SabreTalk is a discontinued dialect of PL/I for the S/360 IBM mainframes running the TPF platform. SabreTalk was developed jointly by American Airlines , Eastern Air Lines and IBM . SabreTalk is known as PL/TPF (Programming Language for TPF).
116-639: In 1973, Eastern Air Lines' computing division was selling the SabreTalk compiler for US$ 95,000. SabreTalk programs still run in the British Airways Flight Operations system (FICO) under ALCS, using a commercially available automatic converter to translate SabreTalk programs to C programs. Both the Reservations and Operations Support System (OSS) of Delta Air Lines were developed using both SabreTalk and IBM 360 Assembler. Although development
232-478: A civil rights dispute when a Christian employee was forbidden to wear a necklace bearing the cross , a religious symbol. BA's practice of forbidding such symbols has been publicly questioned by British politicians such as the former Home Secretary John Reid and the former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw . Relations have been turbulent between BA and Unite. In 2007, cabin crew threatened strike action over salary changes to be imposed by BA management. The strike
348-601: A mixed economy and Keynesian economics as part of the post-war political consensus. The name " Butskellism ", referring to the generally similar economic policies pursued by both Conservative and Labour governments, was coined partly in response to Butler's extension of Gaitskell's NHS charges in 1952, the issue over which Aneurin Bevan and other Labour left-wingers had resigned in April 1951. In 1954, The Economist published an editorial headed "Mr Butskell's Dilemma", which referred to
464-484: A British Airways Board was established by the British government to manage the two nationalised airline corporations, British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways , and two regional airlines, Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines . On 31 March 1974, all four companies were merged to form British Airways. However, it marked 2019 as its centenary based on predecessor companies. After almost 13 years as
580-498: A Swedish envoy , Björn Prytz . Prytz later reported to Stockholm that Butler had declared British policy must be determined by "common sense not bravado" and that had "assured me that no opportunity for reaching a compromise (peace) would be neglected" if there were reasonable conditions. Churchill was furious when he found out, probably through intelligence intercepts of Swedish diplomatic cables. He wrote to Halifax on 26 June complaining of Butler's "odd language", which hinted at
696-456: A big department. He recorded that after December 1955 that "it was never again said of me, or for that matter of the British economy either, that we had la puissance d'une idée en marche ". Butler suffered from what his biographer calls an "inability to take Eden wholly seriously". A number of his sardonic witticisms about Eden, who was already subject to press criticism, surfaced, and The Sunday People reported on 8 January 1956 that Eden
812-418: A brand new ad campaign, titled "A British Original" produced by London-based Uncommon Creative Studio. This was to be another record-breaking campaign for its use of 500 unique executions along with a series of 32 short films, coinciding with the launch of Ozwald Boateng's new collection of uniform. British Airways purchased the internet domain ba.com in 2002 from previous owner Bell Atlantic , 'BA' being
928-584: A career in the Diplomatic Service. Butler entered Pembroke College in October 1921 and became President of the Cambridge Union Society for Easter (summer) term of 1924. Initially studying French and German, he graduated in 1925 with one of the highest first-class degrees in history in the university. He was elected a fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge , and gave lectures on the politics of
1044-589: A continuation of the flight to Bahrain. Following the Air France Concorde crash in Paris and a slump in air travel following the 11 September attacks in New York in 2001, it was decided to cease Concorde operations in 2003 after 27 years of service. The final commercial Concorde flight was BA002 from New York-JFK to London-Heathrow on 24 October 2003. In 1981 the airline was instructed to prepare for privatisation by
1160-451: A conversation with Walter Monckton , who was willing to serve under Eden but not Butler, whom he considered "a slab of cold fish". Britain's economic problems were worsened by Monckton's appeasement of the trade unions (the 1954 rail strike was settled on the union 's terms with Churchill's backing) and by Macmillan's drive to build 300,000 houses a year. Butler was appointed to the Order of
1276-410: A cost savings of £750m and the establishment of a budget airline, Go , in 1998. The next year, however, British Airways reported an 84% drop in profits in its first quarter alone, its worst in seven years. In March 2000, Ayling was removed from his position and British Airways announced Rod Eddington as his successor. That year, British Airways and KLM conducted talks on a potential merger, reaching
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#17328630924441392-764: A decision in July to file an official merger plan with the European Commission. The plan fell through in September 2000. British Asia Airways ceased operations in 2001 after BA suspended flights to Taipei. Go was sold to its management and the private equity firm 3i in June 2001. Eddington would make further workforce cuts due to reduced demand following 11 September attacks in 2001, and BA sold its stake in Qantas in September 2004. In 2005 Willie Walsh , managing director of Aer Lingus and
1508-408: A dramatic increase in travel, and the company now faced a worker shortage, forcing it to cancel more than 1,500 flights. During February 2023, The international airlines group, the owners of British Airways announced that the group has returned to making an annual profit of €1.3 billion for the first time since the pandemic, following a €2.8 billion loss in 2021. The company warned that due to
1624-525: A former pilot, became the chief executive officer of British Airways. BA unveiled its new subsidiary OpenSkies in January 2008, taking advantage of the liberalisation of transatlantic traffic rights between Europe and the United States. OpenSkies flies non-stop from Paris to New York's JFK and Newark airports. In July 2008, British Airways announced a merger plan with Iberia , another flag carrier airline in
