British Airways expands Cardiff base amid £7 billion transformation

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British Airways expands Cardiff base amid £7 billion transformation

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Airbus A380 | Airbus

By Sky Industry News

Nov 24, 2024

British Airways is set to expand its base at Cardiff Airport as part of a £7 billion transformation project. This investment will enhance the airline's engineering maintenance facilities, aiming to boost efficiency across its operations. The expansion is scheduled to begin in 2025 and finish by 2026.

The planned investment focuses on upgrading one of the existing maintenance bays at British Airways Maintenance Cardiff (BAMC). This upgrade will allow the facility to accommodate larger Airbus A350 widebody aircraft. Currently, the base serves Boeing 777 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft types. According to ch-aviation data, British Airways operates a total of 18 Airbus A350-1000 widebodies.

Andy Best, Chief Technical Officer at British Airways, commented on the expansion: "Our Welsh engineering base is an integral part of our maintenance operation, and this investment, as part of our wider maintenance strategy, will ensure that British Airways Engineering Wales continues to play a key role for many years to come. The expanded facility provides us with greater flexibility and control over our Heavy Maintenance activity on both the Boeing and Airbus long-haul fleets, ensuring more efficient planning and execution."

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Currently employing 480 staff members at Cardiff, the base's expansion could increase the number of employees working there. Upon completion, BAMC will grow from one fully flexible bay to two, enabling it to handle more complex maintenance tasks.

In March 2024, British Airways unveiled over 600 initiatives as part of its £7 billion transformation plan. Some initiatives have already been implemented while others are pending. These efforts include modernizing aircraft cabins and seating, redesigning lounges, enhancing first-class products, expanding route networks, investing in machine learning and AI technologies, and revamping digital user experiences with a new website and mobile app.

Sean Doyle, CEO of British Airways, spoke about the transformation project: "We're on a journey to a better BA for our people and for our customers underpinned by a transformation programme that will see us invest £7bn over the next two years to revolutionise our business."

He added: "We’re going to take delivery of new aircrafts introduce new cabins elevate our customer care focus on operational performance and address our environmental impact by reducing our emissions creating a culture of sustainability. We’re also heavily investing in developing a new ba.com website and app laser-focused on transforming our business fixing any pain points for our customers."