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

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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How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:

You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

Run your own business?

We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, and the standard card is FREE. Capital on Tap cards also have no FX fees.

There is also a British Airways American Express card for small businesses:

There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.