1740-531: A fusion of his name with that of his Labour counterpart, Hugh Gaitskell . Born into a family of academics and Indian administrators, Butler had a distinguished academic career before he entered Parliament in 1929 . As a junior minister, he helped to pass the Government of India Act 1935 . He strongly supported the appeasement of Nazi Germany in 1938 to 1939. Entering the Cabinet in 1941, he served as President of
1856-519: A long and distinguished association with the University of Cambridge , dating back to his great-grandfather George Butler . His great-uncle Henry Montagu Butler was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge , and Dean of Gloucester , and his uncle Sir Geoffrey G. Butler , a Cambridge historian and Conservative MP for the university . His father was a Fellow and later Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge . Butler's maternal grandfather, George Smith ,
1972-497: A lukewarm or even defeatist attitude. Butler, who was lucky not to be sacked, made a four-page handwritten reply the same day that claimed that he had kept to the official British line and had said "nothing definite or specific that I would wish to withdraw", but he offered to resign. On 28 June, after being shown Churchill's letter, Butler wrote to Halifax and have an unconvincing explanation, which he later repeated in his memoirs, that by "common sense not bravado", he had been pushing
2088-546: A member of the foreign policy committee, which agreed to seek an Anglo-Soviet alliance in May 1939, contrary to Chamberlain's and Butler's wishes, but Butler and Horace Wilson persuaded Chamberlain to hamstring the search for an agreement by including a requirement that Britain would not fight without League of Nations approval. Throughout the summer of 1939 Butler continued to lobby for closer Anglo-German relations and for Britain to lean on Poland to reach agreement with Germany. After
2204-559: A new bill and replied that "we cannot have party politics in wartime". Churchill warned him not to "raise the 1902 controversy during the war". Butler later wrote that having seen the Promised Land, "I was damned if I was going to die in the Land of Moab. Basing myself on long experience of Churchill over the India Bill, I decided to disregard what he said and go straight ahead". More than half
2320-401: A pay offer. Strike action continued throughout 2017 in numerous discontinuous periods, resulting in one of the longest running disputes in aviation history. On 31 October 2017, after 85 days of discontinuous industrial action, Mixed Fleet accepted a new pay deal from BA which ended the dispute. British Airways serves over 170 destinations in 70 countries, including eight domestic and 27 in
2436-621: A state company, BA was privatised in February 1987 as part of a wider privatisation plan by the Conservative government . The carrier expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian in 1987, Dan-Air in 1992, and British Midland International in 2012. It is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance, along with American Airlines , the now-defunct Canadian Airlines , Cathay Pacific , and Qantas . The alliance has since grown to become
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#17328630924442552-466: Is currently restricted to C++ , the majority of Delta's programming platform remained in Sabretalk until recently in the 2010s. Because of the availability of translators from SabreTalk to C and discontinued support by the original developers, several companies are beginning the move away from SabreTalk to purely C-based programs. Code Sample: British Airways British Airways plc ( BA )
2668-626: Is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom . It is headquartered in London , England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport . The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers carried, behind easyJet . In January 2011 BA merged with Iberia , creating the International Airlines Group (IAG), a holding company registered in Madrid , Spain. IAG
2784-631: Is the world's third-largest airline group in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest in Europe. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the FTSE 100 Index . British Airways is the first passenger airline to have generated more than US$ 1 billion on a single air route in a year (from 1 April 2017, to 31 March 2018, on the New York-JFK – London-Heathrow route). BA was created in 1974 after
2900-449: Is very little evidence... he took the slightest interest in the rearmament programme to which he devotes such emphasis in his memoirs". Jago concludes that Butler "distorted the facts" and "grossly misrepresented his responsibility and attitudes in 1938". Although not the direct cause of his defeats [for the party leadership] in 1957 or 1963 "it was... always there, the blemish that he could not quite reason away". On 20 October 1939, after
3016-633: The 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict . Over its history, BA has had many subsidiaries. In addition to the below, British Airways also owned Airways Aero Association, the operator of the British Airways flying club based at Wycombe Air Park in High Wycombe , until it was sold to Surinder Arora in 2007. British Airways obtained a 15% stake in UK regional airline Flybe from the sale of BA Connect in March 2007. It sold
3132-632: The 777 and 787 . In October 2020, British Airways retired its fleet of 747-400 aircraft. It was one of the largest operators of the 747, having previously operated the -100, -200, and -400 aircraft from 1974 (1969 with BOAC ). The airline has its own engineering branch to maintain its aircraft fleet, this includes line maintenance at over 70 airports around the world. Amongst the company's various hangar facilities are its two major maintenance centres at Glasgow and Cardiff Airports . The musical theme predominantly used on British Airways advertising has been " The Flower Duet " by Léo Delibes . This
3248-536: The City of London . He inherited a balance of payments crisis that was partially caused by the increase in defence spending as a result of the Korean War . Butler initially planned to let the pound float (which would in practice devalue it) and become partially convertible (" Operation ROBOT "). The latter was struck down by Lord Cherwell and his adviser Donald MacDougall, who prepared a paper for Churchill. The counterargument
3364-500: The Conservative Thatcher government. Sir John King , later Lord King, was appointed chairman, charged with bringing the airline back into profitability. While many other large airlines struggled, King was credited with transforming British Airways into one of the most profitable air carriers in the world. The flag carrier was privatised and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in February 1987. British Airways effected
