BA's Boeing 777 Makeover - Inside British Airways - S01 E02 - Airplane Documentary

[Music] a British Airways flight takes off  somewhere around the globe every 90 seconds   we fly to more than 200 cities around the world  over 45 million passengers a year a very very   big operation once the world's favorite Airline  good morning recent years have seen ba facing   some turbulent times fresh allegations of dirty  tricks massive disruption is thought to have been   caused by a power surge at a when we fail of  course we get criticism the important thing is   to learn from those mistakes and quickly  competition in the skies has never been   tougher and the stakes have never been higher  competitors make us better ba has to provide a   better service but now in its centinary year the  company is setting off on a journey of its own   it's going to r a bit early earlier the better  to transform itself back into the worldclass   airline it once was Everything Has Changed apart  from our salt and pepper it's a tough world now   now in aviation so we need to move on as British  Airways begins its multi-billion pound makeover   our cameras have been allowed exclusive access  to all areas of the business from the factories   where the airline buys its state-of-the-art  Jets I just think airplanes are beautiful   NE can't fly until we' we've completed this  process to the engineers who keep them in the   air when you're working on a plane that weighs  300 tons there's going to be problems as we go   through if you can play an Xbox you can push out  a plane from trouble at the top I get pissed off   when people criticize ba if someone criticizes  ba they're criticizing me to the teams on the   ground one of the machines has broken down do  you know how to turnar this off I can't turn   it off and the people who keep the passengers  smiling if we don't deliver the airline doesn't deliver in this episode can the team in Cardiff  refurbish a Boeing trip 7 in just 30 days or will   a faulty WI window throw a spanner in the  works if we can't fix the wind screen today   then it could deflect the flight time it's  not something we want to happen first class   service gets a facelift but will the cabin  crew cope with all the changes Suddenly It's   like unlearning everything you've done and  relearning it again they try they're really   hard they're really stiff you try and open them  and a fond farewell to a flying machine just to   see the reaction from the public so many  people have bought tickets to be on this flight [Music] to keep their planes flying and passengers  safe all airlines are legally obliged to   maintain their aircraft and for Ba's 157  strong Long Haul boing Fleet that means a   regular trip to Britain's largest heavy aircraft  maintenance facility located next to Cardiff Airport back up boys if you liken it to your car  we basically carry out the ma major service on the   aircraft that British Airways flies in any given  year we can do about 80 aircraft if we're a really   busy year we can be clear in 800,000 man [Music]  hours the team here know these massive machines   inside and out every 6 years each plane in the  ba Fleet gets a supersized overhaul known as a   dcheck the whole cabin gets removed literally  every component gets in inspected on here you   take the seats off the carpets come up the  floorboards get lifted out the overhead bins   will get removed and we'll get sent away we  can take panels off we'll send them away for   painting we can fabricate metal that goes back  onto the aircraft engines will get removed we   will drop the gears down literally we inspect  every element of that aircraft but today the   facility is about to face one of the toughest  challenges in its 25 year history we're here at   BR sh's maintenance card today waiting for tri  7 aircraft to land Tim and his team have a 250   ton job on their hands they've got just 30 days  to completely transform the cabin of this Boeing   Tri 7 and this is the first time they've taken  on such a mammoth makeover will they finish the   job in time for the plane's next passenger  flight in just a few [Music] weeks [Music] all okay locked [Music] off the team are waiting  now to dock the aircraft safely against the side   make sure we don't cause any damage the airlines  maintenance B here in ciff was originally open   to service their 747 jumbo Fleet is that okay but  with the retirement of that plane already on the   horizon breakes on the engineers now have extra  capacity to refurbish other types of aircraft   the aircraft's now docked we've got the chocks  fitted ground power supplied we test the aircraft   thoroughly now and then we'll start the strip Tim  is the team leader on this massive project and   must oversee over 2 and 1 half thousand tasks  in order to complete the job on time all the   carpets all the floor coverings the toilet floor  coverings Etc all going to be changed all of the   the faces of the GLE and the toilets every bit  of the furniture like the wallpaper the tedler   is all going to be changed throughout the whole  caby look like a brand new cabin moving into the   club class zone all of these seats are being taken  off so by tomorrow morning they'll all be out from here this is World traveler all these seats  are coming off and new seats with new infl   entertainment C going on new carpets overhead  bins modified all of the lighting is going to   change conventional lighting is changed into LED  fully stripped we're looking at 3 days really to   be able to do it it's a new challenge for us um  it's a very big modification and the guys know   we got tight time constraints but that can't be  the sacrifice of any safety or any quality like   with any engineering things you know if things  are thrown at us we've got departments that can   assist us we've got technical supports we've  got plenty of people on this aircraft that are   very good at what they do so we're going to do  everything we can to ensure this doesn't go late   it's day one and the first task for the team  is to start removing all of the 300 seats on   board but when everyday cuns any delays are not  good news and in business class Tim has found a   problem the moment they're trying to release one  of the feet cuz the way