View applicable routes

View further information and FAQs

Find out more about longhaul fares

We’ve seen a recent increase in refunds being made to alternative Forms of Payment which will result in an ADM.

Please ensure refunds are made to the original Forms of Payment and made in the same currency that was used to pay for the ticket (ie cash payment should be refunded as cash and credit card payment should be refunded to credit card)

Where a different form of payment is used during the reissue, refunds should be made to both Forms of Payment, in accordance with IATA  Resolution 890 (4.2). Failure to do this will result in an ADM being raised. 

To accommodate a split Form of Payment refund, you should contact your GDS helpdesk for the GDS entries required to add the original form of payment manually within the refund mask.

This key news is historic and may have been updated - please refer to the latest information 

Further to communications sent in October and December 2017 to advise of changes to the way we file our shorthaul Basic fares, we are pleased to confirm we will be implementing these changes from 4 April 2018 (originally March 2018). From this date, shorthaul Basic fares will move from private to public.

In the spring of 2018, we will also enhance our competitive position in the European shorthaul market by introducing more price points on British Airways operated shorthaul and UK domestic journeys (Basic and Plus fares only).

Find out more

This key news is historic and may have been updated - please refer to the latest information 

From 19 March 2018, the new longhaul Basic Economy fare and unbundled fares will be offered on selected non-north Atlantic (NATL) routes.

Find out more

To find out more about our new longhaul unbundled fares and our longhaul fare branding, please refer to the
Partner Reference Guide

This key news is historic and may have been updated - please refer to the latest information 

During April 2018, American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair & Iberia will together launch unbundled fares on selected routes between Europe and North America (and vice versa), offering even more choice for our customers.

For American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia, these fares will be called Basic and on Finnair they will be called Light. Offering an alternative option to our bundled fares, Basic/Light fares allow customers the choice to personalise their journey and only pay for the elements they require.

Customers purchasing Basic or Light fares will enjoy the same great service across our Economy cabins as those purchasing more expensive Economy cabin fare types, including in-flight meals, a range of in-flight entertainment and complimentary headphones and blankets. Combined with our extensive transatlantic network, convenient flight times and award-winning loyalty programmes, these fares provide customers with even more options when travelling with us.

Our Basic or Light fares will not include checked baggage or choice of seat selection, instead allowing customers to choose to add these options individually should they wish to tailor the product to their needs. A generous, carry-on baggage allowance, comprising of a carry-on and a personal item, and allocated seating at check-in will always be included. For customers preferring to include checked baggage and seat selection, our bundled fares provide the best value. These fares are called Main on American Airlines, Standard on British Airways & Finnair, and Optima on Iberia.

ATPCO Branded Fares will be implemented on routes with Basic/Light, with the unbundled fares displaying as the default fare in these markets. To support our introduction of the new fares, you will need to use the upsell product brand codes to access any upsell fares (inclusive of checked baggage). If you do not use Branded Fares pricing entries then you will not be able to access any upsell fares in the markets where Basic/Light are filed. For any questions or issues, please contact your GDS.

Travel dates and routes will be confirmed at launch in April.

To find out more about our new longhaul unbundled fares and our longhaul fare branding, please refer to the
Partner Reference Guide. 

In December 2017, we advised you of our intention to launch additional price points on our shorthaul economy product in Spring 2018. We will start rolling this out in April 2018.

Find out more

This key news is historic and may have been updated - please refer to the latest information 

As part of British Airways’ commitment to child safeguarding, from 1 May 2018, the minimum age of a person permitted to travel alone on British Airways will increase from 12 to 14 years of age. This applies to all new bookings made from this date. We will continue to permit children under the age of 14 to travel accompanied (with someone aged 16 or older on the same or a linked booking) and bookings made prior to this date will be unaffected.

In addition, all customers under 16 and travelling alone from 1 May 2018 (including for bookings made prior to this date) should have a completed parental/guardian consent form prior to travel. The form will be available on ba.com from early April 2018. Parents/guardians will need to download, print and complete the form prior to travel. The young flyer must ensure they bring the form with them and carry it at all times during their trip. British Airways requires this consent form in order to provide the young flyer with the help and care they may need during unexpected disruption.

You must add the keyword YPTA to bookings so we can identify solo young flyers under 16 years travelling on or after 1 May 2018.

This key news is historic and may have been updated - please refer to the latest information 

We are enhancing World Traveller catering on all London Heathrow and Gatwick flights from 17 January.

Customers will enjoy an exciting and expanded new menu, providing more quantity and quality to both meals and great snacking options throughout the flight.

Find out more

British Airways is complying with its legal obligations under The Payment Services Directive 2, and as such will be removing surcharges on consumer payment cards in the UK and Finland markets from 10 January 2018.

The new regulation prevents the surcharging of consumer cards (Visa and Mastercard consumer debit and credit cards) in the EEA. However, surcharging of unregulated corporate cards will still be permissible.  This EU Regulation will become effective from 13 January 2018.

British Airways currently applies a 1% surcharge on some consumer forms of payment in the following EEA countries only: UK, Finland, Spain and Switzerland. However, this new rule will only affect the UK and Finland, as we already exempt consumer cards from surcharges in Spain. The new legislation does not apply to Switzerland as Switzerland is not an EEA country.

The UK Government has decided to extend the surcharge ban to all forms of consumer payment, and not just credit cards in order to ensure more efficient enforcement measures and to provide the consumer with a more level playing field in terms of payment. This means that other forms of payment, such as PayPal, will also be free of charge in the UK market.

The new policy details are as follows:

New surcharges are applicable to:
Any ticket issued on a BA 125 ticket validation where the form of payment is a credit or charge card (any card other than a debit card, as described above). The fee is chargeable on all fare types. The Payment Fee only applies to transactions made using British Airways’ card acceptance agreements (Merchant Agreements).