3480-777: The Conservative Research Department , assisted by David Clarke and Michael Fraser . In 1946, he became chairman of the Industrial Policy Committee. In 1947, the Industrial Charter was produced, which advocated full employment and acceptance of the welfare state. When the Conservative Party returned to power in 1951 , Butler was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in the absence of other candidates, Oliver Lyttleton being seen as too close to
3596-519: The Duke of Alba could buy more socks. Butler and Geoffrey Lloyd attempted to register for military service in May 1941, but their application was referred to Ernest Bevin ( Minister of Labour ), who, in turn, referred it to Churchill. He vetoed it on the grounds that their work as government ministers was more important. Butler gained permanent fame for the Education Act of 1944 . Butler's decisive role
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3712-677: The Fall of Poland , Butler was, according to Soviet Ambassador Ivan Maisky , still open to a compromise peace and agreement to restore Germany's colonies if it was guaranteed by all the powers, including the Americans and the Soviets. He dismissed as an "absurdity" any suggestion for Germany first to be required to withdraw from Poland. Butler disapproved of Churchill, the new First Lord of the Admiralty who publicly opposed to any hint of compromise peace. Butler
3828-568: The French Third Republic . At Cambridge, he met Sydney Courtauld; after they married in 1926, his father-in-law awarded him an income of £5,000 a year after tax for life, which was comparable to a Cabinet Minister's salary and gave him the financial freedom to pursue a political career. With the help of his Courtauld family connections, Butler was selected unopposed as the Conservative candidate for Saffron Walden on 26 November 1927. He
3944-553: The Labour landslide of July 1945 he held Saffron Walden narrowly, his majority falling to 1,158. He would probably not have held the seat if the Liberal candidate had not polled over 3,000 votes and split the opposition vote. After the Conservatives were defeated in the 1945 general election, Butler emerged as the most prominent figure in the rebuilding of the party. He became Chairman of
4060-703: The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was announced on 23 August 1939, Butler vainly advised against honouring Britain's guarantee to defend Poland against Germany but instead favoured Hitler's proposal to allow Germany to settle matters with Poland as it wished and, in return for concessions over her former colonies, to sign an Anglo-German alliance. Oliver Harvey recorded (27 August) that Butler and Horace Wilson were "working like beavers" for "another Munich". As late as early September 1939, with German invasion of Poland imminent, comments in Channon's diary suggest that Butler
4176-478: The supersonic Concorde airliner, and the world's first supersonic passenger service flew on 21 January 1976 from Heathrow Airport to Bahrain International Airport . Services to the U.S. began on 24 May 1976 with a flight to Washington Dulles airport, and flights to New York JFK airport followed on 22 September 1977. Service to Singapore was established in co-operation with Singapore Airlines as
4292-508: The "already... well-known figure" Mr Butskell as "a composite of the present Chancellor and the previous one". However, Butler had more interest in monetary policy and in convertibility, whereas Gaitskell was more inclined to exchange controls, investment and planning. Butler maintained import controls and began a more active monetary policy . In the March 1952 budget, he raised the official bank rate to 4%, cut food subsidies by 40%, reduced taxes and increased pensions and welfare payments,
4408-536: The 12,000 job cuts and pay cuts. On 12 October 2020, it was announced that Sean Doyle , CEO of Aer Lingus (also part of the IAG airline group) would succeed Álex Cruz as CEO. The key trends for the British Airways PLC Group are shown below. On the merger with Iberia, the accounting reference date was changed from 31 March to 31 December; figures below are therefore for the years to 31 March up to 2010, for
4524-1138: The BBC (21 October and 15 December 1940). At the reshuffle on Chamberlain's resignation from the government (22 October 1940), Churchill's close supporter Brendan Bracken offered Butler promotion to the Cabinet-level job of President of the Board of Education, but no offer was forthcoming from Churchill. Butler had little respect for Eden but reluctantly agreed to remain at the Foreign Office when he once again became Foreign Secretary in December 1940. In March 1941, with Eden in Cairo, Churchill handled Foreign Office business personally instead of delegating it to Butler. By then, Butler's responsibilities had been restricted to "routine drudgery" such as negotiating safe passage for diplomats; repatriation of neutral seamen; and, on one occasion, arranging extra clothing coupons for foreign diplomats so that
4640-459: The Board of Education (1941–1945) and oversaw the Education Act 1944 . When the Conservatives returned to power in 1951, he served as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1951–1955), Home Secretary (1957–1962), First Secretary of State (1962–1963) and Foreign Secretary (1963–1964). Butler had an exceptionally long ministerial career and was one of only two British politicians (the other being John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon ) to have served in three of
4756-594: The British Airways Board unified its branding, effectively establishing British Airways as an airline on 31 March 1974. Following two years of fierce competition with British Caledonian , the second-largest airline in the United Kingdom at the time, the Government changed its aviation policy in 1976 so that the two carriers would no longer compete on long-haul routes. British Airways and Air France operated
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4872-556: The Companions of Honour in 1954. He supported Churchill's proposal for Eden to take "command of the Home Front" in summer 1954, not least as he hoped to succeed Eden as foreign secretary. Butler was one of the ministers who demanded to Churchill's face (22 December 1954) that he set a date for his retirement. Butler's political judgement was affected by the death of his first wife, Sydney, on 9 December 1954. In February 1955, he increased
4988-521: The Flag", and "To Fly, To Serve". BA had an account for 23 years with Saatchi & Saatchi , an agency that created many of their most famous advertisements, including "The World's Biggest Offer" and the influential "Face" campaign. Saatchi & Saatchi later imitated this advert for Silverjet , a rival of BA, after BA discontinued their business activities. Since 2007, BA used Bartle Bogle Hegarty as its advertising agency. In October 2022, BA launched