the seat bolts into the   seat tracks in the floor it slides into tangs so  at the moment they've got to try and release that   from the tangs before we attach the Cradle  to try and lift it if you attach the cradle   and try and lift it it's got such a force on  that to be able to lift this up you'll just   put damage the seat track which then means we  get into a large compair so but with the club   seat finally removed from the floor the next job  is getting it off the plane on this side we'll   come back here we'll start again so this seems  like the perfect time to start stripping out the [Music] galley I think go first one of another  27 to go and that's just Club class the team   also have to take out over two 200 seats  from the economy cabins by the end of day   we hope to have the other zones also strapped  out completely we then start our modification   that's going to take us another two to three  weeks to do the next few weeks we'll see the   cabin stripped back to its Bare Bones and every  component tested with thousands of jobs still   to complete the clock is ticking but will an  unexpected delay throw Tim schedule into chaos   unfortunately that window heat system fails on  test which invol us Happ to change the window   coming up will the engineering team be able to  shed some light on a tricky problem I'm trying   to work out this slides in there how will the  airline Mark a moment in aviation history the   GLE have been packed with people um just  all trying to get things signed and it's   just been a fantastic atmosphere absolutely  amazing and is the new first class service   running into turbulence just use it Ma I think  we're out wine I have to wash wine [Music] glasses for those lucky enough to be able to  afford it flying first class with the airline was   once seen as a prestigious experience but a lack  of investment in its premium cabins has seen ba   left behind in the battle for luxury Travelers we  sometimes uh hear from our customers that uh the   experience today is not as it used to be that  uh things have changed too much that uh there   have been too many changes uh to to the travel  experience and I would accept that stand by take   back in what's considered to be the Golden Era of  flying a first class flight meant Silver Service   dining a drink from the onboard bar and in more  recent years relaxing on the world's first onboard flatbed but now ba have been outclassed by some  big new players with enough cash you can enjoy   a sh personal onboard Butler and for around £1  19,000 your very own penous in the sky so why   aren't ba offering a similar service on their  flights we don't believe in showers on board we   don't believe our customers are requesting that  particularly when you look at our Network and   where we fly to in the length of our flights we  do know that our customers are looking for privacy   storage space uh certain types of food we must be  there to respond to a demand for luxury services   so we're very much committed to do it luxury might  have different interpretations depending on the   culture so luxury for us is what luxury is for our  customers so our positioning is always understated   Elegance in the 2018 Sky tracks Awards the airline  failed to make the top 10 in the best first class   category but instead of shs and double beds on  board the air is determined to improve their   ranking by changing their first class service we  will have new Entertainment System new food and   drink new beding but really what brings that  to life is our people and the journey starts   here at the Global Learning Academy or GLA the  airlines training facility near Heathrow where   every member of crew begins their career being  cabin crew is is a lifestyle as much as as a   job you can be working all sorts of crazy hours  um you're away from your family when you want   to be with the most sometimes and it has its  moments of being very exciting up in the air   one day you could be working in our first cabin  the next day you could be on a short Hall flight   so you're always adapting to different customer  needs change and development manager Jonathan   Foster is at the GLA overseeing the introduction  of the new premium service with some existing crew   members they need to familiarize themselves with  everything from new equipment to serving afternoon   tea on board today we're in the first cabin  mockup which has the exact seats that you'll   see on board our aircraft um and that allows us  to take our crew through a realistic environment   I'm going to be introducing our trainers to  all the new equipment so we'll look at all the   different Crockery glasswar um so they can become  really familiar with it and of course attention   to detail is crucial happy now it wasn't in the  cental Square I know it's ridiculous sorry okay   afternoon Tino takes over two pages so there's  an introduction to the different choices the   customers have and then obviously all their choice  of tea and coffee and other drinks that we could   serve with as well so we just Tred to make it  a bit more friendly for the customer um so it's   simpler to read and a bit more information in  there for them as well great although first and   business class make up less than a quarter of the  seats on a plane they account for around half of   the revenue generated by each flight so keeping  these lucrative passengers happy is vital for   the airline it's really important that we do get  it right for our customers it's an expensive part   of the aircraft to fly in therefore they're  going to arrive on this aircraft with very   very high expectations but will these changes be  enough to cause a stir with the competition and   how will staff deliver the new style service  at 40,000 ft let's give it a go see how it works back in Cardiff Tim and his team are into  their second week of a major overhaul of this trip   7 aircraft the engineers are working against  the clock to completely refurbish the cabin   of the plane but although the seats have been  removed from inside the pressure is starting   to tell this input is 65,000 man hours 25,000  job cards when you're working on a plane that   weighs 300 tons at takeoff weight and it cost  250 million crit there is going to