NUMBER ONE IN EUROPE

[Music] from London to Moscow and Manchester to Malta from Birmingham to Dusseldorf and 18 times a day to Paris from the Shetland Isles to Edinburgh these are at some of the more than 90 destinations a network which adds up to number one in Europe just what does this mean in our fast-moving fast-talking world is this another of those all-embracing claims or do the facts make up a picture of a number one airline well here's the picture see what you think so let's take first things first DEA just didn't happen it was born from the traditions of the Royal Air Force and BOAC in fact it was in 1946 that the European roots of BOAC formed the basis of the airline a number of British Air companies were then brought together within the Airways corporation which became known to the world as British European Airways and since those days 25 years ago DEA has many firsts in the early 50s the start of the silver wings service to Paris using the Elizabethan aircraft and the world's first regular passenger carrying helicopter service then another step forward the first-ever turbine powered passenger service a very successful be EA Vickers by count which had the special honor of being entrusted many times with the first family in the land and as the years passed DEA spread its wings into the jet age in 1967 a trident made B EA's first automatic landing on a scheduled flight since then over half a million passengers have been landed under automatic control this was another world first in civil aviation today with a fleet of nearly a hundred and twenty aircraft B ei takes its place among the top great airlines of the world in terms of passengers carried B ei is the largest airline in Europe to be fair DEA has the advantage of operating from London which in terms of international traffic is the busiest airport in the world this is the crossroads of the airlines and the natural transfer point from the long-range machines to well should we just say with pride that nearly 400,000 visitors choose B ei it is an astonishing fact that on a busy day London's air traffic control handle closed on a thousand flights during the peak hours the frequency of landings and takeoffs reaches one every 50 seconds [Applause] [Music] DEA is geared to meet this ever-increasing flow of passengers whether it be a visitor from North America who wants an onward flight to Italy or a Frenchman who wants to visit Iceland they will come to this latest addition to London Airport rather fittingly named the number one terminal and they will become a number one passenger on Britain's European airline every year B ei is the choice of 9 million people why well the answer to oversimplify a very complex and competitive business is the right equipment managed and handled by the right people so let's start with the people long before the flight is called the captain makes his thorough pre-flight check [Music] right [Applause] [Music] then check in time to the businessman it's just routine to the mother a very natural concern for a rather special passenger this is no moment to have extra problems on your hands [Music] to many the moment of check-in is the first personal contact with the flight a travel agent now far away has made all the arrangements the ticket says okay but I wonder is it or has someone along the line forgotten oh good everything's okay gate 10 what lies behind this simple booking well it's anything but simple in fact it's beacon a vast computer complex which gives the BIA Network an immediate reservation system and coordinates the many requests that make up a total service for business and holiday travelers yes his accommodation is confirmed for five nights at the Georgetown the fly drive car will be at the airport on his arrival [Music] [Music] but the present-day traveler takes this high level of service very much for granted quite rightly they expect Airlines to be efficient they expect a service which is as streamlined as the aircraft but few realize what goes on behind the quiet exterior or the calm interior which greets them as they step aboard the thousands of staff and services which make this flight possible but this is the nature of our jet age and B ei like all leading Airlines must not only be with it but way way ahead good afternoon ladies and gentlemen on behalf of British European Airways captain Gilman and his crew would like to welcome you onboard this trident aircraft a flight to happen will take three hours 20 minutes safety on board this is much more than a leaflet on a seat every member of bees flying cruise from Captain to stewardess must attend this school for safety yes and not be involved in an emergency but you could well have one on your first supernumerary flight and if this did happen and there were no steps to get the passengers off the aircraft you would have to evacuate them by using the escape slide once it out your passengers would arrive at the door and you would instruct them to sit on the door sill but their feet straight in front of them and slide down the slide leading forward all the way done girls during our deportment classes we're going to cover all aspects of good grooming and visual poise remember that whilst in uniform stewardesses should be very feminine if you select the right young lady use the most effective methods of training and show her by good example you have the makings of a charming and efficient ve a personality but whilst you can improve deportment and speech from video playback when it comes to the gentle art of makeup well some of the girls may be way ahead of the teacher but quite seriously at the grooming workshop as this part of the be ei training center is called there is a strict eye for detail and a right and wrong way of doing most things huh looks alright to me lady no no will never put ice in unless a they ask for it or you ask them first I see and when it comes to cabin service it's the same attention to detail even the classroom is the right shape it's all designed to give the new stewardesses and stewards the best possible training so that the service in flight will have that easy friendly number one quality like most things which are done well it looks easy and yet only one out of every 15 applicants is accepted for cabin staff on B ei [Music] - this young passenger there must be a special magic about lunch being served so high above the clouds mummy where does it all come from you know in ba we serve thirty five thousand meals a day to our passengers admittedly some of these aren't full meals but they all involve some form of cabin service few people realize that the average flight in ba is just over the hour and with 80 