5104-421: The Foreign Office. Michael Jago argues that the promotion was not, contrary to Butler's own later insinuations, intended as an insult. Butler proved to be one of the most radical reforming ministers on the home front. The main problem standing in the way of education reform was the question of integrating church schools into the state system, which had bedevilled Balfour 's Act in 1902 . Churchill did not want
5220-512: The Iranian route is "not commercially viable". As a result, BA decided to stop its services in Iran, effective 22 September 2018. In 2018, British Airways partnered with British tailor and designer Ozwald Boateng to redesign the company's historic uniforms, in honour of its approaching centenary , creating a new look for BA, while adhering to its traditional style. The new collection "A British Original"
5336-543: The Olympics minister Hugh Robertson and the London Mayor Boris Johnson , along with the footballer David Beckham . On 27 May 2017, British Airways suffered a computer power failure. All flights were cancelled and thousands of passengers were affected. By the following day, the company had not succeeded in reestablishing the normal function of its computer systems. When asked by reporters for more information on
5452-617: The Oneworld alliance, wherein each airline would retain its original brand. The agreement was confirmed in April 2010, and in July the European Commission and U.S. Department of Transportation permitted the merger and began to co-ordinate transatlantic routes with American Airlines. On 6 October 2010 the alliance between British Airways, American Airlines and Iberia formally began operations. The alliance generates an estimated £230 million in annual cost-saving for BA, in addition to
5568-472: The Treasury blocked the proposal. Consequently, it was only following the recommendations of the 1969 Edwards Report that a new British Airways Board, managing both BEA and BOAC, and the two regional British airlines Cambrian Airways based at Cardiff, and Northeast Airlines based at Newcastle upon Tyne, was constituted on 1 April 1972. Although each airline's branding was maintained initially, two years later
5684-544: The Union ), while other branches of Unite the Union and the GMB Union represent other employees. Bob Ayling's management faced strike action by cabin crew over a £1 billion cost-cutting drive to return BA to profitability in 1997; this was the last time BA cabin crew would strike until 2009, although staff morale has reportedly been unstable since that incident. In an effort to increase interaction between management, employees, and
5800-482: The United States. British Airways co-founded the airline alliance Oneworld in 1999 with airlines American Airlines , Cathay Pacific and Qantas . British Airways has codeshares with the following airlines: As of January 2024 , the British Airways operates a fleet of 253 aircraft with 47 orders. BA operates a mix of Airbus narrow and wide-body aircraft, and Boeing wide-body aircraft, specifically
5916-434: The acquisition of Brymon Airways in May, formed British Airways Citiexpress (later BA Connect ). In September 1998, British Airways, along with American Airlines , Cathay Pacific , Qantas, and Canadian Airlines , formed the Oneworld airline alliance . Oneworld began operations on 1 February 1999, and is the third-largest airline alliance in the world, behind SkyTeam and Star Alliance. Bob Ayling's leadership led to
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#17328630924446032-528: The airline was agreed the next month, and the sale was completed for £172.5 million on 30 March 2012. The airline established a new subsidiary based at London City Airport operating Airbus A318s . British Airways was the official airline partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games . On 18 May 2012 it flew the Olympic flame from Athens International Airport to RNAS Culdrose while carrying various dignitaries, including Lord Sebastian Coe , Princess Anne ,
6148-561: The airline's look as it prepared for privatization. To celebrate its centenary in 2019, BA announced four retro liveries: three on Boeing 747-400 aircraft (one in each of BOAC, Negus & Negus, and Landor Associates liveries), and one A319 in BEA livery. Rab Butler Richard Austen Butler, Baron Butler of Saffron Walden , KG , CH , PC , DL (9 December 1902 – 8 March 1982), also known as R. A. Butler and familiarly known from his initials as Rab ,
6264-458: The airline. The airline used a cartoon safety video from circa 2005 until 2017. Beginning on 1 September 2017 the airline introduced the new Comic Relief live action safety video hosted by Chabuddy G , with appearances by British celebrities Gillian Anderson , Rowan Atkinson , Jim Broadbent , Rob Brydon , Warwick Davis , Chiwetel Ejiofor , Ian McKellen , Thandie Newton , and Gordon Ramsay . A "sequel" video, also hosted by Chabuddy G,
6380-672: The avoidance of war and the pursuit of lasting peace. Butler became a Privy Counsellor in the 1939 New Year Honours list, the youngest person so appointed since Churchill in 1907. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939, Butler, like Chamberlain, was shocked at Hitler's duplicity in breaking the Munich Agreement. The evidence suggests Butler did not support Halifax's new policy of attempting to deter further German aggression by pledging to go to war to defend Poland and other Eastern European countries. Butler became
6496-480: The bank rate and restored hire purchase restrictions, and the 1955 budget reduced income tax by 6d, which was allegedly based on faulty Treasury statistics. In April, Anthony Eden succeeded Churchill as prime minister. After the Conservatives won the May 1955 general election , Butler declined a request he move from the Exchequer and later admitted that was a mistake. In an unfortunate speech on 18 October, he commented that
6612-467: The city. As a result of the case BA management apologised "unreservedly", and the company agreed to pay £110,000 in damages to Virgin, £500,000 to Branson personally and £3 million legal costs. Lord King stepped down as chairman in 1993 and was replaced by his deputy, Colin Marshall, while Bob Ayling took over as CEO. Virgin filed a separate action in the U.S. that same year regarding BA's domination of
6728-640: The combined International Airlines Group; Iberia's other shareholders received the remaining 45%. As a part of the merger, British Airways ceased trading independently on the London Stock Exchange after 23 years as a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index . In September 2010 Willie Walsh, now CEO of IAG, announced that the group was considering acquiring other airlines and had drawn up a shortlist of twelve possible acquisitions. In November 2011 IAG announced an agreement in principle to purchase British Midland International from Lufthansa . A contract to purchase
