Seventy-five years ago, British Airways (which was previously known as British Overseas Airways Corporation or BOAC) became the first British airline to operate passenger flights between the UK and Japan.
On 19 March 1948, BOAC extended its Poole-Hong Kong Plymouth class flying boat service to Iwakuni. In November, the weekly service was further extended to Yokohama, Tokyo, with flights taking seven days and stopping at seven cities on route – Augusta, Alexandria, Karachi, Calcutta, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Iwakuni.
To commemorate this milestone, British Airways will reintroduce its first class service on London-Tokyo from September 1. The service will include bespoke loungewear and amenity kits designed by luxury British fashion brand, Temperley London, products from ELEMIS and bedding made from recycled plastic bottles.
From 31 October, the oneworld airline will also launch its business Club Suite on flights between Tokyo Haneda and London’s Heathrow, as it switches to the 777-300ER operating the daily BA5/BA6 rotation. Across the Club World cabin, customers will receive a pillow and warm quilt from The White Company, an amenity kit and an improved dining experience.
The British Airways Club Suite offers direct-aisle access and a suite door for greater privacy in a 1-2-1 configuration. It also boasts 40 per cent more storage than its predecessor, including a vanity unit and mirror, wifi and 18.5-inch inflight entertainment screens.
Drawing on inspiration from heritage menus in the airline’s extensive archive, chefs have created celebratory dishes for all four cabins on Heathrow-Haneda from 1 September to 31 October.
Customers will be able to enjoy popular dishes that were served on the route in 1969 – beef stroganoff and beef cheek okaribayaki – and the airline has also created a celebratory cherry meringue gateau, the signature dessert enjoyed by flyers on the London to Anchorage sector that same year.
BA’s chief commercial officer, Colm Lacy, commented:
“It all started with a flying boat and now Tokyo is one of our longest-served and most valued destinations. We’re incredibly proud of our heritage – it’s been our pleasure to connect Japanese travellers with Britain since 1948 – and we look forward to serving them for the next 75 years and beyond as we continue our investment into new products, customer experience and technology.”
