board BA: Airline announces $800m refit By Danny Sinopoli How do you improve on a service that was already acknowledged by industry analysts as one of the best in the business? In the case of British Airways, you pump $800-million into the revamping of your first and club class service, as the carrier, one of the largest in the world, has announced it would be doing over the next three years.

In light of the fact that many large airlines are cutting back on their first and executive class services or eliminating them outright, the decision by BA, which provides three flights a week between London and Bermuda and currently serves as the Island's only non-stop link to the United Kingdom, is in many respects remarkable -- not only for the sheer size of its recently announced investment, but also because the airline was already maintaining some fairly high first and club class standards.

On a recent return trip between Bermuda and London's Gatwick Airport, for instance, the airline provided its first class passengers -- mostly Bermuda-based business travellers -- with such services as private first class lounges at both ends, ample leg room and sleeping conditions onboard, an exhaustive selection of first-run movies on private video screens and four-course meals that included an endless serving of wine, mineral waters and other beverages (including champagne at take-offs).

On the menu during the UK-bound journey, moreover, were such comparatively elaborate selections as braised lobster salad with ginger and cilantro, sea bass with a warm vegetable vinaigrette and a mixed seasonal salad in a creamy onion dressing, while the London-to-Bermuda voyage, a daytime flight that featured both afternoon tea and supper, consisted of choices like roasted stuffed peppers, chicken breast with polenta and rosemary and summer raspberries and blueberries with Cornish ice cream.

Each in conjunction with BA's "Well-Being in the Air'' healthy travelling programme -- a feature of which is dishes that "are made from quality ingredients and are low in salt, sugar and fat'' -- the airline's first class meals were also preceded by either canapes or caviar and served on Royal Doulton china -- details that, according to the BA research on which the current revamping was based, matter most to people who are forced to travel on business and therefore frequently swayed by service in terms of the airlines they choose.

"These exciting new enhancements,'' Mr. Dale Moss, BA's executive vice-president for sales and marketing in the US, said during the current scheme's announcement, "have been added to recognise the importance of the international business traveller and to pay them handsomely for their loyalty.

"The enhancements to the programme,'' he continued, "go beyond the conventional frequent flyer plans with added value and benefits for easier mileage award opportunities and unique service attention and comfort, (which have been) rated as most important by frequent US business travellers.'' Indeed, the $800-million improvement plan, which should be seen on the London-Bermuda route by next spring, has been compared by at least one British newspaper to the services that were offered on the legendary Flying Boats of yesteryear, when the earliest of airline travellers would be ferried on long-distance voyages in unparallelled comfort.

For the most part, the comparison likely stems from a total refitting of BA airliners (from DC-10s to 747s) to include, among other things, two futuristic-looking rows of seating modules that can function as private meeting or dining areas for two as well as full-size beds (the latter, at over six feet, being the only ones of their kind in the air).

Known as Insight, the new BA improvement plan will also introduce a so-called "Raid the Larder'' service that allows club class passengers to eat or snack as they please.

"A range of...nibbles were trialed over the last year to find out exactly what tickled the passengers' palates,'' Mr. Moss said, explaining that snacks under the Insight programme would be tailored to each destination, with such choices as cheese and tortilla chips being offered in Mexico and pot noodles and rice crackers in Japan.

"We are all,'' he continued, "snackers and nibblers at heart, enjoying nothing better than a quick dash to the fridge or a dive into the cookie jar.

"And this is exactly what British Airways can now offer.'' Despite the inherent financial risks that such a large investment contains and the fact that the number of seats in the affected classes will be reduced -- full-length beds, after all, require as much space as their label implies -- BA officials, who unveiled the Insight scheme with an elaborate light and laser show at the Olympia trade centre in London recently, appeared confident that the plan would ultimately pay off, making up for the reduction in seating with increased yield and market share.

On BA's Bermuda route, which serves as the most convenient link to Europe for Bermudian business travellers, such optimism will likely bear some fruit, as the airline's first and club class seating has been regularly filled to capacity in recent times and will likely continue to be so once service is made even better.

On the airline's other international routes, however, it remains to be seen how Insight will fare for British Airways.

BA fights in many arenas with such comparable foreign carriers as Singapore Airlines or Swissair, airlines that are also favourites of the international business traveller and which will no doubt tackle Insight head-on.

MULTI-PURPOSE SEATING -- British Airways' new first class seating, to be introduced over the next three years on its flights worldwide, will be able to serve as both a private two-person meeting area and a full-size 198-centimetre bed (shown here). Photos courtesy of British Airways HAUTE CUISINE -- First class British Airways passengers can enjoy dishes like this low-fat/low-salt main course and salad that form a part of the airline's "Well-Being in the Air'' programme.

AIR FARE -- Under BA's new Insight programme, club class fliers will be able to "raid the larder'' for snacks as they please. Regional dishes such as paella, noodles, pasta and the medley above will also be featured.