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BA news: new Bridgerton-inspired safety video, big aircraft order incoming?

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British Airways news in brief:

New Bridgerton-inspired safety video launched

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man British airline in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife new safety video.

British Airways is riding a wave of enthusiasm – despite lukewarm reviews for season three – for Netflix period drama Bridgerton by unveiling its own Regency-inspired safety video.

Originally due in May, the launch was postponed following the Sinagapore Airlines turbulence incident which resulted in the death of a passenger. It was (correctly) felt that an unveiling a jaunty new safety video might not strike the right tone.

The new video ditches the celebrities and features a cast of 40 British Airways staff in period clothing being interrupted by crew. You can watch it below or, if reading on email, here.

The costumes and locations make it feel far more polished than recent British Airways safety videos.

The new video will roll out to the long haul fleet next week.

Will British Airways make another big aircraft order?

An interesting press release dropped into our inbox on Monday. Issued by engine manufacturer GE, it said that British Airways had selected the GEnx engines to power the top-up order of six new Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners announced last year.

According to GE, the GEnx engine “provides a 1.4 percent fuel burn savings for the typical 787 mission compared to its competition.”

Whilst we wouldn’t normally comment on engine choices, the order is interesting because the current BA Dreamliner fleet uses Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.

Those engines encountered durability issues, requiring more frequent checks and initially grounding a sizeable percentage of the Dreamliner fleet globally – one of the issues that led to the demise of Norwegian which had gambled on all ‘all Dreamliner’ long haul fleet.

Whilst Rolls-Royce has been rolling out fixes for these problems over the last few years, British Airways has clearly had enough.

Yet however unhappy you may be with your engine supplier, does it really make sense to jump ship for an aircraft order of just six new planes? After all, it would require British Airways to keep spares on hand for a tiny subfleet, increasing the cost and complexity of its operation. Simply buying one complete spare engine would cost $20 million at list price.

It would make much more sense if British Airways was on the cusp of ordering another batch of Dreamliners which would also use these GE engines. There is talk in the market of a major British Airways aircraft order, so let’s see what turns up.

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British Airways and Avios

Comments (67)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • yonasl says:
    24 Jul24 July 07:47

    The old video had celebrities? I could not understand what many of them were saying. The settings were a chippy or a council estate from what I remember.

    Compare it to the Iberia video showcasing actual accomplished Spaniards around amazing sights in their country.

    • NorthernLass says:
      24 Jul24 July 14:25

      I think Emma Raducanu is considered to be quite accomplished in her field!

  • yonasl says:
    24 Jul24 July 07:50

    If you want to see an actual safety video then check JAL’s https://youtu.be/BaN5sEgwF7k?si=6Nptsto9K6-f8BTa only time I have seen the use of the slide demonstrated.

    No surprise they quickly and safely all evacuated from a 787 at the beginning of the year.

    • GM says:
      24 Jul24 July 08:14

      Tells you what you actually need to know and probably cost peanuts, relatively. I’ve been struck by how poor other “fancy” videos are since seeing it last year.

    • flyforfun says:
      24 Jul24 July 08:30

      At first I thought it was going to be a real slide yonasi, and was disappointed! 😀

      However, actually watching the the rest and seeing how to go down the slide properly was impressive! Equally so the section on not taking your bags due to blocking the aisle and ripping the slide. This might reinforce the message – but I can imagine some saying its “triggering”. They can close their eyes.

    • @mkcol says:
      24 Jul24 July 08:45

      Good video.
      Interesting to see they recommend stretching arms out going down the slide, I recall being taught to cross them across your chest.

    • Rhys says:
      24 Jul24 July 08:57

      Emirates have rolled out a ‘no fuss’ safety video.

  • James says:
    24 Jul24 July 07:58

    The video is a very good effort by British Airways. I’m not sure I’d watch it more than once, but it certainly kept me interested the first time. I’m impressed.

  • Chris says:
    24 Jul24 July 08:28

    I still don’t understand why they don’t order a fleet of A350-900, Lufthansa are desperate to get their hands on more of them. Iberia use them as well so IAG could have used a bulk buy carrot. Maybe Boeing are just heavily everything for those waiting for the 777x. BA muttered a 737-max not that long ago…

    • Rhys says:
      24 Jul24 July 08:58

      Does the A350-900 offer anything that BA don’t already have? They don’t necessarily need the range given that so many routes are within easy reach of the Dreamliners.

      • Nick says:
        24 Jul24 July 11:06

        The A350 is better in every conceivable way, except price. Boeing needs orders, they offered a better price, it’s as simple as that.

        • Opus says:
          24 Jul24 July 12:58

          Maybe. But that’s not how aircraft acquisition works. The -10 is bigger and carries more cargo over the routes it flies. Yeah the 900 has more range. But for BA that range is largely useless. -10 is going to end up being the most popular plane at BA.

          If you want more chances of flying the 350. Use virgin

          • LittleNick says:
            24 Jul24 July 13:22

            “Use Virgin” – would love too but likely end up with an aircraft swap at the last minute

    • LittleNick says:
      24 Jul24 July 13:32

      Would also like to see BA order more A350s so they can operate out to the far east/south east Asia more, very unlikely I know given they’re transatlantic focused

      • Rhys says:
        24 Jul24 July 15:14

        Luis Gallego reiterated that China and Asian routes are underperforming across the board.

        • LittleNick says:
          24 Jul24 July 18:28

          Japan and Singapore specifically? Arent these flights almost always full?

  • John M says:
    24 Jul24 July 08:46

    The BA video is an improvement on the last one which, frankly, made the UK look like one big council estate. Even the crew were embarrassed when it was running. They should just shift back to bland avatars that quickly get the job done.

  • Paul says:
    24 Jul24 July 09:19

    It’s cringeworthy. My toes curled so much it hurt. Just awful and far far too long.

  • Mutley says:
    24 Jul24 July 09:40

    The theatrical types/luvvies will, well.. love it!

  • Baggins Surrey says:
    24 Jul24 July 09:42

    I get the message API Key IP Address blocked on the link. Is it me or you? Same problem yesterday.

    • Rob says:
      24 Jul24 July 09:57

      It’s you.

      Unless you’re reading via email, in which case we can’t export a video into the email so you’re going to need to use the website version.

      • Baggins Surrey says:
        24 Jul24 July 19:11

        Thank you. I shall do that in future. And thank you for HFP whose advice and knowledge etc has enabled us to travel in retirement in the manner that we were used to.

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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