Notes on application:

1. The Payment Fee applies to transactions made using British Airways’ card acceptance agreements (Merchant Agreements). 
2. The Payment Fee is applied to all fare types.
3. Flights which involve travel on an interline or codeshare journey will incur the Payment Fee.
4. The charge applies to prime ticket issue only and not to any subsequent reissue or revalidation.
5. The Payment Fee is non-refundable.

Payment Fee rates where applicable: 1% of the total ticket value (Fare, plus Taxes, Fees and charges and the carrier imposed charge) up to a maximum of £20/€25/CHF 30 per ticket.

GDS Automation: British Airways will file the Payment Fee with ATPCO. The GDS will pick up the filed feed and will show this optional charge in the GDS’ merchandising functionality. When an eligible itinerary with a chargeable card is ticketed, the GDS will automatically apply the Payment Fee to the transaction. For further details of your specific GDS functionality please contact your GDS Helpdesk. ATPCO will be responsible for updating corporate and consumer card splits.

Disclosure: you must disclose that the Payment Fee is non-refundable and that it is charged by British Airways.

This key news is historic and may have been updated - please refer to the latest information 

The airlines within International Airlines Group (IAG) have updated their Terms and Conditions for Trade Agents, the IATA Travel Agency Addendum. This was first published for British Airways and Iberia on 5 August 2014 and amended on 23 October 2014. 

This updated version of the IATA Travel Agency Addendum will be officially published on 1 January 2018 and applies to all agents except the US and now covers all airlines that are part of IAG - Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, replacing any previous airline specific versions.

The updated IATA Travel Agency Addendum also be found on our partner sites: www.iberiagencias.com, www.news.vuelingpartners.com and on request from sales.distribution@aerlingus.com  

Find out more

This key news is historic and may have been updated - please refer to the latest information 

Customers will soon be able to connect to the internet as we aim to have 90% of our fleet installed with Hi-Speed Wi-Fi by 2019, starting with 4 of our longhaul aircraft* by the end of this year.

We will have two packages available to purchase onboard starting from £4.99:

• BROWSE for email, messaging, browsing the web and social media (excluding streaming)
• STREAM with faster speeds that support streaming services such as music and videos

For a limited period thanks to our partner Visa, we are offering all customers flying on a Wi-Fi enabled aircraft one hour of free browsing connectivity until the end of January. If the aircraft is enabled, an announcement will be made by the cabin crew and instructions will be available on how to register and log on by joining the ‘BA Wi-Fi’ network.

*selected 747 Super High J’s and 777-300’s

From 12 December, we will be implementing group boarding on all flights to improve the boarding process by easing congestion and queuing at the gate.

Each passenger will be allocated a group based on their boarding priority and the groups will be called to board in number order.

Our premium customers and Executive Club Gold, Silver and Bronze Members will be able to board first if they choose, but can still use the priority boarding lane if they wish.  World Traveller Plus customers now have priority boarding and board ahead of World Traveller customers. 

Find out more

Effective from 18 October 2017, British Airways is removing the Most Generous Baggage Allowance.

Previously, when a customer was travelling on a round-trip or stopover journey in mixed cabins, the most generous allowance (MGA) applies for baggage i.e. a customer travelling outbound World Traveller but returning in Club World would receive the Club World baggage allowance on both sectors.

For new bookings effective from 18 October 2017, the customer will receive the baggage allowance applied to the cabin they are flying in on a round-trip or stopover journey.

Find out more

This key news is historic and may have been updated - please refer to the latest information 

Each bag or case containing firearms or ammunition is subject to a £50 charge each way, payable at check-in, plus applicable local service fees to cover the cost of our specialist firearms and ammunition handling partner. For travel from 1 November 2017, the charge will increase to £125, each way.

Customers travelling on selected longhaul flights from London Heathrow and London Gatwick can choose their main meal from the on-board menu in advance. They can make their selection from 30 days up to 24 hours before departure, at no extra charge.

This service is available in our premium economy class World Traveller Plus, our Club World business class and in First class on selected routes. Customers should log in to Manage My Booking on ba.com to make their choice.

Find out more on ba.com

The pre-order meal service is currently available on flights from London Heathrow to: Abu Dhabi, Accra, Amman, Atlanta, Austin, Bahrain, Baltimore, Bangalore, Bangkok, Beijing, Beirut, Boston, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Calgary, Cape Town, Chicago, Dallas, Delhi, Denver, Doha, Dubai, Hong Kong, Houston, Hyderabad, Jeddah, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Lagos, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Madras, Mexico, Miami, Montreal, Mumbai, Muscat, Nairobi, Nassau, New Orleans, New York (JFK and Newark), Philadelphia, Phoenix, Rio De Janeiro, Riyadh, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose (California), Santiago, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Tokyo (Haneda and Narita), Toronto, Vancouver and Washington DC.

From London Gatwick to: Antigua, Barbados, Bermuda, Cancun, Fort Lauderdale, Kingston, Lima, Male, Mauritius, New York (JFK), Oakland, Orlando, Punta Cana, Saint Lucia, San Jose (Costa Rica) and Tampa.

This key news is historic - please refer to the latest information 

From August 2017, we will be extending our use of the Branded Fares functionality. Fare branding will be available through Amadeus, Travelport and Sabre for all shorthaul and domestic markets for UK and EU originating traffic, as well as via our NDC APIs.

This roll out will support changes we are making to the way we file our shorthaul Basic fares. In 2018, (date changed from December 2017), all shorthaul Basic fares will become public fares, meaning:

• we give customers more choice as Basic fares will be combinable with our other shorthaul fare types
• an account code is no longer required to access our Basic shorthaul fares
• you will use the brand names to access any upsell fares

These changes will make it simpler and easier for you to access and understand the range of fare products we have available. By offering Branded Fares, you will be able to differentiate between the full range of products and the value they represent. This will help you and in turn your customer, to continue to make fully informed decisions when booking travel.

Find out more

For additional information about Branded Fares, please contact your Distribution provider. Specific cutover dates for the filing change to our shorthaul Basic fare will be confirmed later in the year.