6844-438: The company owns 52% of the slots as of 2019. In August 2014, Willie Walsh advised the airline would continue to use flight paths over Iraq despite the hostilities there. A few days earlier Qantas announced it would avoid Iraqi airspace, while other airlines did likewise. The issue arose following the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine, and a temporary suspension of flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport during
6960-513: The company set out plans to make up to 12,000 staff redundant because of the global collapse of air traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that it may not reopen its operations at Gatwick airport. They reopened at Gatwick in March 2022. In July 2020, British Airways announced the immediate retirement of its entire 747-400 fleet, having originally intended to phase out the remaining 747s in 2024. The airline stated that its decision to bring forward
7076-472: The company's initialism and its IATA Airline code. British Airways is the official airline of the Wimbledon Championship tennis tournament , and was the official airline and tier one partner of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics . BA was also the official airline of England's bid to host the 2018 Football World Cup . High Life , founded in 1973, is the official in-flight magazine of
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#17328630924447192-453: The country must not sink into "easy evenings with port wine and over-ripe pheasant". The Daily Mirror commented that he had "dropped his silver spoon upon the polished floor". By now, it was apparent that the economy was "overheating" since inflation and the balance of payments deficit were rising sharply. The Cabinet refused to agree to cut bread subsidies, and there was a run on the pound. His final budget in October 1955 reversed several of
7308-534: The cumulative effect being to increase foreign exchange reserves but depress domestic demand. His 1953 budget cut income tax and purchase tax and promised an end to the excess profits levy. When Churchill suffered a stroke in the summer of 1953, an illness that was concealed from the public, Butler acted as head of the Government since Churchill's presumed successor, Eden, was in the United States having medical treatment. Between 29 June and 18 August 1953, Butler chaired sixteen Cabinet meetings. In July, Macmillan recorded
7424-515: The date was in part due to the downturn in air travel following the COVID-19 pandemic and to focus on incorporating more modern and fuel-efficient aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 . At the same time, British Airways also announced its intention to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050. On 28 July 2020, the company's cabin crew union issued an "industrial action" warning in order to prevent
7540-413: The deal and later obtained the concession that denominational teachers could be allowed in fully-controlled schools if parents so wished. In early October 1942, Butler sold his scheme to the Nonconformist leaders of England and Wales. Butler had less success in his dealings with the Roman Catholic Church. He was not able to have talks with the elderly Cardinal Arthur Hinsley until September 1942. Butler
7656-504: The drive away from appeasement after Prague is "wholly false". His own papers suggest that he went to "greater lengths to meet Hitler's demands than any other figure in the British government" in 1939. His efforts to revoke the Polish guarantee that summer went beyond even Horace Wilson's, and it seems doubtful whether he was willing to fight Hitler over Poland at all. Patrick Cosgrave argues, "Butler did not merely go along with appeasement he waxed hard, long and enthusiastic for it, and there
7772-448: The end of 1942, a draft White paper was proceeding through the Lord President's Committee. By March 1943, with an Allied victory seeming only a matter of time, Churchill began to support an education bill in 1944 and was aware that he needed to promise postwar improvements and that reforming schools would be cheaper than implementing the Beveridge Report . When the White Paper was published on 16 July 1943, church-state relations received
7888-551: The eyes of the younger generation of Conservative MPs, many of whom were Second World War veterans. At the time, Butler strongly supported reaching agreement with Hitler as necessary for peace, but in his memoirs, The Art of the Possible (1971), he defended the Munich Agreement as essential to buy time to rearm and gain public support for war in Britain and the Dominions, and he also claimed that he had little input into foreign policy. Later commentators argue that Butler's suggestion in his memoirs that he supported Halifax in leading
8004-554: The face of massive opposition from Winston Churchill and the Conservative right. He retained this position in Stanley Baldwin 's third government (1935–1937), and when Neville Chamberlain replaced Baldwin as prime minister in May 1937, Butler was appointed Parliamentary Secretary at the Ministry of Labour . In the reshuffle caused by the resignation of Anthony Eden as Foreign Secretary and Lord Cranborne as Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in February 1938, they were replaced by Lord Halifax and Butler, who became
8120-447: The first time. British Airways holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. The airlines' head office, Waterside , stands in Harmondsworth , a village that is near Heathrow Airport. Waterside was completed in June 1998 to replace British Airways' previous head office, Speedbird House, located in Technical Block C on
8236-428: The four Great Offices of State but never to have been prime minister for which he was passed over in 1957 and 1963. At the time, the Conservative leadership was decided by a process of private consultation, rather than by a formal vote. After retiring from politics in 1965, Butler was appointed Master of Trinity College, Cambridge and served until 1978. He died of colon cancer in 1982. Butler's paternal family had
8352-418: The four-way merger between BOAC, BEA, Cambrian, and Northeast were temporarily given the text logo "British airways" but retained the original airline's livery. With its formation in 1974, British Airways' aeroplanes were given a new white, blue, and red colour scheme with a cropped Union Jack painted on their tail fins, designed by Negus & Negus. In 1984, a new livery designed by Landor Associates updated
