Last week I posted about BBC Two’s “A Very British Airline,” which fairly objectively (or at least both favorably and unfavorably) follows around various aspects of British Airways’ operations.
Episode three aired on Monday, and has been posted on YouTube, for anyone interested in watching it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg8SNWGAD7U
I found this one to be especially interesting, as it provides an inside look into British Airways’ pilot training. In this case it’s of the first pilots they’ve hired in over a decade. It also follows around a few aspects of airport operations, which is interesting.
You’ve gotta love David, the friendly guy who loves nothing more than a “Golden Ticket” (which British Airways Gold Card Holders can give out to staff that go above and beyond). And I love his story of how he got a “Golden Ticket,” by sitting with a customer in a lounge for an hour sipping tea — I’d love to see that happening in the US!
That’s one proud bloke — why do I never run into people like him at Heathrow?
Here’s the official description for this episode:
In this final episode we’re in the company’s main control room with operations manager, and rugby enthusiast, Kevin McKenzie.
He reveals how the airline manages the challenges of operating out of the world’s most congested airport, and deals with the knock-on effects of some passengers actions – from panic attacks before take-off to suspicious items discovered in luggage.
We follow the training of the airline’s first intake of cadet pilots since the downturn in air travel after 9/11- each cadet has to pay £84,000 for the 18 month course, so failure would be expensive.
And through some of the company’s 40,000 staff, including ex-Harrods manager David Page, we explore what makes BA such a Very British Airline.
I’ve really enjoyed this show, and am sad that there aren’t any more episodes. It has definitely been one of the better airline documentaries that we’ve seen in a while.
If you haven’t seen episodes one and two, here they are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uW-APz31cBw
What did you guys think of episode three?
(Tip of the hat to Chris)
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