View Full Version : Were you part of BA's 757 history?
I am putting together a detailed article for Air Internatiomnal magazine to celebrate the service given by BA's Boeing 757 fleet and would welcome contributions from any of you out there who played a part in its BA history.
It doesn't matter what your role was; flight deck, cabin crew, engineering, operations, commercial, management, etc.
I particular want to hear from anyone who was involved in BA becoming the global launch partner for the Boeing 757 back in 1982/3.
Feel free to contact me direct or if you are still a serving BA employee and want further advice as to whether you can take part please ask Richard Goodfellow at the BA press office.
Albert Driver
8th Oct 2010, 22:53
Is this a happy clappy story for BA approval? ("celebrating the success...." sounds like it) in which case you can easily source it from all the information available on the net. Good luck.
Or are you a serious writer looking to produce a more challenging article: the melding of old and distinct BEA Trident and BA737 cultures to produce new operating procedures, the technical challenges, why not all its first pilots were volunteers or even in recent practice, "What's it doing now?" stories etc?
Hello AD.
Thanks for taking the time to reply.
No, it isn't being done for the airline's approval, though the BA press office is trying to help me find some of the people that were on the type at the outset.
I don't have any pre-set agenda either way and all of those items you mention sound interesting, so if you want to contribute then you are more than welcome.
Albert Driver
9th Oct 2010, 08:59
The difficulty here is that the chaotic circumstances of BA in the early 1980s brought together unplanned an initial group of pilots from every corner of the airline, with little in common except the belief that the 757 needed to be operated in a new way. From that (driven mostly by a small group of exceptional trainers) grew the first true BA fleet, earlier fleets having been historically BEA or BOAC, still mostly operated in their traditional ways.
The question is whether you wish to portray the new BA 757 swan serenely gliding down the river, which BA will love (and I've nothing against swans but...)
- or the ungainly waddling to get it into the water, which BA may want to forget, but which would be a useful contribution to general aviation knowledge?
Hello Albert
Thanks for getting back to me again.
I'm not setting out to pretend everything was easy, as nothing ever is of course, especially when you are introducing a new type into service. I am just trying to provide as accurate a history of the type in BA service that is possible in about 2500 words! (not many I know!)
To be honest I don't think it would be worth doing or reading if it didn't involve the difficult bits as well. Every big project has its difficulties and I'm sure the 757 had its fair share.
Albert Driver
9th Oct 2010, 15:14
Ah! With a 2500 word limit it would be difficult to describe the revolutionary nature of the "electric jet" at the time of its introduction into service, let alone how various departments adapted to operate it.
Maybe settle for the swan after all .... :)
Difficult? Yes!
Impossible?...Not sure!
Perhaps better to at least outline the key aspects rather than just leave them out though??
Perhaps I can beg the editor for a little more space, but it is a magazine rather than a book.
Send me a PM if you wish.
Many thanks.