8468-419: The grounds of Heathrow. British Airways' main base is at Heathrow Airport, but it also has a major presence at Gatwick Airport. It also has a base at London City Airport, where its subsidiary BA CityFlyer is the largest operator. BA had previously operated a significant hub at Manchester Airport . Manchester to New York (JFK) services were withdrawn; later all international services outside London ceased when
8584-489: The idea of spending ratepayers' money on a few bright pupils often did not meet with local authority approval. With Churchill's leadership being questioned after recent reverses in the Far East and North Africa, Ivor Bulmer-Thomas (14 August 1942) commented that some Conservative MPs saw Butler, rather than Eden, as a potential successor. In late November 1942, Butler toyed with the idea of allowing himself to be considered for
8700-570: The interests of peace. Butler returned to Britain to make the winding-up speech for the Government in the Parliamentary Debate on the Munich Agreement on 5 October. After Churchill had spoken, Butler said that war solved nothing and that it was better to "settle our differences with Germany by consultation". However, he did not directly defend the Munich settlement; the motion was to support
8816-399: The job of Viceroy of India (in succession to Lord Linlithgow ). Eden had been offered the position by Churchill and was seriously considering accepting it. In the end, Field Marshal Wavell was appointed. Butler helped to write King George VI 's Christmas broadcast at the end of 1942. Butler lobbied John Anderson , Kingsley Wood and Ernest Bevin for an education bill in 1943, and by
8932-436: The least attention. The resulting bill became the Education Act 1944 and is often known as the "Butler Act". It brought in free secondary education; until then, many grammar schools charged for entry, albeit with local authority assistance for poorer pupils in recent years. The Act expanded nursery provision and raised the school leaving age to 15, with a commitment to raise it further to 16 (not implemented until 1972). At
9048-684: The main Foreign Office spokesman in the Commons. In internal discussions after Germany's annexation of Austria on 12 March 1938, Butler counselled against giving Czechoslovakia a guarantee of British support and approved the Cabinet decision on 22 March not to do so, facts that he later omitted from his memoirs. During the Sudeten Crisis , he was attending a League of Nations meeting in Geneva but strongly supported Chamberlain's trip to Berchtesgaden on 16 September, even if it meant sacrificing Czechoslovakia in
9164-458: The measures from the spring budget, which led to charges of electoral opportunism. Hugh Gaitskell accused him of having deliberately misled the electorate, which amused Macmillan, who wrote in his diary of how Butler was always talking of "honour" in Cabinet. The introduction of purchase tax on kitchen utensils caused it to be labelled the "Pots and Pans" budget. Macmillan was already negotiating with Eden for Butler's job. In December 1955, Butler
9280-445: The new European Payments Union . He was also opposed by his junior minister, Arthur Salter , while Lord Woolton insisted Eden should be involved since the policy would affect foreign relations. Eden opposed it in a rare intervention in domestic politics. It was finally buried at two Cabinets, on 28 and 29 February 1952. Butler followed to a large extent the economic policies of his Labour predecessor, Hugh Gaitskell , by pursuing
9396-406: The nine months to 31 December 2010, and for the years to 31 December thereafter: In 2020, due to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, British Airways had to reduce its 42,000-strong workforce by 12,000 jobs. According to the estimate by IAG, a parent company, it will take the air travel industry several years to return to previous performance and profitability levels. However, 2022 saw
9512-407: The official line that there could be no peace until Germany had disgorged its conquests. Jago argues that Butler may have been covering for Halifax. Halifax's biographer Andrew Roberts believes that Butler had been putting words into the mouth of Halifax, who had already moved away from his earlier openness to a compromise peace . Butler kept his position and was allowed to make two broadcasts on
9628-505: The ongoing problems, British Airways stated "The root cause was a power supply issue which our affected our IT systems - we continue to investigate this" and declined to comment further. Willie Walsh later attributed the crash to an electrical engineer disconnecting the UPS and said there would be an independent investigation. Amidst the decline in the value of Iranian currency due to the reintroduction of U.S. sanctions on Iran, BA announced that
9744-456: The poorest inner-city communities. Serious thought was given to integrating public (fee-paying) schools into the state system. Butler was supportive and believed that standards would be raised in state schools if affluent and articulate parents were involved in the system. The Fleming Commission, assembled by Butler, recommended in July 1944 for a quarter of public school places to be given to scholarships. However, nothing came of it, not least as
9860-479: The schools in the country were church schools. Many church schools were in a poor state of repair. In a meeting on 5 June 1942 with the National Society, the body of Church of England schools, Butler proposed that Church schools could choose either to be 50% aided or fully funded with a local education authority majority on the school governing body. Archbishop Temple agreed to persuade his flock to accept
9976-553: The second reading in March 1944, Thelma Cazalet-Keir , part of Quintin Hogg 's Tory Reform Committee, proposed two amendments, one to raise the school leaving age to 16 by 1951 and another demanding equal pay for women teachers. The latter passed by one vote on 28 March 1944. This was the only time the Coalition suffered a significant defeat in a division. Churchill made the amendment a matter of confidence and ensured its defeat on 30 March. This
10092-519: The stake in 2014. BA also owned a 10% stake in InterCapital and Regional Rail (ICRR), the company that managed the operations of Eurostar (UK) Ltd from 1998 to 2010, when the management of Eurostar was restructured. Staff working for British Airways are represented by a number of trade unions, pilots are represented by British Air Line Pilots' Association , cabin crew by British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (a branch of Unite
