NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
British Airways today announced that from March 27, 2016, customers in San Diego will be able to fly to London in First class, as the airline introduces its larger, four cabin Boeing 777-300 on to the route. British Airways began daily services between San Diego International and London Heathrow in June 2011.
The new aircraft will be able to accommodate 297 customers – 14 in First, 56 in Club World (business class), 44 in World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and 183 in World Traveller (economy). This is an increase of 24 seats a day from the current Boeing 777-200 operating between the two cities.
Simon Brooks, British Airways’ Senior Vice President, North America, said, “We’re really pleased with how our San Diego service is performing and are delighted to introduce our First cabin into the market. Our exclusive First class cabin is well known for its exceptional comfort, fine wines and a la carte dining, and of course, our quintessential British service. I know it will be very popular with our customers.”
“We’re thrilled that British Airways has decided to increase the aircraft size on its popular London – San Diego route,” said Thella F. Bowens, President/CEO of San Diego International Airport. “The larger aircraft will now include a First class cabin in addition to the normal business, premium economy and economy cabins. This means the flight will provide the most options for both business and leisure travelers to connect in comfort.”
Premium First Experience
The new First cabin has 14 suites that are based on classic design and discrete luxury. Features include:
-Individual seats that turn into a 6 ft. 6 in. fully flat beds with a simple twist of a button
-Signature turn down service includes a luxurious quilted mattress, crisp white cotton duvet and pillow, along with pajamas and luxury amenity kit
-A personal closet and leather-bound writing desk that converts into a dining table
-A la carte dining and a buddy seat to enable customers to dine together
-Lighting and electronic blinds that can be modified to reflect mood and time of day
Enhanced Entertainment
Customers can enjoy on-demand seat-back entertainment, with more than 1,600 hours of programing. With 130 movies and 650 TV shows from around the world along with an extensive audio selection, British Airways is catering for every taste. The “Mindfulness For Travel” video series has been created exclusively for British Airways and the advanced personal inflight entertainment system features well being exercises, therapeutic audio playlists and a Flying with Confidence video.
Last month British Airways added a fourth city to its California roster when the airline announced that it will launch the first nonstop flight between San Jose and London, beginning May 4, 2016.
Airline Benefits
A joint business agreement between American Airlines, British Airways, Iberia and Finnair provides a more seamless customer experience on routes between North America and Europe. Members of the AAdvantage, Executive Club, Iberia Plus and Finnair Plus programs can earn points or miles on codeshare flights across all the airlines. For more information visit www.flytransatlantic.com
British Airways Vacations offers a range of flight+hotel and flight+car packages, as well as sightseeing tours, city passes, theatre tickets, around the world to suit all budgets. With a deposit of $10 per person customers can lock in a price for 72 hours, giving them time to confirm details with their friends and family and making it even easier to book with confidence.
Yahoo Finance
British Airways 777 performs emergency evacuation at LAS – UPDATE 2
A British Airways Boeing 777-200, registration G-VIIO performing flight BA-2276 from Las Vegas,NV (USA) to London Gatwick,EN (UK) with 157 passengers and 13 crew, was accelerating for takeoff from Las Vegas’ runway 07L when the crew rejected takeoff at low speed and stopped the aircraft about 800 meters/2600 feet down the runway, an arrival to the parallel runway 07R was instructed to go around. After coming to a stop the crew radioed “Mayday, Mayday, need fire services”, tower replied fire services were already on their way, the crew advised they were evacuating, they had a fire, they were evacuating. Seven people received minor injuries in the evacuation, two of them were taken to hospitals. Smoke and flames were seen from the left hand engine (GE90), emergency services responded and put the fire out about 4 minutes after the aircraft rejected takeoff. The aircraft received substantial fire/heat damage to left hand inboard wing and fuselage.
Las Vegas Airport reported flames were spotted at 16:14L (23:14Z), the fire was put out by 16:18L. Two occupants were taken to hospitals for minor injuries, a total of seven needed medical attention.
Passengers reported there was enormeous heat, that appeared to melt down a couple of passenger windows, smoke entered the aircraft. They evacuated down the slides and were taken to the terminal. Later the captain joined the passengers at the terminal and told them, that they had suffered a catastrophic failure of the left hand engine.
The airline reported: “The aircraft, a 777-200 experienced a technical issue as it was preparing for take-off from McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Our crew evacuated the aircraft safely and the fire was quickly extinguished by the emergency services at the airport. 157 customers were on board the flight, along with three pilots and 10 cabin crew. A small number of customers and our crew have been taken to hospital.” The passengers were taken to hotels, hotlines have been opened for friends and relatives of those on board.
The runway was closed for 4 hours, the FAA issued ground stops for a number of flights inbound to Las Vegas.
British Airways 777 performs emergency evacuation at LAS – UPDATE
A British Airways flight was evacuated after it caught fire during takeoff on a runway in Las Vegas on Tuesday afternoon, airport officials said.
The London-bound plane caught fire at 4:22 p.m. local time, according to McCarran Airport’s Twitter account.
The aircraft, a 275-seat Boeing 777, was immediately evacuated, the airport said. There were 159 passengers and 13 crew members aboard, according to airport officials, and two people suffered minor injuries.
The plane experienced engine failure while attempting to take off, according to Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.
Passengers were evacuated by emergency slides and have been taken back to the terminal by bus, Gregor said.
Gregor could not comment directly on the cause of the fire. Calls to British Airways were not immediately returned.
Los Angeles Times
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UPDATE: