British Airways extends ‘book with confidence’ policy

In an update earlier in October, the airline extended the time period on changeable tickets to any new flight and holiday bookings made from 3 March to 13 October. Now, the initiative has been extended to cover all bookings from 3 March to no fixed date.

In a post on Instagram, the airline stated: “Our flexible change policy has been extended to cover all customers due to travel until 10 January 2021.”

Flying with Confidence course online

Additionally, the airline brought its Flying with Confidence course to the comfort of customers’ homes for the first time ever this October.

The course is now being offered as a live interactive webinar, to give attendees every detail from how an aircraft flies, to why turbulence is uncomfortable but not dangerous, to simple breathing techniques to use to manage anxiety, all without leaving the house.

British Airways recognises that around 25 per cent of people have at least some fear of flying, while one in 10 people have a phobia of flying. In addition, flyers are now having to navigate travel in the Covid-19 era, so the course will also cover all the safety measures put in place by British Airways both on the ground and in the air, to help give travellers from around the world the confidence to fly again.

Overcoming a fear of flying

British Airways Captain Steve Allright, who runs the course, said: “We are delighted to offer this popular course as a live, interactive webinar, to give more people than ever the chance to sign up and overcome their fear of flying from home, wherever they are in the world.

“Safety is at the heart of everything we do at British Airways. There will inevitably be some further worries and questions around the pandemic, so it’s more important than ever that we share with attendees not just the technical aspects of flying, but also the range of safety precautions we are taking, to give them the peace of mind and ensure they have a safe and enjoyable flying experience next time they fly with us.”

In terms of safety, the airline has introduced a range of measures to keep its customers safe and is asking customers to abide by these new measures to help manage the wellness of everyone travelling. These include:

• Checking-in online, downloading boarding pass and, where possible, self-scanning boarding passes at the departure gate
• Observing social distancing and using hand sanitisers that are placed throughout airports
• Wearing a facemask at all times and bringing enough to replace them every four hours for longer flights
• Customers agreeing not to travel if they think they have any symptoms of Covid-19
• Cabin crew wearing PPE and a new food service, which reduces the number of interactions required with customers
• Asking customers to ensure they have everything they need from their hand luggage before departure and, where possible, storing their carry-on bag under the seat in front of them

The airline is cleaning all key surfaces including seats, screens, seat buckles and tray tables after every flight and each aircraft is completely cleaned from nose to tail every day. The air on all British Airways flights is fully recycled once every two to three minutes through HEPA filters, which remove microscopic bacteria and virus clusters with over 99.9-per-cent efficiency, equivalent to hospital operating theatre standards.