10208-533: The subsidiary BA Connect was sold. Passengers wishing to travel internationally with BA either to or from regional UK destinations must now transfer in London. Heathrow Airport is dominated by British Airways, which owns 50% of the slots available at the airport as of 2019, growing from 40% in 2004. The majority of BA services operate from Terminal 5 , with the exception of some flights at Terminal 3 owing to insufficient capacity at Terminal 5. At London City Airport,
10324-444: The surge in demand for flying this could lead to more disruption. British Airways is the largest airline based in the United Kingdom in terms of fleet size, international flights, and international destinations and was, until 2008, the largest airline by passenger numbers. The airline carried 34.6 million passengers in 2008, but, rival carrier easyJet transported 44.5 million passengers that year, passing British Airways for
10440-615: The takeover of the UK's "second" airline, British Caledonian, in July of that same year. The formation of Richard Branson 's Virgin Atlantic in 1984 created a competitor for BA. The intense rivalry between British Airways and Virgin Atlantic culminated in the former being sued for libel in 1993, arising from claims and counterclaims over a "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin. This campaign included allegations of poaching Virgin Atlantic customers, tampering with private files belonging to Virgin, and undermining Virgin's financial reputation in
10556-483: The third-largest, after SkyTeam and Star Alliance . Proposals to establish a joint British airline, combining the assets of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA), were first raised in 1953 as a result of difficulties in attempts by BOAC and BEA to negotiate air rights through the British colony of Cyprus . Increasingly BOAC was protesting that BEA
10672-518: The trans-Atlantic routes, but it was thrown out in 1999. In 1992 British Airways expanded through the acquisition of the financially troubled Dan-Air , giving BA a much larger presence at Gatwick Airport . British Asia Airways , a subsidiary based in Taiwan, was formed in March 1993 to operate between London and Taipei . That same month BA purchased a 25% stake in the Australian airline Qantas and, with
10788-420: The unions, various conferences and workshops have taken place, often with thousands in attendance. In 2005, wildcat action was taken by union members over a decision by Gate Gourmet not to renew the contracts of 670 workers and replace them with agency staff; it is estimated that the strike cost British Airways £30 million and caused disruption to 100,000 passengers. In October 2006, BA became involved in
10904-719: The unions: the story was later withdrawn. A strike was announced for May 2010, British Airways again sought an injunction. Members of the Socialist Workers Party disrupted negotiations between BA management and Unite to prevent industrial action. Further disruption struck when Derek Simpson , a Unite co-leader, was discovered to have leaked details of confidential negotiations online via Twitter. Industrial action re-emerged in 2017, this time by BA's Mixed Fleet flight attendants, whom were employed on much less favorable pay and terms and conditions compared to previous cabin staff who joined prior to 2010. A ballot for industrial action
11020-456: The £330 million which would be saved by the merger with Iberia. This merger was finalised on 21 January 2011, resulting in the establishment of International Airlines Group S.A. (IAG), the world's third-largest airline in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest airline group in Europe. Prior to merging, British Airways owned a 13.5% stake in Iberia, and thus received ownership of 55% of
11136-575: Was Principal of Doveton Boys College , Calcutta . Richard Austen Butler was born 9 December 1902 in Attock , British India , the eldest son of Montagu Sherard Dawes Butler , a member of the Indian Civil Service , and Anne Smith. He had two sisters, Iris (1905–2002), who married Lieutenant-Colonel Gervase Portal (1890–1961) and became a writer, and Dorothy (1909–1999), the wife of Laurence Middleton (1905–1982). His younger brother John (1914–1943)
11252-431: Was a prominent British Conservative Party politician; he was effectively deputy prime minister to Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan , although he only held the official title for a brief period in 1962–63. He was one of his party's leaders in promoting the post-war consensus through which the major parties largely agreed on the main points of domestic policy until the 1970s; it is sometimes known as " Butskellism " from
11368-449: Was called off at the last minute, British Airways losing £80 million. In December 2009, a ballot for strike action over Christmas received a high level of support, action was blocked by a court injunction that deemed the ballot illegal. Negotiations failed to stop strike action in March, BA withdrew perks for strike participants. Allegations were made by The Guardian newspaper that BA had consulted outside firms methods to undermine
11484-915: Was distributed to Mixed Fleet crew in November 2016 and resulted in an overwhelming yes majority for industrial action. Unite described Mixed Fleet crew as on "poverty pay", with many Mixed Fleet flight attendants sleeping in their cars in between shifts because they cannot afford the fuel to drive home, or operating while sick as they cannot afford to call in sick and lose their pay for the shift. Unite also blasted BA of removing staff travel concessions, bonus payments and other benefits to all cabin crew who undertook industrial action, as well as strike-breaking tactics such as wet-leasing aircraft from other airlines and offering financial incentives for cabin crew not to strike. The first dates of strikes during Christmas 2016 were cancelled due to pay negotiations. Industrial action by Mixed Fleet commenced in January 2017 after rejecting
11600-578: Was elected in the 1929 general election , and retained the seat until his retirement in 1965. Even before being elected to Parliament, Butler had been private secretary to Samuel Hoare . When the National Government was formed in August 1931 Hoare was appointed Secretary of State for India , and Butler was appointed as Hoare's Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS). In January 1932, he visited India as part of Lord Lothian 's Franchise Committee, which
11716-525: Was first used in a 1984 advertisement directed by Tony Scott , in an arrangement by Howard Blake . It was reworked by Malcolm McLaren and Yanni for 1989's iconic "Face" advertisement , and subsequently appeared in many different arrangements between 1990 and 2010. The slogan 'the world's favourite airline', first used in 1983, was dropped in 2001 after Lufthansa overtook BA in terms of passenger numbers. Other advertising slogans have included "The World's Best Airline", "We'll Take More Care of You", "Fly
