British Airways has done an incredible job with their marketing over the past year or so, in particular with their “BA Magic” campaign. Through this, they encouraged people to write in sharing a trip they’d like to take for a special reason, and British Airways (sometimes) makes it happen in a very special way.
In the past I’ve shared the videos of British Airways helping a man propose to his girlfriend inflight, them helping an aunt get to Hong Kong for just 24 hours to surprise her nephew, them helping a man take his first flight after brain surgery, them reuniting a couple that’s 10,000 miles apart, them fulfilling a girl’s dream of becoming cabin crew, and them giving a 12 year old boy with cerebral palsy the Christmas of a lifetime.
While it looks like that series may be over for a while, British Airways has shared a new story that’s also cute and touching. I’m a sucker for a feel good story, so I can’t help but share it here.
This one is about a 99 year old woman who British Airways decided to surprise. Why? Because British Airways has also just turned 99, so I guess she and the airline are the same age.
Here’s how British Airways describes the video:
One 99-year-old kicked off her milestone birthday celebrations early after British Airways surprised her with a very special trip.
Mary Parsons from Malvern in Worcestershire turns 100 years old on January 1, 2019, the same year that the airline also celebrates its centenary. British Airways ambassador, Derek Tennant, surprised Mary at her ‘Friends of the Elderly’ care home in Davenham and revealed that he was taking her to Belfast to see her family.
Born just 51 days after World War I ended, Mary grew up in Monaghan, 70 miles south of Belfast, yet left when she was 18-years-old to move to England and become a nurse.
Given the VIP treatment by Derek and accompanied every step of the way by her carer, Ellie Bannister, Mary was met at the airport by her nephew Ciaran and his wife Noelle, and niece Margaret and her husband Anthony, before spending the weekend in Belfast.
If you have a few minutes, here’s the video:
This isn’t the extent of British Airways’ 99th birthday celebrations, though:
Today, Saturday, August 25, customers celebrating their birthday and their travel companions are being invited to use the airline’s First lounge, accessed through the First Wing. The celebrations haven’t stopped there, as the airline is also giving customers ‘99 ice creams’ to mark the occasion, while a marching band performs for onlookers. British Airways staff are also wearing uniforms from across the airline’s history.
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