be problems   as we go through the team is hoping to complete  this giant task in just 30 days but with such a   comp complex modification they've come up against  some unexpected technical issues we've the new   club World Panton couple of technical issues with  that at the moment that's with the representatives   looking at fixing those problems although the team  are making good progress when you're carrying out   hundreds of tasks for the first time every job is  a learning curve what I'm fitting here is the new   LED lighting system now gives a nice brighter  fresher look to the to the toilets the whole   thing is set up on a uh on a plate that slides in  on two hinges and then you have to bolt it up into   the top of part of the toilet module um and then  you got like a load of drip Shields and obviously   keep a lot of the moisture at Bay if there is any  leak in with any of the water pipes here these uh   drip Shields they can be a little bit fiddly  to fit in but they do uh they do go in pretty well I'm trying to work out how this placey  slides in [Music] there but the thing is you   got you got a lot of wire in here as well so you  can't just go shoving it straight in thinking   that it's going to slide in you got to just you  got to work around it you'd have to just make   sure you don't Nick any of the wires while you  while you put it in as well and this just slides   in over two clips and over the top and should  just butt in place and then what we'll do then   afterwards we put bit bead of sealant around the  outside side that should be good good to go when   the team plan any refurb they receive a set of  technical drawings from the manufacturer that   gives them an estimate of the time each job should  take when it's the first installed stuff doesn't   match between the plane and the drawing and it's  ironing that out so the next time the aircraft   comes in the drawings are correct the paperwork  is correct the man hour is on the task it might   give you 6 hours to fit these overhead bins in  fact we take find it takes 10 hours if we know   it's a 10hour task we can plan for fitting 20  of them we know how long it's going to take so   it's ironing all those problems out yeah all  good no problems oh we'll find something don't worry so with the team slipping behind shedule it  looks like they may need some extra time there's   a contingency which you build into the plan to  enable you to slip because of technical issues   materials issues or anything else the aircraft  might throw up at us we're going to need to use   some of that contingency at the moment but  that can change we might be able to pull it   back by working together with the avionic teams  with our planning with our technical support if   the aircraft is late that's a really bad thing  the aircraft isn't safe that's not that can't   happen as the team Works flat out to make  up some time their next job is to refurb   the surfaces of the cabin that the passengers  will see we're changing the the surface finish   the The tedl Sur finish on it so at the moment  we're removing the old glue the material we're   putting on is hundreds and hundreds of pounds of  sheet so we have to make sure it goes on it goes   on correctly but the the guys are good at what  they do so they'll they'll get it right you rich no it's preparation it's like when you watch  people build houses houses got really quickly   it's the foundations that you need to put in  first and that's what the guys have done here   and then it's just about them smashing the  seats in and get them all fitted while Tim   and the team concentrate on the cabbon a few  miles away in the aircraft interior's building   all the safety kit fitted to the aircraft is  being tested to make sure it's working [Music] correctly this is a safety element built into  the aircraft that nobody gets to see a plane   undergoing maintenance or a refurb is the only  time that most of the safety equipment will ever   see the light of day and the team inspect around  1,00 emergency slides every year the general   inflation time of a tri 7 slide is anywhere  between 3.5 to 4.9 seconds to repack it and send   it back out the service you're probably looking  between 12 and 15 hours safety is engineering's   first priority it's the airline's first priority  and ultimately our passenger wants to get on that   aircraft knowing that they are going to be wey  so what we do here is vital with the slides all   tested and signed off they can be repacked before  being delivered back to Tim and his Triple 7 for   refitting as the gys in the trip 7 are removed  as part of the makeover it's a chance for the   avionics team to test another vital part  of the aircraft's kit the first thing you   want to do when you have a flight anywhere you  want to relax you have nice cup of tea if that   wasn't there on on that aircraft you think well  I'll go with someone else and that's what we're   doing we're constantly upgrading the technology  to bring us those um things the customers want   the oldest type of unit we have and it's from  a 747 we've working our way up and as you can   see the progression of technology is going up  and up and up all the way up to microprocessor   control espressor machines the airlines Tri  7 aircraft are fitted with up to 12 beverage   makers to help Brew the 25 million Cups of Tea  served in the sky every year before they can be   fitted back onto the plan the beverage makers  are all tested to make sure that they draw the   SE same amount of power and they all boil at  exactly the same temperature it is a cat at the   end of the day but it is also a while the class  is a vital item the aircraft will not fly unless   you got a full Galley of Beverage makers that  because it's just as important for a passenger   to make sure they got a cup of tea than they  have to make sure that the endc carriage is [Music] working back at the Triple 7 and 3 and  1/2 weeks after they started their refurb the team   have finally got to the point where they can be  begin to install the first world traveler seats in   the economy section of the aircraft morning guys  you've got the drawings ready we can get those out   and we'll start fitting them all right thanks very  much guys 332 new seats