Cookies

How we use cookies and other methods for the collection of website usage data

By using the website www.ba.com and other online services, such as our mobile app, you agree that we can store and access cookies, IP addresses and use other methods in order to collect website usage data, and improve your online experience.

This can include information about your use of the website, the browser and device type you are accessing it from and where you are in the world (see 'How do we collect and use geo-location information?').

What are ‘cookies’?

Cookies are small files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit or certain emails you open. They are widely used in order to make websites function properly, as well as to provide business and marketing information to the owners of the site.

For example:

  • Our cookies will remember your chosen language and country so that when you go to the website the pages are in that language and the departure airports are in that country.
  • If you're halfway through a booking our cookies will allow you to browse other areas of the website and then return back to your booking.
  • If you are accessing the site from a company which has a British Airways extranet, a cookie will also help us recognise which company you are from, so that you are taken to the appropriate extranet.

When do we use cookies?

British Airways uses cookies on ba.com for the following purposes:

Technical

Cookies are used for technical reasons to enable the efficient working of ba.com. For example, to:

  • balance website traffic to ensure our customers receive a consistent and reliable service
  • limit traffic to key parts of the website in order to maintain performance levels
  • store your acceptance of the Privacy Policy, cookies policy and website terms and conditions, without which access is not granted to ba.com

Ease of use

Cookies are used to enhance the ease of use of ba.com for customers. For example, to:

  • remember your language and country of choice and presenting relevant content
  • keep track of customers’ Executive Club number when you have logged in
  • remember your selected departure airport when booking a flight

Tracking

Cookies are used to gather statistics on how visitors use our site. For example, to:

  • gather feedback on customer satisfaction through our website survey
  • gain insight into how visitors use the website so that we can make improvements to its usability

Marketing

Cookies are used to enable us to present appropriate messages to you. For example, to:

  • allow ba.com to serve up different versions of a page for marketing purposes
  • control invitations on ba.com for instant credit card offers
  • allow third parties to display appropriate advertising and to track its effectiveness
  • display messages which offer a selection of products based on what you're viewing on ba.com, which are presented to you by our agency when you visit other selected websites. This is known as online behavioural advertising. For more information please see 'What is online behavioural advertising'?

You can choose to opt out of this type of advertising permanently by going to http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices

Please note though, that if you delete your cookies too, we'll no longer know that you've opted out, so the banners from our third-party will reappear when you visit other selected websites.

For more details on the cookies that operate on ba.com please go to 'More information about cookies used on ba.com'.

How do I refuse or withdraw consent to the use of cookies?

You may refuse to accept cookies by altering the settings on your internet browser (for example Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox). Please note that if you choose not to permit cookies some areas of our website may not function properly or be accessible.

For further information about how to refuse cookies, please refer to your browser ‘Help’ section or see www.allaboutcookies.org.

Please note though, that if you delete your cookies:

  • We will no longer know that you've opted out of online behavioural advertising, so the banners from our third-party advertisers will reappear when you visit other selected websites.
  • We will no longer automatically recognise that you have agreed to our Privacy Policy, cookies policy and website terms and conditions and will ask for confirmation of this along with your language and country preferences.

What is online behavioural advertising/ interest based advertising?

Online behavioural advertising (also known as interest-based advertising) is a way of serving advertisements on the websites you visit and making them more relevant to you and your interests.

Shared interests are grouped together based upon previous web browsing activity and web users are then served advertising which matches their shared interests. In this way, advertising can be made as relevant and useful as possible. Relevant ads can also be delivered based upon the website content you have just been viewing. This is known as ‘retargeting’.

For more information refer to http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/

How do I opt out of online behavioural advertising?

There are a number of sites which can help you opt out of online behavioural advertising from the third party advertising agencies that operate online behavioural advertising for website publishers.

These include http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/ and http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices.

Please note that opting out of online behavioural advertising using those services:

  • does not mean that the advertising of British Airways’ products and services on our own websites will stop being personalised to your interests
  • may not stop all online behavioural advertising because it only applies to those third party advertising agencies that have signed up to those services
  • does not mean that there will no more advertising on this website or other websites you access. However, the advertising that you do see is likely to be less relevant to your interests

In addition, deleting browser cookies can remove your opt out preferences, so you may need to opt out again.

More information about cookies used on ba.com

The table below details the most frequently used cookies on ba.com and explains their use.