passengers on board this leaves us with only 45 seconds per passenger at London we have not only 1400 Stewart's of stewardesses but 500 people working at the flight catering center including 35 chefs led by the head chef who is Swiss although these short flights and quick turnarounds in Europe present a time problem to cabin staff they do have very real catering advantages everything can be prepared and served just that much fresher and B EA makes a feature of fresh produce cream salads vegetables and fruits and to give variety return flights are catered for by the destination country [Applause] ladies and gentlemen I have your attention for pirate ears this is the captain speaking we shall arrive in Athens comments on that on schedule at ten minutes past fall the flying position is hauled away our good and in Athens the temperature I trusted the Kevin staff the taking good care of you and that you're enjoying your trip thank you for attention [Music] [Applause] [Music] and so flight be4 300 arrives at athens and the passengers go their way through this modern marble temple to discover or rediscover the glory that was Greece [Music] the flight to Athens was typically trouble-free but as B ei operates some 5-hundred services every day it must be ready to meet problems it is but this is when an airline proves itself no just yellow level I think falling tell them and the feline London feline 4:35 modern jet liners are extremely sophisticated machines and the Tritons are no exception but they were named trident because every vital system is in triplicate so as on this flight when something goes wrong the captain has two systems in reserve VTech v-line 435 fox alpha yellow hydraulic contents have been falling steadily be 4:35 are your blue and green system satisfactory we take feline 435 affirmative Roger 45 thank you a fox alpha won't make the turn round Eddie yourself okay come here Scott Bravo off the multi-service yes I would think so I'll get into the main so these are some of the backroom boys who each day and might have to maintain schedule but it only needs one mechanical snag or bad weather somewhere in the vast network to start a chain reaction of difficulties this is when the great reserves of an organization such as B EA keep the planes going and coming back day after day throughout the year one thing is certain after that Trident has safely delivered its passengers it'll be off to the engineering base where the fault will be put right in line with ve a strict policy the plane will not return to service however urgently it may be needed until it's absolutely right and that means writes in triplicate again whether it be a major engine change or a fuse to be replaced there are 4,000 highly qualified staff to service the ve a fleet along the firsts in beas 25 years it could be said that the auto land programme was of great significance to acknowledge this contribution to British industry be ei received the honour of the Queen's Award and to do the honours on behalf of Her Majesty here is Field Marshal Sir Gerald Templer you've enabled Britain to take the world lead in this vital field and it was with considerable pride that Sir Anthony Millwood accepted the award on behalf of the airline for it was his last year as chairman of B ei it is a great privilege to have you here today sir to hand over to us on behalf of the Queen this very coveted award I'm particularly glad that we have received this award for author land among those present that day was a legendary wartime night fighter John Cunningham who is today a director and chief test pilot of Hawker Siddeley they trained one I had the pleasure of flying for the first time in 1962 and it ends a passenger carrying services ba in 1965 the Chinese one was followed by the Trident two and [Music] now the latest in the series the Trident 3 the major improvement on this aeroplane over the earlier trident is that we have a four booster engine fitted in the tail this gives us a good increase in power for a small increase in weight and has allowed us to take a much bigger payload off short every single feature of the airplane whether it's the engine performance or the aerodynamic performance is recorded and analyzed very closely artists program has covered the complete automatic landing on this airplane and of course we have built on all the experience we've gained from the earlier development work and also land on the Trident one and two auto land is many things to many people to the passenger greater safety with fewer delays or diversions to the airline that a timekeeping to the pilots well here's a senior captain of B EA water land as far as we're concerned in ba is really the means by which we are mounting our programme of all-weather operations we are aiming over the next few years to be able to operate in conditions of fog that is down to visibilities of some 50 meters and it's not only fog but blinding snow and rain which can close airports and cancel flights at a moment's notice it is in this direction that B EA has been looking and working for 12 years the best technical brains and a lot of money have put B EA way ahead in this important field of bad weather landings but there's no instant magic which can be electronically switched on it is a step by step procedure we're very advanced equipment in the air and at the airport must be coordinated with flying experience with a passenger service it has to be a careful process of trial without error however sophisticated instrument flying may become the final judgment and decisions will remain with the responsible captains of B EA this one here the visibility's 900 meters it is thinning out expected to reach 60 we have spoken of the people and the plains of B ei this then is the B ei story or rather part of it for B ei is far more than a big airline it is a big enterprise from the airline stems a wide variety of travel related services there is B EA cargo operating from London at the largest cargo center of its kind in the world then there's the hotel reservation service and the fly dried scheme and a number of Allied companies B ei air tours British air services B ei helicopters and silver wings surface arrangements and the sovereign group of hotels under the leadership of ves chairman mr. Henry marking top management guides these many investments to one end to offer the passengers of B ei a total customer service but the primary concern is still running the airline and planning for the years ahead for new generations of passengers a new generations of aircraft which will carry the name B EA through the seventies for this airline intends to stay number one [Music] [Applause]