What is fare branding? ATPCO Branded Fares provides airlines with the ability to better display and sell their fare products, by grouping fares into recognisable “brands” which have common attributes. The services included with each brand, such as flexibility, baggage, seat selection, and other in-flight and airport services, allow airlines to offer the right fare to the right customer, and increase the potential for up-sell opportunities. ATPCO Branded Fares are an industry standard distribution method, supported by all of the major GDS. 

What are BA’s fare brands for the shorthaul market? Basic, Plus, Plus Flex, Club Plus and Club Flex

Which cabins will fare branding affect? This change will affect all cabins. BA is branding all cabins Euro Traveller, Club Europe and Club on Domestic

Why are BA making these changes? Fare branding will allow us to make some changes to the way we file our short haul fares. These changes are expected to be made in 2018 (date changed from December 2017) and will mean:

• you no longer need to use an account code to access our Basic shorthaul fares
• in the future, Basic fares will be combinable with other fare types and will be available as half or full round trips.

The fare brands make it simpler and easier for our partners to understand the range of fare products we have. We will be able to differentiate between the full range of products on offer and further demonstrate the value they represent. These changes will help our partners, and in turn their clients, to make fully informed decisions when booking travel.

 
How do I get BA’s fare branding? Speak with your Distribution partner to get further details on how to integrate BA’s fare branding. Fare branding is available in Amadeus, Travelport and Sabre, as well as via your NDC APIs. In August, short haul and domestic branding will be available on all Plus to Club Flex fares, including Nets and Inclusive Tour fares. The fare filing changes to Basic will take place in 2018 (date changed from December 2017) and specific dates will be provided in due course. After that you will see branding on our Basic fares. It is at this point you will no longer use an account code to access them and you will begin to use brand names to access upsell fares.

With effect from 1 November 2017, IAG operating companies British Airways Plc (BA) and Iberia (IB) will apply a Distribution Technology Charge on BA and IB marketed fares (including BA and IB fares valid on codeshare partners) which are not booked through an NDC based connection, or other low cost channels, such as ba.com and iberia.com and the airlines call centres.

Find out more

From 14 June, we're re-introducing free seat reservation for Bronze, Silver and Gold Members on a Basic (previously known as Hand Baggage Only) fare. We will be proactively refunding any seating fees to customers with an upcoming booking on or after 14 June back to their original form of payment. The customer’s seat request will remain in the booking after we have refunded their seating fee. The refunds will be processed in travel date priority order from 14 June and could take up to 28 days to process.

Another change we'll soon be introducing is our Bronze, Silver and Gold Members on maternity, paternity or adoption leave can benefit from a ‘status freeze’ for a year. In addition, they can receive 1,000 bonus Avios if they open a new EC account for the baby as part of their Household Account.

And finally, all UK Executive Club Members can register their credit or debit card in eStore and collect Avios for in-store purchases with a number or retailers.

Find out more on ba.com

This key news is historic - please refer to the latest information 

We will be using the Branded Fares functionality in ATPCO, which will initially begin with fare brands for longhaul markets, for traffic originating from the UK.

Our aim is to make it simpler and easier for you to understand the range of fare products we have available. By offering Branded Fares, you will be able to differentiate between the full range of products and the value they represent. This will help you and in turn your customers, to continue to make fully informed decisions when booking travel.

ATPCO Branded Fares provides airlines with the ability to better display and sell their fare products, by grouping fares into recognisable “brands” which have common attributes. The services included with each brand, such as flexibility, baggage, seat selection, and other in-flight and airport services, allow airlines to offer the right fare to the right customer, and increase the potential for up-sell opportunities. ATPCO Branded Fares are an industry standard distribution method, supported by all of the major GDS.

British Airways Branded Fares functionality in ATPCO will be available in Travelport from 4 May 2017, Amadeus from 4 May 2017 & Sabre from 1 June 2017.

Which cabins will it affect?  This change will affect all cabins and we are branding all cabins from Economy to First.

Why are British Airways making these changes? Fare branding will make it simpler and easier for our partners to understand the range of fare products we have. By branding our fares, we’ll be able to differentiate between the full range of products on offer and further demonstrate the value they represent. This will help our partners, and in turn their clients, to make a fully informed decision when booking travel.

How do I get British Airways fare branding? Speak with your GDS partner to get further details on how to integrate BA’s fare branding. Once GDS partners activate British Airways fare branding, they will issue communications on how  you can access the branding through their systems.

When will fare branding be rolled out to further markets and will the brands be the same? We will initially introduce fare branding for longhaul markets. Further fare branding may be rolled out for shorthaul markets at a later stage and fare brands will be confirmed at that point.

We have launched biometric self-boarding gates for our domestic flights, operating from London Heathrow Terminal 5.

As a customer approaches security in Terminal 5, the automated ticket presentation gates capture customer biometric data using facial recognition technology. When they arrive at the boarding gate, the new technology matches the customer with the data captured at security and allows them to board the aircraft.

Safety and security are at the core of the biometric facial recognition technology and is a step ahead of other systems currently used by other airlines and airports. The gates also reduce the risk of error and speed up transaction times.

Following a successful trial, the first 3 boarding gates have been installed at gate A1, with 33 additional units to follow over the next few months. There is also a view to roll out the process on international departures in the future.

We have recently installed new Self-Service Bag Drop units at London Heathrow Terminal 5. New machines are available for use by customers on select services at Zones C and D in the Departures area. 

Customers travelling with us from London Gatwick are already able to use Self Service Bag Drop units which went live recently as part of our move from the North Terminal to South Terminal. 

The Self Service Bag Drop units form part of a wider company initiative to develop and improve airport technology.

From 1 April 2017, we will be unable to accept cash payments at many of the airports we operate from, such as London Heathrow, London Gatwick and in North America. This includes all types of payments, such as for extra bags, additional/exit row seats, changes to tickets, service charges, etc.

