Website Privacy Policy

This is the privacy policy for www.facebook.com/britishairways (the Site). The Site is operated by British Airways Plc (we, us and our). For the purposes of the UK Data Protection Act 1998, we are the data controller.
We are committed to protecting your privacy on-line. We appreciate that you do not want the personal information you provide to us distributed indiscriminately and here we explain how we collect information, what we do with it and what controls you have.
By using the Site, you consent to the collection and use of information in accordance with this privacy policy.
We reserve the right to change this privacy policy from time to time by changing it on the Site (effective immediately on publication). This privacy policy was last updated on 28 January 2009.

1. Information we may collect from you

We may collect and process the following information about you:

  • 1.1 information (such as your name, email address, postal address and telephone number) that you provide by completing forms on the Site, including if you register as a user of the Site or any feature of the Site, subscribe to any service, upload or submit any material via the Site, request any information or enter into any competition or promotion we may sponsor;

  • 1.2 communications you send to us, for example to report a problem or to submit queries, concerns or comments regarding the Site or its content;

  • 1.3 information from surveys that we may, from time to time, run on the Site for research purposes, if you choose to respond to them;

  • 1.4 details of your visits to the Site, the resources you access and any data you download.

You are under no obligation to provide any such information. However, if you should choose to withhold requested information, we may decline to provide you with certain services.

2. Uses made of your information

We will use the information you provide to:

  • 2.1 enable us to provide you with the services and information offered through the Site and which you request;
  • 2.2 audit the downloading of data from the Site;
  • 2.3 improve the layout and/or content of the pages of the Site and customise them for users; 
  • 2.4 identify visitors to the Site; 
  • 2.5 carry out research on our users' demographics; 
  • 2.6 send you information we think you may find useful or which you have requested from us, including information about our products and services, provided you have indicated that you do not object to being contacted for these purposes;

You can tell us not to contact you with information regarding our products and services, either at the point such information is collected on the Site (by checking or un-checking (as directed) the relevant box) or by following the unsubscribe instructions on any communications sent to you. You can also exercise the right at any time by contacting us using the contact details at the end of this privacy policy.

3. Non-personal information


When you visit the Site, we may automatically collect non-personal information about you, such as the type of internet browser you use, the website from which you have come to the Site and your IP address (the unique address which identifies your computer on the internet) which is automatically recognised by our web server. You cannot be identified from this information and it is only used to assist us in providing an effective service on the Site and to collect broad demographic information for aggregate use.
The Site uses cookies to store certain information. Cookies are pieces of information that a website transfers to your hard drive to store and sometimes track information about you. Although they do identify a user's computer, cookies do not personally identify users. Cookies are specific to the server that created them and cannot be accessed by other servers, which means they cannot be used to track your movements around the internet.

4. We use permanent cookies to:

  • 4.1 recognise you when you return to the Site; and
  • 4.2 store your preferences.

We use session cookies to:

  • 4.3 allow you to navigate the Site more quickly and easily;
  • 4.4 control how often users see similar online advertisements; 
  • 4.5 estimate our audience size and patterns; and 
  • 4.6 improve and update the Site.

Session cookies are pieces of information that are stored in your computer's cached memory and are available only during an active session or, in other words, whilst you are visiting the Site. Session cookies, unlike permanent cookies, do not permanently store information and are not transferred to your computer's hard drive. Unlike permanent cookies, which are stored on your computer's hard drive for a set length of time, session cookies do not remain in your computer's cached memory after you leave the Site.
Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but, if you prefer, you can change your browser to prevent that. However, you may not be able to take full advantage of the Site if you do so.

5. Information sharing


We may disclose aggregate statistics about visitors to the Site in order to describe our services to prospective partners, advertisers, sponsors and other reputable third parties and for other lawful purposes, but these statistics will include no personally identifiable information.
We may disclose your personal information to any of our affiliates, or to our agents or contractors who assist us in providing the services we offer through the Site, fulfilling requests for information, receiving and sending communications, updating marketing lists, analysing data, providing support services or in other tasks, from time to time. Our agents and contractors will only use your information to the extent necessary to perform their functions.
In the event that we undergo re-organisation or are sold to a third party, you agree that any personal information we hold about you may be transferred to that re-organised entity or third party.
We may disclose your personal information if required to do so by law or if we believe that such action is necessary to prevent fraud or cyber crime or to protect the Site or the rights, property or personal safety of any person.

6. Public forums


The Site may, from time to time, make message boards, news groups, chat rooms and/or other public forums available to its users. Any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when using these and never disclose your personal information.

7. External links


The Site may, from time to time, contain links to external sites. We are not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of such sites.

8. Security


We place great importance on the security of all personally identifiable information associated with our users. We have security measures in place to attempt to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of personal information under our control. For example, our security and privacy policies are periodically reviewed and enhanced as necessary and only authorised personnel have access to personal information. Whilst we cannot ensure or guarantee that loss, misuse or alteration of information will never occur, we use all reasonable efforts to prevent it.
You should bear in mind that submission of information over the internet is never entirely secure. We cannot guarantee the security of information you submit via the Site whilst it is in transit over the internet and any such submission is at your own risk.
It is advisable to close your browser when you have finished your user session to help ensure others do not access your personal information particularly if you use a shared computer or a computer in a public place.

9. Storage of your information


Information that you submit via the Site is sent to and stored on secure servers located in the United Kingdom. This is necessary in order to process the information. Information submitted by you may be transferred by us to our other offices and/or to the third parties mentioned in the circumstances described above, which may be situated outside the European Economic Area and may be processed by staff operating outside the European Economic Area. By submitting information via the Site, you agree to this storing, processing and/or transfer.

10. Your rights


You have a legal right under the Data Protection Act 1998 to a copy of all the personal information about you held by us. On request, we will provide you with a copy of this information subject to a fee not exceeding £10. You also have a right to correct any errors in that information. If you have one, you can view and update or correct the information by logging into your registered user account on the Site. As mentioned above, you have a right to prevent the use of your personal information for direct marketing purposes.