BA Makes Ready for the Big Holiday
British Airways expects a busy holiday travel season with more than 5,500 U.S. customers travelling to London on Christmas Eve on one of 28 flights out of its 21 U.S. gateway cities. The airline expects 35,000 additional passengers flying globally on Christmas Day.
To celebrate the holiday properly, British Airways will serve a traditional British Christmas dinner on a grand scale, preparing more than 294 turkeys, close to 150 pounds of stuffing, and 1,820 mince pies this holiday travel season*.
Passengers can also a curated selection of classic holiday entertainment including favourites like “Love Actually,” “Four Christmases” and “Elf.”
The most popular European destinations among U.S. travelers booking combined hotel and flight packages for Christmas this year include London, Dublin and Paris.
A Taste of Britain
Most passengers* traveling with British Airways on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, can enjoy a traditional British Christmas dinner, including sliced roast turkey breast, chestnut (in First and Club World) or sage and onion (in World Traveller) stuffing, cranberry compote, brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, carrot batons, mince pies, and other holiday favourites.
During those two days, for flights departing from U.S. gateways, British Airways expects to serve more than 294 turkeys; 150 pounds of stuffing; 1,029 sweet potatoes; 1,283 brussels sprouts; 234 parsnips; 12 gallons of gravy; and, 1,820 mince pies.
British Airways’ Christmas dinner is prepared in keeping with the airline’s ‘Height Cuisine’ – a method of inflight food preparation that adjusts for the effects on the palate of altitude, air pressure and humidity.
LAPLAND, FINLAND: Andrea Hatfield (Cabin Crew) gets into the Christmas spirit onboard a special charter to Lapland from London Gatwick on 07 December 2015
The 10,000 British Airways cabin crew across the globe will pour out considerable quantities of cheer during the festivities (from Dec. 24 to January 1) serving 35,000 (75 cl) bottles of white champagne and 7,000 bottles of pink champagne in Club World, and 8,000 bottles of champagne in First class.
Very Merry IFE
British Airways passengers will also find plenty of holiday cheer on their in-flight entertainment (IFE) screens, with a curated variety of classic Christmas favourites including “Love Actually,” “Four Christmases” and “Elf” and TV, Christmas specials of “Downton Abbey” and “Only Fools and Horses.”
Audio entertainment also includes holiday-themed collections: “Christmas at Downton Abbey,” a festive compilation of well-known carols and hymns; carols sung by King’s College Cambridge Choir; “The Christmas Collection” by Frank Sinatra, which includes “Twelve Days of Christmas” sung by Sinatra’s children; and many more.
The airline is building on the success of last year’s holiday-themed entertainment. In 2014, “Home Alone” was the most watched holiday film and “Mrs. Brown’s Boys Christmas Special” was the most watched TV show, the airline reports.
The most listened to audio tracks during Christmas 2014 were “Santa Baby” by Kylie Minogue, and “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues–which, British Airways states, beat out “Let It Go” from the film “Frozen.”
*Unavailable on JFK-London City service. Bah-Humbug.