Customers who cannot pay with a credit or debit card should check with a member of our airport staff for available options for converting cash to a payment card as this varies by airport:

London Heathrow: customers can buy a Multi-Currency Cash Passport from Travelex
North America: customers can either buy a Multi-Currency Cash Passport from Travelex, or use Cash-to-Credit card kiosks to convert cash into a prepaid debit card for a $5 charge per transaction. Any charges associated with the use of a cash conversion machine are collected by the company who owns and operates the machine. 

Customers using prepaid debit cards should not throw them away until travel is complete, even if the card is empty. If we need to refund any costs, we will be returning these to their original form of payment.

For travel from 1 April 2017, Club Europe will be introduced on all BA mainline and BA CityFlyer UK&I domestic services. We are also replacing UK Domestic with Euro Traveller as the economy cabin.

Domestic customers will be able to benefit from lounge access, more personal space to work or relax, complimentary food and drink, dedicated check-in desks, priority boarding and a generous baggage allowance of two cabin bags and two checked bags.

The Club Europe cabin features a 2:2 configuration with the middle seat kept free. All UK&I domestic routes will start to show 2-cabin configuration, Club Europe and Euro Traveller.

Existing bookings on UK&I domestic services

The following changes have taken place for customers already ticketed on UK&I domestic services for travel from 1 April 2017:

The PNR will be queued to your servicing queue and will have an OTHS for information in the PNR. You will need to 'tidy-up’ the booking by deleting any UN sectors update the new TK sector to HK status.

Emails or SMS messages have NOT been sent to customers but please reassure them that their flight is not cancelled - the status has been changed to enable our systems to disclose the correct cabin they are travelling in. We will automatically revalidate the BA-125 ticket for the affected sector(s). Other carrier’s tickets will need to be revalidated or reissued for the ticket to match the itinerary.

For existing customers booked on BA CityFlyer’s London City to Isle of Man service, for travel from 1 April in J, Y, C, D, I or R classes, we have re-accommodated them into Euro Traveller. These flights have limited capacity and Club fares have now been introduced for new bookings.

Reserved seating
The Club Europe cabin is located at the front of the aircraft. Customers with seats already booked in the front rows who now have a cabin change into Euro Traveller will be allocated a seat further back in the aircraft. If the new seat is not suitable then any paid seating requests may be refunded and any free seating may be changed dependent on availability in the Euro Traveller cabin.

Meal requests & paid for excess baggage
Please check if customers travelling in Club Europe have any advance meal requests. Club Europe customers may check-in two bags (max 32kgs each) Customers already ticketed in J, C, D, R, I or U classes will now be eligible to 2 pieces, although their ticket will still display 1 piece. The BAGA keyword should have been updated to show 2PC. Domestic customers now travelling in Club Europe who have already paid for an extra bag may have the one extra bag refunded.

Redemptions
U class is used for Club Europe on all domestics with the applicable Avios to pay. Customers already booked in U class will be seated in Club Europe, no extra Avios charged. X class customers are booked in Euro Traveller.

Business UK fares will no longer exist after 31 March 2017.

Read our 'Club Europe available in the UK' factsheet

View our Club Europe on Domestic video

British Airways will no longer be providing therapeutic oxygen on shorthaul flights departing on or after 1 February 2018. This also includes shorthaul segments connecting to and from longhaul flights.

Customers requiring therapeutic oxygen on shorthaul flights will be required to make their own provisions for all short-haul segments of their itinerary.

Accepted oxygen provisions are outlined on ba.com. Customers must obtain medical clearance for approval of their own therapeutic oxygen provisions. Medical forms should be submitted to the medical clearance team at least 7 days prior to departure.

British Airways will continue to provide therapeutic oxygen on board longhaul flights, free of charge. To request this service customers should follow the existing process. If customers are connecting to/from a shorthaul flight, they will need to make their own oxygen provision for all shorthaul segments of their itinerary.

This change is effective on all shorthaul flights departing on or after 1 February 2018.  Customers departing prior to this date may continue to request therapeutic oxygen, providing their return date is before 1 February 2018. Customers returning on shorthaul flights on or after this date will need to make their own oxygen provision for their return journey.

For more information on medical clearance or the provision of therapeutic oxygen, you should contact our Passenger Medical Clearance Unit on 020 8738 5444  or email pmcu.pmcu@ba.com

This key news is historic and has since been updated - please refer to the latest information above 

Along with Iberia, we announced a change to our credit card fee for consumer and trade bookings in mid-November 2016 to be effective on 14 December 2016.

However, after careful consideration and to ensure a smooth transition for all of our customers, the new credit card fee will become applicable on 7 February 2017.

From that date, if customers choose to pay using a credit card they will now be charged a non-refundable one per cent fee of their total ticket price, up to a maximum of £20.

British Airways and Iberia will continue to offer a selection of free payment methods on ba.com and through the trade.

Switzerland, Spain and Finland will also move to 1% fee from 7 February which will be capped at EUR25 and CHF30.

British Airways does not profit from these fees - they make a contribution towards the charges levied by the credit card companies.

Liberty London has created an exclusive new range of washbags for customers flying in First with British Airways. 

The new amenity kit, containing selected products by Aromatherapy Associates, will be introduced on flights between London Heathrow and Los Angeles on 7 January 2017, and will then roll out across the rest of the First network by the end of Spring 2017.

More Liberty print designs will be added to the collection throughout the year, giving customers the opportunity to enjoy even more of Liberty London's iconic British style.

Find out more about First on ba.com

Our Joint Business with Qatar Airways launches on 30 October 2016 with flights open for sale from 27 October 2016. The Joint Business is an expansion to our existing codeshare agreement, providing customers with access to a larger network including up to 7 flights a day between London and Doha.

We will codeshare on one another’s non-stop flights between the UK and Doha, with the BA prefix added to connections operated by Qatar Airways to destinations in the Middle East, Asia and Africa not served by BA from London. The QR designator will be placed on services operated by BA between London and various UK and continental European cities.

As existing oneworld partners, British Airways and Qatar Airways customers already have access to a wide range of benefits including Priority Check In, Priority Boarding and Lounge Access.

