British Airways is planning a diverse series of celebrations both in the air and on the ground to coincide with this weekend’s royal coronation.
The airline – which offers daily flights between Heathrow and Gibraltar Airport – has partnered with VisitBritain to give visitors a “a royal welcome” with a mural painted on the London flight path. Customers landing on London Heathrow runway 27L will be able to see the piece of art, which is 47 by 64 metres and is located in Thornbury Park in Hounslow, on the right-hand side of the aircraft just before touching down.
The flowers on the artwork were designed by children at a local holiday club, Fun Fest Hounslow. Sisters Jasmine Prajapati and Raya Prajapati (aged nine and 12, respectively) sketched the designs around the theme of “a natural world”, one of King Charles III’s passions and a key theme of his coronation emblem.
On the day of the coronation (Saturday 6 May), British Airways will be offering pre-flight lounge access to customers with the surnames “King” and “Queen” travelling from Gatwick and Heathrow. Customers at Heathrow will be invited to use the First Wing and First Lounge.
At 35,000 feet, the airline will be marking the historic occasion by offering passengers, across all cabins travelling from Heathrow and Gatwick, Joe&Seph’s Eton Mess bespoke popcorn designed exclusively for British Airways.
The airline has also worked with its caterers to design coronation-themed desserts which will feature on board flights from both airports. The special desserts include a bespoke lemon and white chocolate coronation tart, an afternoon tea with a trio of royal desserts, and a lemon and white chocolate mousse topped with a chocolate crown, inspired by King Charles’ “well-known love of lemon cream”.
According to British Airways, customers will be able to enjoy these royal treats while watching a live stream of the coronation on board, which is free to access through passengers’ personal electronic devices and available to all customers travelling with British Airways on Wi-Fi enabled aircraft.
“We are excited to be able to celebrate this significant moment in history,” said chief corporate affairs officer Lisa Tremble. “As Britain’s flag carrier, we are proud to be welcoming visitors to our home and celebrating with our customers on board, offering a selection of coronation-themed surprises to mark the occasion. We are also celebrating with our fantastic colleagues across our airports and offices and crewing a flight full of colleagues called Charles and Camilla, so it will definitely be a weekend we won’t forget.”
The BA059 flight from Heathrow to Cape Town will be crewed by colleagues with variants of the name Charles and Camilla. Passengers will be looked after by a team of 10 cabin crew including three people called Camilla, five called Charles, a Kamila and a Millie. The 777-200 aircraft will be flown by three pilots called Charles.