 

Cookies used on ba.com
Cookie namePurpose
BA_COUNTRY_CHOICE_COOKIE Keeps track of your choice of country and avoids this choice being repeated.
previousCountryInfo Keeps track of your previous choice of country.
BA_LANGUAGE_CHOICE_COOKIE Keeps track of your choice of language and avoids this choice being repeated.
betaUser Used to store a number to represent if the user sees the new beta version of homepage or not.
betaReferrer Used to store the site the user came from when being re-directed to the new homepage.
Allow_BA_cookies_data Used to store the date that the user accepted the cookie popup.
Apache A “technical” cookie used to control use of BA infrastructure.
BASessionA
BASessionB
RTADA
RTADB
BADPSessionA
BADPSessionB
A “technical” cookie that expires at the end of a session on the website. Identifies the session in use by your PC. Required to make the site work.
BIGipServerba.com-port80
BIGipServerba.com-port81
BIGipServerdp-live.baplc.com-port80
BIGipServerdp-live.baplc.com-port81
BIGipServercaptwo.ba.com-80
BIGipServercaptwo.ba.com-81
BIGipServersolr-live.baplc.com-80
Used to balance the load on BA's web site infrastructure. Expires at the end of your session.
BA_LOGON_PERSIST_COOKIE Used to track if you are logged into the Executive Club on ba.com.
BA_INSTANT_CREDIT_COOKIE Used to track interest in BA/3rd party products.
FS_DEPT_COUNTRY

Enables your browser to "remember" country of selected departure.

FS_DEPT_AIRPORT Enables your browser to "remember" airport of selected departure.
depDate Enables your browser to "remember" requested departure date.
retDate Enables your browser to "remember" requested return date.
numberOfNights Enables your browser to "remember" the number of nights selected for a hotel request.
BA_ENROLMENT_APPLICATION_COOKIE Used to indicate whether you enrolled in the Executive Club.
comparePackage0 Used to control the facility to compare flight & hotel packages
comparePackage1 Used to control the facility to compare flight & hotel packages
comparePackage2 Used to control the facility to compare flight & hotel packages
__utma
__utmb
__utmc
__utmd
__utmv
__utmz
Used to collect information about how visitors use ba.com. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where vistors have come to the site from and the pages they visited.

da_lid
da_sid

Used to collect information about how visitors use ba.com. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited.

mmapi.store.p.[0..N]
mmapi.store.s.[0..N]
mmcore.tst
maxymiser.optout
maxymiser.pd
maxymiser.mmid

Used by BA to trial new features and services on ba.com.
v1st Used to collect information about how visitors use ba.com. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where vistors have come to the site from and the pages they visited.
AJRBDs
AJRBDs
AJUserGUID
AJUserGUID
BBC-UID
Used to present appropriate content to customers who have visited ba.com
id
preff
Used to track effectiveness of advertising
ug
uid
uuid2
sess
sess segments_p1
segments_p1
meld_sess
exchange_uid
Used to display relevant advertising
BA Universal TTD Pixel Used to display relevant advertising.
Used to collect information about how visitors use ba.com. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited.
Used to present appropriate content to customers who have visited ba.com.
FR (Facebook) Used to deliver, measure and improve the relevancy of advertising

ID

ad.doubleclick.net

flsdoubleclick.net

Used to display relevant advertising.
Used to collect information about how visitors use ba.com. We use the information to compile reports and to help us improve the site. The cookies collect information in an anonymous form, including the number of visitors to the site, where visitors have come to the site from and the pages they visited.
Used to understand the content which you have engaged with to enable our third party to deliver targeted advertising outside of ba.com

ad.doubleclick.net

fls.doubleclick.net

BA use cookies for accurate data reporting and to target advertising based on what's relevant to a user. All of which helps BA improve advertising.
usbls Used to help gather feedback on customer satisfaction through our website survey.

flashtalkingad1 _d9J

Used for reporting and verification of marketing activity undertaken by Flashtalking.
_ga Drops a cookie used to collect information and report website usage statistics without personally identifying individual visitors to Google.

AMCV_###@adobeOrg

s_vi

s_cc

s_sq

getValOnce

Cookies are used to support adobe analytics with identifying site visitors and their behaviours, enabling an understanding of consumer behaviour to assist with the relevant targeting of appropriate marketing activity.

FAGEL_AB_TEST

If this cookie is present you will be shown a beta selling, rather than the standard selling flow.

Last updated: February 2020
© British Airways Plc