Find out more (including codeshare routes)

Qatar joint business summary

The SJB now has a 4th member with Iberia officially joining British Airways, Japan Airlines and Finnair in the joint business between Europe and Japan.

Iberia’s new Madrid (MAD) - Tokyo Narita (NRT) route, which currently operates three times a week, can now be sold equally with BA, JL and AY’s flights to and from Japan. Any of these services can be sold on a ‘metal neutral’ basis as revenue on the SJB is shared between the four carriers.

Iberia CEO Luis Gallego said: “Today is a great day for the Iberia family. We are returning to Japan as a renewed airline, with our newest aircraft and product for our customers, and we do so accompanied by such wonderful partners as JAL, British Airways and Finnair.”

JAL President Yoshiharu Ueki added: “We welcome our oneworld partner Iberia to our home hub in Tokyo. Japan Airlines is striving to enhance its presence in Europe, and we believe that the start of the four carrier joint business between Europe and Japan will provide more seamless access, consistent services and more travel choices for our customers.”

From 11 January 2017, we’re upgrading our food offering on all shorthaul flights to and from London Heathrow and London Gatwick by partnering with Marks & Spencer, another great British brand. Your customers will be able to buy food from their delicious and seasonally inspired menu, ‘M&S on board’, along with a choice of drinks available to purchase from an extensive bar menu, which will replace the complimentary service currently provided in our Euro Traveller cabins, including UK domestic flights. 

With a variety of M&S food, including vegetarian and healthy fresh options, this means that your customers will now be able to enjoy the flavours they love from this British high street favourite while in the air.

Executive Club Members will now have the option to spend their Avios on board. With all food on the menu priced at under £5, and branded wines, spirits and soft drinks also available to buy, payment using Avios or via a debit or credit card, will be quick and easy.

Please note that cash payments will not be accepted, so if your customers are travelling in a group, please ensure that are aware of this change.

From summer 2017, 'M&S on board' will also be available to purchase on flights to and from London City and London Stansted. Any bookings your customers have in Club Europe or on longhaul flights will be unaffected and the existing full complimentary food offering will continue to be served.

Find out more in ba.com

International Airlines Group (IAG) announced a joint business agreement between British Airways and Qatar Airways which will start on 30 October 2016.

The joint business will benefit customers by providing better links between the UK, continental Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, with a greater choice of flights and enhanced frequent flyer benefits. The revenue-sharing agreement will allow the airlines to cooperate on scheduling and pricing, providing customers with more flexible options and an attractive range of fares.

Customers will be able to travel more easily on the airlines' combined route network which will serve more than 70 destinations. The joint business will see the two airlines code-sharing on all non-stop flights operated between the UK and Doha and connecting services to destinations in the UK, continental Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa. This will include British Airways' daily direct flights from London Heathrow to Doha.

This agreement will also strengthen the oneworld alliance and enable it to compete more effectively on these routes.

Exclusive to Heathrow Terminal 5, we'll be soon introducing a new premium zone to welcome customers to their First experience. Set to open in April 2017, The First Wing will provide a dedicated area that helps customers speed up the process through the airport and maximise moments of comfort, relaxation and indulgence.

Located where our First check-in area is today, The First Wing will feature an enhanced, private check-in area and two exclusive security lanes for customers travelling in First, Executive Club Gold and oneworld Emerald members. Customers will in addition be able to use a new direct walkway that will lead them seamlessly into the Galleries First Lounge and then the Concorde Room. We're doing our very best to minimise disruption while building work is taking place and look forward to welcoming customers to The First Wing.

Find out more

This key news is historic and may since have been updated - please refer to the latest information

With effect from 19 August 2016, we have introduced a change fee on our shorthaul Plus product.

For Plus tickets purchased prior to 19 August 2016, the change fee will not apply.

This change will apply to all shorthaul Plus products to and from London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London City airports for both international and domestic travel.

All other conditions remain unchanged, including free flight change on the day. The new change fee will be the same amount as we currently charge for our Basic product.

This key news is historic and may since have been updated - please refer to the latest information

We have reduced some cancellation fees following feedback from partners after the introduction of our automated refund policy in May 2016 (further to section 'Changes to refund calculations' below)

Cancellation fees have been reduced by half (50%) on the following fares and markets:

• All premium fares
• Non-premium fares ex-MECA, Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and South West Pacific

The new policy is active on the majority of:

• Public short haul fares
• Public long haul fares*
• Private CAT25 fares which hang off any public fare above and where penalties point to the base rule

*excluding fares originating from Japan

We expect all remaining markets for public fares and private fares to be activated by September 2016.

We're streamlining our processes and have developed new webforms for reporting Corporate and Leisure Fare Distribution issues.

Find out more

Along with our oneworld partners, we have implemented a policy change on through check-in for a customer travelling on separate tickets. Only customers with separate tickets issued in the same PNR/booking will be accepted for through check-in.

Customers travelling on separate tickets issued in separate PNRs/bookings will not be accepted for through check-in, regardless of which carriers they are connecting on to, including BA or any oneworld partner.

These customers, and their baggage, will only be checked in to the destination showing in the system. No onward carriage details are to be added into the check-in system at any stage.

Where a customer has separate tickets, the Most Generous Allowance (MGA) rule for baggage does not apply and any excess baggage will apply as per the ticketed sector for that ticket.

This change means that the originating carrier is not liable for any rebooking and additional costs incurred as a result of disruption, for flights on other PNR/bookings.

Customers who have booked a through ticket will continue to receive the full benefits including through checked bags, MGA and full assistance should their journey be disrupted.

Find out more and examples

From 10 May, we have announced some changes to our refund policy, enabling you to automate refunds, using the industry standard ATPCO Category 33. The automation will lead to a reduction in the time taken to process refunds for customers.

Find out more

IAG, parent company of British Airways has announced plans to install high-speed inflight connectivity across 118 of BA's long-haul aircraft from Q1 in 2017. The agreement between IAG and in-flight connectivity specialist GoGo will also see Aer Lingus and Iberia aircraft fitted with the same next generation satellite–based system, making IAG the first European airline group to use GoGo's latest technology called "2Ku".

