BA launches peoples, customer-centric campaign on return to flying

Mike Ochonma

After one of the worst years in aviation history, British Airways has launched a new advertising campaign, putting its people and customers at the centre of the story about its return to the skies.

“You make us fly”, which is the first TV advert since “A love letter to Britain” to mark airline’s centenary in 2019, was shared first with its colleagues and then on the airline’s social media channels.

The campaign, which will only air in the United Kingdom, features the airline’s own people, all of whom volunteered to feature in the advert that has been designed to have an uplifting feeling and remind customers that they are at the heart of British Airways. The advert material displays the airline’s staff proudly making their way back to work with a British sense of urgency, to do what they love most, caring for customers.

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ chairman and CEO, said: “There is a sense of huge anticipation from colleagues across the airline who are preparing to return to work after a very difficult year. The story illustrates the pride that our people tell me they are feeling at the thought of seeing our planes in the sky once again and having the opportunity to welcome and serve our customers, to reunite them with their friends and relatives. The excitement is palpable.”

Helen Wetton, British Airways’ 777 Captain and the first colleague to feature in the advert, said: “I am tremendously proud to have been involved in creating this advert with British Airways. I played my own role as a female Captain who springs out of bed and races to get to work. I am so excited to get back to doing what I love and flying our customers around the world again, when the time is right.”

The music that plays throughout the advert is Flower Duet from Delibes’ opera Lakme, which first featured in British Airways’ advertising over 40 years ago and is still proudly used as the airline’s boarding music.

A behind the scenes video of the advert being filmed featuring interviews with the airline’s staff can also be viewed on https://youtu.be/BIBOMSq_2sE

Meanwhile, British Airways has introduced a number of measures at the airport and on board to look after the safety and wellbeing of customers and crew. These include social distancing measures, the wearing of facemasks and hand sanitiser stations. Prior to travel customers will also receive details of how they can prepare for their next flight.

The airline is cleaning all key surfaces including seats, screens, seat buckles and tray tables after every flight and each aircraft is completely cleaned from nose to tail every day. The air on all British Airways flights is fully recycled once every two to three minutes through HEPA filters, which remove microscopic bacteria and virus clusters with over 99.9% efficiency, equivalent to hospital operating theatre standards.

British Airways authorities said, customers booking with British Airways could do so with absolute confidence, thanks to the airline’s flexible booking policy. Customers are able to exchange their booking for a voucher or move their dates without incurring a change fee if their plans change.