British Airways Never Compromises Safety

The March 5 editorial, “The Bottom Line at 30,000 Feet,” questions whether British Airways may have put cost-cutting before passenger safety. This is simply untrue. British Airways would never compromise the safety of our operation. First, a Boeing 747 is fully certified to fly on three engines, and the operation of BA268 on Feb. 20 did not compromise any safety regulations. The United Kingdom aviation safety regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, accepts this. Although the incidents are rare and infrequent, our pilots are trained to fly a Boeing 747 safely on three engines, and the aircraft manufacturer has designed the aircraft to fly normally in this situation.

Secondly, The Times writes that industry observers question if the pilot was pressured to make the flight to save money. Our pilots are trained professionals whose actions and decisions are based purely on safety. We would never ask or expect them to do otherwise.

Thirdly, the compensation we pay passengers for cancellations played no part in this decision. Indeed, compensation would not have been payable under the rules of the new European Union legislation if the flight had turned back to LAX.

The editorial also puts forth the assumption that in today’s tough financial environment, it’s hard to believe that passengers’ safety would not go unthreatened. British Airways has rigorous security measures in place to ensure that safety is not compromised.

Capt. Lloyd Cromwell Griffiths

Director of Flight Operations

British Airways, London