The state of the art technology will provide greater bandwidth, faster speed and broader coverage to IAG airlines' customers. Global connectivity is something customers demand and IAG will be providing urgent details such as flight re-bookings or delayed baggage updates. This is an exciting announcement

IAG (our parent company) has announced plans to install high-speed inflight connectivity across 118 of our longhaul aircraft from Quarter 1 in 2017.

The agreement between IAG and in-flight connectivity specialist GoGo will also see Aer Lingus and Iberia aircraft fitted with the same next generation satellite–based system, making IAG the first European airline group to use GoGo's latest technology called "2Ku". The state of the art technology will provide greater bandwidth, faster speed and broader coverage to IAG airlines' customers. 

The first longhaul aircraft to be equipped will be a British Airways B747-400 which will be in service early next year.

Pre-order meals are currently available on all outbound London Heathrow longhaul and midhaul routes (excluding Moscow - DME).

For flights departing from 1 May 2016, this service will be extended to include the majority of outbound longhaul services from London Gatwick.

Pre-order meals are available to customers travelling in our First, Club World and World Traveller Plus cabins and enables them to select their first choice main course from the on board a-la-carte menu. Starter and dessert choices will be taken on board. Customers choosing not to pre-order will be asked for their meal preference on board as usual.

Customers are able to pre-order their meal from 30 days before their flight departs, up to 24 hours prior to departure in Manage My Booking.

We have simplified our fare structure for customers travelling in shorthaul economy, offering Basic (previously Hand Baggage Only), Plus (previously with Checked Bag) and Plus Flex (previously Fully Flex) fares, each with increasing levels of flexibility and differing benefits.

Find out more

This key news is historic and may since have been updated - please refer to the latest information

For flights purchased (ie ticketed bookings) from 10 May 2016, the free checked baggage allowance for Club World and Biz Bed customers on Openskies will change two pieces, with each weighing a maximum of 32kg.

The existing three piece allowance will be honoured for any ticketed bookings made prior to 10 May 2016.

Gold Executive Club Members will still be entitled to an additional free bag and Club World and Biz Bed customers will be able to check in a third bag, if required, for £120/$180/€140 if pre-booked online or £140/$200/€150 when purchased at the airport, except on flights from Brazil where the charge is US$120 for each piece of luggage.

Due to a decline in demand we have taken the decision to close the unaccompanied minor (Skyflyer Solo) service for flights operated by British Airways.

We will honour all bookings that have already been made for unaccompanied minors, but new bookings will cease from 24 February 2016.

Find out more

Customers travelling in premium cabins on our midhaul routes, with the exception of Moscow, are now able to enjoy pre-order meals on board. ​Customers can view the menu for their upcoming midhaul flight and select their main meal choice in advance. This completes the roll-out of pre-order and pre-paid meals on all longhaul and midhaul flights outbound from London Heathrow.

Customers will be able to view and select their main meal choice through the Manage My Booking on ba.com, and can pre-book between 30 days and up to 24 hours before departure. The starter and dessert choice will continue to be taken on board. Those who choose not to pre-order will be asked for their meal preference onboard as usual.

This key news is historic and may since have been updated - please refer to the latest information

As part of our ongoing commitment to punctuality, we are making some changes to our baggage allowances, as well as the order our customers board the aircraft. 

Boarding the aircraft

Customers will be invited to board in order based on the cabin they are travelling and in order of Executive Club status. All of our other customers will be asked to board by seat row number. If travelling with an infant or are a customer requiring extra assistance, you will continue to be invited to board before everyone else.

Changes to hand baggage*

We have seen an increase in customers travelling with hand baggage that exceeds their allowance. We always try to accommodate our customers but to make sure the aircraft is ready to depart on time we are making the following changes: 

Customers can continue to carry 2 pieces of hand baggage. One bag should be a handbag/laptop sized bag which should now be no larger than 40x30x15cm. The size of your additional cabin bag remains unchanged and should be no larger than 56x45x25cm and can weigh up to 23kgs.

Customers travelling in all cabins, except First and Club World will receive a yellow tag for handbag/laptop sized bags which are within the new dimensions. We guarantee that this bag can be taken on board and customers should have the tag visible for boarding and place the bag under the seat in front of them.

We encourage valuables or items such as medication should be carried in a handbag or laptop sized bag to ensure everything needed is in the cabin. 

Customers who travel with hand baggage which is outside of their allowance will be asked to check this into the hold. On very busy flights, we may have to ask some of our customers to check bags without yellow tags into the hold if the overhead lockers are full.

*Customers travelling to and from Brazil will not be affected by the changes and original baggage allowances apply.

Changes to checked baggage

From 11 August 2015, customers purchasing a fully flexible World Traveller ticket (Y fare) will have a reduced free checked baggage allowance of one piece weighing a maximum of 23kg. This brings the allowance in line with all other World Traveller fares on British Airways. Customers who have purchased a fully flexible ticket prior to 11 August 2015 will continue to receive a free checked baggage allowance of two pieces, regardless of their date of travel.

This key news is historic and may since have been updated - please refer to the latest information

Shorthaul and UK domestic flights to/from London Heathrow (LHR) and London City (LCY)

For second and subsequent bags with Hand Baggage Only (HBO) fare: when purchased in advance via ba.com or the contact centres the charge will increase from £40/$60/€50 to £60/$90/€70.

For all bags when Standard/Semi Flex/Flexible/Club Europe fare is purchased and for second and subsequent bags with Hand Baggage Only (HBO) fare: when purchased in advance via ba.com or the contact centres the charge will increase from £40/$60/€50 to £60/$90/€70.

Longhaul routes where the checked baggage allowance is 1 bag
When purchased in advance via ba.com or the contact centres the charge will increase from £55/$85/€64 to £60/$90/€70.

