The best of British Airways news

Seattle’s new-look lounge opens as part of BA’s global lounge refresh

British Airways’ Seattle lounge (above) has had an extensive spruce-up, becoming the latest to join the global lounge refresh programme, following redesigns in Singapore, Washington, Lagos, and London Gatwick over the last year alone. The new-look lounge, based at Seattle Tacoma international airport, has a new food counter full of hot and cold delights, a dedicated à la carte dining experience for First customers and work-friendly focus pods. But its crowning glory is its swanky full-service bar, the lounge’s sophisticated centrepiece. Design-wise, expect Pacific Northwest chic combined with British elegance and pops of colour from the textile artwork of local artists such as Hannah Mason. With the opening of the new lounge coinciding with 45 years of BA flying to the Emerald City, there’s never been a better time to slope off to Seattle.

Keep your eyes peeled for further lounge upgrades, too, all of which are part of BA’s £7bn transformation programme, including new locations in Dubai and Miami (the global lounge design concept to be debuted in the former), and major changes to the Heathrow lounges starting in 2026. Each refresh aims to create unique environments that blend British heritage with local culture, introducing new à la carte dining areas, bespoke furniture and regionally inspired décor (not to mention new innovations such as live demonstration stations). With a network of more than 28 lounges in 20 airports, last year BA served more than one million glasses of Champagne to travellers, with the British Original burger coming out top in the food popularity stakes.

Look up the lounges

Working together to stop illegal wildlife trafficking

It was World Wildlife Day on 3 March, an opportunity both to celebrate our extraordinary wild animals (and plants) and to shine a spotlight on the dangers they face, not least from illegal wildlife trafficking. It’s an issue that British Airways, a member of the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce, continues to work hard to eradicate.

Did you know that unlawful wildlife trade is the world’s fourth largest criminal activity, pushing many of the planet’s precious creatures to the brink of extinction? One rhino is killed every seven hours and 55 African elephants are poached daily, with rhino horn, elephant ivory, reptiles and birds representing 66 per cent of trafficked products. It is the conservation crisis of our time – a growing threat to global biodiversity and natural resources.

But all is not lost. The aviation industry is working together to help shut down the routes exploited by the wildlife traffickers. British Airways, along with 78 other airlines, has signed the Buckingham Palace Declaration, an action plan to strengthen global defences against the trafficking of animals and birds.

As part of the BA Better World sustainability programme, British Airways is also providing resources and putting measures in place to enable colleagues to spot and report suspicious incidents, and now has more than 100 Wildlife Champions, all of whom are raising awareness and helping in the fight to shut down the illegal wildlife trade once and for all. 

Learn more in This Wild Earth

Love was in the air (and the lounges) on Valentine’s Day

If you were in lounges last month, you'll have been in for the sweetest of treats on Valentine’s Day. Social enterprise Harry Specters set hearts fluttering in the First lounge at London Heathrow with an exclusive chocolate experience. The company, founded by Mona and Shaz and inspired by their autistic son Ash, handcrafts chocolates using responsibly sourced ingredients, supporting young autistic people through paid employment, work experience and training opportunities. Sweet-toothed travellers could sample the brand’s new Mood Bars, which are packed with wellness-boosting lion’s mane mushrooms, spirulina and ginger, while a personalised chocolate station was the perfect opportunity to write a message to a loved one on a best-selling bar. 

Love was, in fact, all around the First lounge on 14 February. Inspired by the heart-warming opening airport scene in OG rom-com Love Actually, award-winning bakery The Biskery, which prides itself on the joy it inspires through its personalised biscuits, also brought a touch of cuteness to the day, with 500 lucky passengers receiving one of its signature jam biscuits, each handmade and bearing a ‘With Love’ or ‘Love You’ message. In addition, BA lounge visitors were encouraged to whisper sweet nothings, quite literally, by sending a complimentary ‘Thank you’ jam biscuit to someone dear to them anywhere in the UK.

Discover romantic getaways

What’s BA up to at the Guinness Women’s Six Nations?

Last year, the Guinness Women’s Six Nations championship saw England’s Red Roses secure their third successive Grand Slam when they defeated France 21-42 in Bordeaux, increasing their championship-winning record to 29 games. The stats speak for themselves, with a 22 per cent growth in match day attendance and an international live audience of 16.2 million fans tuning in to watch.

This year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations is likely to be even more exhilarating, as our defending champions take on France again on the final Saturday of the tournament – 26 April – at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.

On Super Saturday, make a beeline for the British Airways fan village to cheer on our tenacious titleholders. To add to the excitement, a mobile flight simulator will ‘soar’ fans to even greater highs (yes, it’s possible), courtesy of British Airways colleagues from the flight deck community. The day marks one of England’s three home matches, with a Round 1 confrontation against Italy at the York Community Stadium, before the team plays Scotland at Leicester’s Welford Road in Round 4.

Book your tickets today