11832-611: Was killed in an air crash on active service in January 1943. In July 1909, at the age of six, Butler's right arm was broken in three places in a riding accident, which left his right hand permanently disabled. He attended a preparatory school in Hove but rebelled against going to Harrow School , where most of his family were educated. Having failed to win a scholarship to Eton College , he instead attended Marlborough College , leaving in December 1920. In June 1921, he won an exhibition to Pembroke College, Cambridge . At that stage, he planned
11948-412: Was launched in 2023. This design initiative also included English bone china manufactured by William Edwards and cutlery by Studio William for the company's first class service. In 2019, as part of the celebrations of a centenary of airline operations in the United Kingdom, British Airways announced that four aircraft would receive retro liveries. The first of these is a Boeing 747-400 (G-BYGC), which
12064-452: Was moved to the post of Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the House of Commons . Although he continued to act as a deputy for Eden on a number of occasions, he was not officially recognised as such, and his successor as chancellor, Harold Macmillan , insisted on an assurance from Eden that Butler was not senior to him. Harry Crookshank warned that he was committing "political suicide" by giving up
12180-519: Was one of the events which made Churchill and the Conservatives appear reactionary and contributed to their election defeat in 1945. The Butler Act became law in August 1944. With party politics restarting, Butler opposed the nationalisation of iron and steel on 9 April 1945. After the end of the European War in May, Butler was Minister of Labour for two months in the Churchill caretaker ministry . In
12296-425: Was out at the dentist, and Churchill was appointed instead. Butler wrote to Chamberlain on 11 May to urge him to carry on as a member of the government in the hope of achieving a negotiated peace and was reappointed to the Foreign Office on 15 May. Butler later grew to respect Churchill after serving under him. On 17 June 1940, the day that Marshal Philippe Petain asked for an armistice, Butler met informally with
12412-476: Was quicker than many to realise the social change which war would bring. He spoke to Robert Barrington-Ward of The Times (12 February 1940) of "the new social revolution that is making its way, and how to anticipate and meet it". With Chamberlain's position untenable after the Norway Debate , Butler tried on 10 May 1940 to persuade Halifax to accept appointment as prime minister, but he later stated that he
12528-431: Was released in 2018, with Michael Caine , Olivia Colman , Jourdan Dunn , Naomie Harris , Joanna Lumley , and David Walliams . The two videos are part of Comic Relief's charity programme. On 17 April 2023, the airline launched a new safety video as a part of “A British Original” campaign, with Emma Raducanu , Robert Peston , Little Simz , and Steven Bartlett . The aeroplanes that British Airways inherited from
12644-446: Was repainted into the former BOAC livery, which it retained until its retirement. Two more Boeing 747-400s were repainted with former British Airways liveries. One wore the " Landor " livery until its retirement in 2020 (G-BNLY), the other (G-CIVB), wore the original "Union Jack" livery until its retirement in 2020 also. An Airbus A319 was repainted into British European Airways livery, which is still flying as G-EUPJ. On 28 April 2020,
12760-621: Was set up by the Round Table Conference and which recommended a large increase in the Indian electorate. On 29 September 1932, Butler became Under-Secretary of State for India after the resignation of Lord Lothian and other Liberals over abandonment of free trade by the National Government. At 29, he was the youngest member of the government and was responsible for piloting the Government of India Act 1935 through Parliament in
12876-536: Was sympathetic to last-minute Italian efforts to broker peace and that he and Butler were heartened by the delay in the British declaration of war on Germany caused by lack of agreement with the French over timing. Butler's close association with appeasement was often held against him later in his career. Although he later held many senior Cabinet positions, by the time of Suez in 1956, his past, coupled with his lack of personal military experience, damaged his reputation in
12992-519: Was that the balance of payments would have worsened, as any reduction in demand for imports would have been swamped by the rise in prices of imported goods . Furthermore, 90% of other countries' sterling balances, kept in London, were to be frozen. They too would effectively have been devalued, which would have angered Commonwealth countries, would have broken the rules for the International Monetary Fund and would not have been allowed under
13108-481: Was to resign and hand over the premiership to Butler. When it was officially denied, on 9 January, Butler told The Guardian that he was determined to "support the Prime Minister in all his difficulties" and that Eden was "the best Prime Minister we have". Butler threatened resignation in March 1956 over Macmillan's plans to reverse the 6d cut in income tax. Macmillan himself then threatened resignation unless he
13224-435: Was to secure passage by negotiations with interested parties from Churchill to the churches and from educators to MPs. In July 1941, Butler was appointed President of the Board of Education , his first Cabinet post. Some writers, such as Addison, suggest that Education was a backwater and that Churchill offered him it or a diplomatic post to remove him from the more sensitive Foreign Office. However, he had been keen to leave
13340-610: Was told that his plans for 50% aided status were not acceptable to the Roman Catholic Church on 15 September 1942. Butler thought it better to present the Catholic Church with a fait accompli . Plans for 1943 were scuppered by a letter to The Times from Hinsley stressing Franklin Roosevelt 's commitment to freedom of conscience and arguing that Catholic schools should not be bullied by the state, as they often provided for
13456-533: Was using its subsidiary Cyprus Airways to circumvent an agreement that BEA would not fly routes further east than Cyprus, particularly to the increasingly important oil regions in the Middle East . The chairman of BOAC, Miles Thomas, was in favour of a merger as a potential solution to this disagreement and had backing for the idea from the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, Rab Butler . However, opposition from
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