Changes to USD and EUR rates
In addition to the above changes, on some longhaul and shorthaul routes the GBP rates may stay the same, however the rates quoted in USD and EUR have been amended.

The UK government announced last year that the Air Passenger Duty (APD) will no longer be charged for children between the ages of 2 and 12 years on Economy class seats for travel from 1 May 2015. Infant tickets are not charged APD.

For bookings already made for customers travelling with children after 1 May, a refund may be due:

For tickets issued by a travel agent and British Airways was not the merchant: customers will need to contact you after they have completed their journey. You should apply for refund for APD on our Refund Request webform as soon as possible after travel is completed.*

For tickets issued by a travel agent where British Airways was the merchant (i.e. cleared the payment card): we will automatically refund the APD back to the original payment card after they have flown all the sectors (departing the UK).* 

For direct bookings with British Airways: APD will be automatically refunded back to the original payment card after they have flown all the sectors (departing the UK). The refund should appear on their statement by the end of the following month.

*Refunds should never take place before travel. Please do NOT undertake and refund activity if any sectors are still open as this may cause issues with the open sector also being closed for refund.

This key news is historic and may since have been updated - please refer to the latest information

We're making a number of changes to its loyalty programme, the Executive Club from 28 April 2015.

The changes will make it easier for your customers to spend Avios on reward flights. The scheme will also become more rewarding for those who have spent more on their flights.

Redemption seat availability

We're increasing the number of seats available for booking with Avios loyalty points and reducing the points needed for off-peak travel on some routes.

From 28 April, we're guaranteeing that a minimum of four seats in World Traveller/ Euro Traveller and two seats in Club World / Club Europe will be available for booking with Avios on every British Airways operated flight*.

Overall, more than nine million seats will be available this year to book with Avios, with more than 500,000 additional seats available for Members to book from today.

Changes to number of Avios earned

The rates at which customers earn Avios will be modified to come more into line with the type of fare bought. In general, this means the more flexible the ticket the more Avios your Customers will earn.  Customers travelling in business class or First class can earn up to 300 per cent on a fully flexible, fully changeable ticket, reflecting the fact they have spent more money.

Redeeming Avios - Introduction of peak and off-peak pricing

Off-peak pricing will be introduced for approximately two thirds of the year, including many weekends and all Tuesdays and Wednesdays. This means that for your customers many seats will require fewer Avios to book than they do today.

There will be a reduction in the number of Avios required on a redemption seat for your customers travelling off-peak in economy of up to 35 per cent off. At peak times, the number of Avios required to book economy travel will remain as it is today.

Reward flights with British Airways’ airline partners will be one price all year round, with the exception of Iberia who will also offer seasonal pricing.

Greater differentiation between Gold and Silver tiers

Gold Members continue to earn a 100% tier bonus, Silver Members earn a 50% tier bonus and Bronze Members will continue to earn a 25% tier bonus.

Please see attached links below for a summary of all the changes we are making along with some Q&A’s about what the changes mean for your customers.

The changes will become effective from 28 April 2015. All bookings made before this date will be honoured under the current Terms and Conditions.

*Excluding any flights defined below:

(a) any BA Flight which is operated as a charter flight outside of the scheduled operation of BA or any of the BA Subsidiaries;

(b) any BA Flight operated from LGW as an agent specific flight where 100% of the Inventory on such scheduled flight is allocated to a specific agent or operator

Executive Club changes summary

Executive Club earning Avios FAQs

Executive Club spending Avios FAQs

At the end of last year, a new longhaul pre-order catering proposition was launched to customers travelling in our First, Club World and World Traveller Plus cabins which enabled them to select their first choice main course from the on board a-la-carte menu. Pre-order meals are available to trade bookings and should be booked on Manage my Booking on ba.com or via our contact centres.

The pre-order service was originally introduced on flights between London Heathrow and Las Vegas, Phoenix, Rio de Janeiro, Vancouver, Dallas and Seattle offering customers the opportunity to pre-order their meal from 30 days before their flight departed, right up to 24 hours prior to take-off using Manage my Booking on ba.com.

Due to the success of this proposition, we're pleased to advise from 22 January 2015, this service is now available on flights between London Heathrow and Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Houston, Austin and San Diego for travel after 5 February 2015.

In addition, from 1 February 2015 pre-order catering is also be available on flights between London Heathrow and Atlanta, Denver, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary for travel after 1 March 2015.

This key news is historic and may since have been updated - please refer to the latest information

We're introducing changes to our On Business programme from 27 May 2015. These changes will impact the way customers earn and spend points, giving greater choice across partner airlines and introduce a tier system for those spending more on flights.   

Find out more about the changes at ba.com/information/onbusiness

Customers can enjoy an even smarter programme, with the option to either earn points every time they fly, or choose a cash discount instead of points on selected flights.

Migration to the new programme

In order for these changes to take place we will closing the current programme at 23:59 GMT on the 24 May 2015. We will then begin to migrate our system over to the new On Business programme, which will be completed on 27 May 2015. During this time neither you, your customers, nor any of the British Airways teams, including your On Business Service Centre, will be able to access the On Business account. During this time customers will only be able to change the date and time of an existing booking through Manage My Booking.

Enrolling new members into the On Business programme

From the 27 April – 27 May 2015 you will not be able to enrol new members into the current On Business programme. This will allow for us to migrate our system to the new On Business programme.

Membership Numbers and GDS entries

These will be changing when we launch the programme and we will communicate these changes closer to our launch date, 27 May 2015. If you have any further questions, please contact Trade Support or your account manager.

Currently, Global Distribution System (GDS) providers enable travel agents access to book flights and ancillaries offered by airlines.

IATA has examined the 25-year old industry infrastructure, and worked in collaboration with airlines, Travel Management Companies, GDS, Online Travel Agencies and corporates to launch New Distribution Capability (NDC) which uses the latest information technology to deliver enhanced information to travel agents.

NDC covers the end-to-end booking process and shows the information that ba.com or another airline’s website would display. NDC benefits British Airways as an airline, giving us improved capability to display our range of products and services in a useful and straightforward way. The end customer benefits with a more transparent booking process so they can make informed decisions about what each airline offers and who they decide to travel with.

We have been a leading player in developing the NDC standard, and are now ready to open our NDC Pilot to interested parties from across the travel industry.

Find out more

This key news is historic and may since have been updated - please refer to the latest information

Our loyalty scheme for small and medium sized businessess is changing. The new programme will better meet the flying needs of this growing and dynamic sector. These changes are being made in order for us to implement a smarter programme that offers our members more opportunities to earn and spend points across IAG carriers British Airways, Iberia and American Airlines networks.

Benefits of the new On Business programme:

• Members can now earn and redeem their points across the American Airlines, British Airways and Iberia networks.
• Members in the UK and members outside of Europe will have the option to choose a discount on selected fares instead of earning points.
• All members within Europe will have access to discounts on selected fares as well as earning points. 
• Introduction of a Tier system that can enable members to boost their earning by up to 50%.
• Customers can continue to earn Avios when they travel, as long as they are a member of the American Airlines AAdvantage®, British Airways Executive Club, Finnair Plus, or Iberia Plus frequent flyer programmes.

Information regarding the migration to the new On Business programme:

Members will receive a new membership and account number. You should use the new membership number on new bookings.

Details on how to make new booking entries, what happens with customers’ existing bookings and contact details are all included on the link below.

Find out more

Nationals of Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand or the USA can benefit from the recently updated Registered Traveller Service offered by the UK Border Force, to give an easier and faster arrivals experience.

As a member of Registered Traveller, the UK arrivals process will be quicker. Customers will no longer need to complete a landing card and will be able to use the UK/EU lanes and the UK ePassport gates with biometric passports (where available). Later this year, 15 of the newest generation gates will be added at London Heathrow Terminal 5.

Becoming a Registered Traveller is easier than ever before. Customers can apply online at https://www.gov.uk/registered-traveller. It costs £70 to apply to use the service for one year. If applications are unsuccessful, £50 will be refunded back.

Currently the service is available at London Heathrow, London Gatwick, London City, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester, and will be rolling out to more UK airports during 2015.

Find out more or visit https://www.faster-uk-entry.service.gov.uk/service-information

From 12 May 2015, customers travelling in World Traveller to selected destinations (Seattle, Houston, Miami, Dallas, Austin, Mexico City, Phoenix, San Diego, Denver, Atlanta) will be able to choose and purchase their own in-flight meal before flying with us. Pre-paid meals are available to trade bookings and should be booked on Manage my Booking on ba.com or via our contact centres.

With a World Traveller pre-paid meal, customers can select from a range of mouth-watering options on ba.com as an alternative to the complimentary in-flight meal. Menus will be available to browse and order from within 30 days of the flight’s departure, with the online service available from 23 April 2015. Drinks will be included at no extra cost, as before.

All dishes have been selected by our renowned chefs who have overseen the full design and development process to ensure every meal reaches our high ‘Height Cuisine’ standards. There are 5 dining options to choose from:

The Great British Breakfast includes freshly made omelette, Cumberland sausage, Greek yoghurt, crunchy granola and seasonal fruits
Healthy Choice is perfect for those counting calories
Vegetarian Kitchen features polenta crespelle with mascarpone, spinach, wild mushrooms and truffles
Gourmet Dining and A Taste of Britain for even the most discerning traveller to find something to whet their appetite

Each meal is made with fresh, excellent quality ingredients and is handmade on a daily basis. British provenance plays a key role in our menu choices, with smoked salmon from Loch Fyne in Scotland, pork belly from Brookfield Farm in Wiltshire and beef cheeks from Herefordshire just some of the options available.

Read our FAQs

Find out more on ba.com

Customers travelling First, Club World and World Traveller Plus can select their meal from the onboard menu between 30 days and 24 hours before their flight if they travelling on the following routes from London Heathrow: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Buenos Aires, Calgary, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Mexico City, Montreal, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Rio de Janeiro, San Diego, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington DC.

AirPortr have introduced Carousel Collection at London City that picks up passenger bags on their behalf and ensures they are delivered to them on the same day.

Following a recent trial of this service to Executive Club Members on specific routes into London City, we're now extending Carousel Collection to all passengers on domestic flights arriving into the airport. This service will be complimentary for Executive Club Members.

Passengers can book the service at any time prior to their flight departing, so when they touch down at London City, they can leave the aircraft and head straight for the exit, without waiting to pick up their bags from the baggage reclaim.

Carousel Collection is free to our Executive Club Members. For all other customers, the service costs £10 per booking and the standard AirPortr booking starts from £15 for the first bag and only £5 per additional bag (regardless of weight or size). In addition to receiving a 10% discount when booking the AirPortr service, the Carousel Collection fee will continue to be waived for all Executive Club customers (all tiers) when entering their membership number when booking.

Customers can pre-book the service up until their flight departs at portr.com or by calling 0203 384 6677. There is also an AirPortr Concierge desk at London City airport.

This key news is historic and may since have been updated - please refer to the latest information

From 26 March, all customers booking an HBO fare will be allocated a seat at check-in (24 hours before departure). HBO customers who want to choose their own seat will be able to do so for a fee, either at time of booking or when checking in online on ba.com.

Customers travelling with infants or those with additional needs will still be able to choose their seats for free at the time of booking.

All other HBO customers, including Executive Club Members, will be have the option of paying to choose their seat. The fee on a domestic flight will be £7 each way. Across the rest of the shorthaul network the fee will range from £10 to a maximum £18 depending on the flight. For all other fares, Bronze Members can continue to select their seat for free seven days before departure and Silver and Gold Members for free at the time of booking.

The keyword required for HBO fares will change to XHBT from XHBO from 26 March. Please don't use the new XHBT keyword until this date, as using the incorrect keyword may result in passengers being charged the incorrect baggage fee. 

You should ensure customers are aware of the policy regarding allocated seating on HBO fares.