have to be fitted onto the   plane 32 in club 48 in World traveler plus and  252 in World traveler and the two Engineers on   board task with starting the job off our local  Lads Andy and Josh quite a mixture of and a   variety of people who work alongside uh more are  brilliant but you always get the other one or two   wherever you work Josh is it true that you're the  tightest bling fanty at the moment we're doing   this modification so it's a little bit different  to the heavy maintenance that we normally do um   but it definitely is is new and exciting first  thing we're looking for is to make sure we get   the right place as well as being comfortable  the seats must hold still in heavy turbulence   so it's vital that they're secured firmly to the  floor these holes are 1 in apart so we need to   go three holes forward metal tracks with holes  are fitted onto the floor of the cabin which the   seats will be clipped into so we're going to line  our front feet up with them and SL out seat into place it's uh basically a circular foot  that sits in the track and then it slides   forward about half an inch and then that's  where the the locking mechanism can then   sit into the track and and lock the seat into  the seat track itself come 3 in forward right   all together it's a back cying yeah this  one's jammed down there we go y yeah that's him what up job done and with four seats in  it's just another 328 to go the team will   have to work quickly to hit their deadline  it went pretty all right actually yeah not   too bad I mean some some seats if there's  something stuck in the track yeah usually   is a bit of a pain but that one went in pretty  pretty uh sharpish hopefully the rest of them   will go exactly the same hopefully yeah you  guys did really well so it's nice to see it   going in it's nice to bring that first one  on lock it into place and then look over   the next few hours building the rest going  through once we finish this Zone though we   still got another two zones to do so we got  to ramp it up we got to get these seats on now coming up problems in first class as  the crew get to grips with the new service   do that again it's really hard they they  really hard they're really stiff and will   an unexpected problem threaten Tim's  plan to deliver his plane on time we   got a flight test in 2 days time we got a  lot of things to check before the aircraft   takes off um and we certainly hope that we  won't find anything like we playing [Music] today back at he and it's the start of another  week at the Global Learning [Music] Academy today   a group of cabon crew are Midway through their  training course which will prepare them for the   new premium service that is about to take off they  all have have at least a Year's experience working   on board but the expected standards at the front  of the plane are very different from what they've   been used to we will be teaching them obviously  everything about their premium language about   the customer profile we introduce them for the  first time uh to the products we have on board   the first stage for the crew is to familiarize  themselves with the club World Service and job   number one is to talk through the menu in a galley  environment we would have everything displayed in   front of you so as a start if you open your  menus on the lunch section you will see that   the first starter is our prawn cocktail baby jam  and merry rose sauce so that's the option number   one the soup today is a salaria cream soup like  this one over here it's not going to be served   like this for our customers as you might imagine  it will be S with the Tres briefed on the details   of the menu they can now put what they've learned  into practice so to continue your journey on your   Club World development uh we are going to do  the status now so one of our crew members will   be serving our lovely customer Miss Smith here  is the star that you ordered CR cocktail with   little gem lettuce and Mari rose sauce and your  still water can I get you anything else at all no   that's all thank you fantastic enjoy your meal  once cab and crew have successfully completed   the club World course they can move on to first  class training so what do you think dress her by   name yes exactly address the customer by your  name wines are something a lot of crew are not   familiar with you know what wine prepositions we  have on board we have a lovely C s and this one   is from Chile the starters the main courses  anything really our customer profile will be   judged on the day it is a bit intimidating and  it can be tough for a few people because not   everyone is used to a premium environment being C  crew you've got to be empathetic you've got to be   understanding the customers needs you've got to  be able to step into their shoes and know know   what they're experiencing and you've always got  to be professional next on the agenda Jonathan is   introducing the staff to the new style afternoon  tea that is to be served in first class just be   uh looking out for how the table set up it's  picture perfect for the customers oh lovely   very nice Mr Johnson could I tempt you with a  warmed plain or fruit scone to accompany your   jam and cream um could I have a fruit scone  please but as they're finding out it's not   always a piece of cake can we do that again it's  really hard no sorry let me show you you can use   them to scoop underneath um but if not you use it  just slightly wider all to hold and release quite   easily Jonathan needs to make sure the crew  provide impeccable standards as the new first   class service will depend on how the staff deliver  it no try they're really hard they're really stiff   do you try and open them this is supposed to  make life easier for you guys on board This Crew thank you very much you're welcome  first time with everything well done well done please tucking it enjoy Lane that the best  bit so while the training day has been a success   in the ground how will the crew COPE in the air  Jonathan has arranged a special test flight and   with ba standards manager CLA rose on board  he's hoping for a smooth Journey it's a really   competitive market so it's really important the  you know today goes well but are Jonathan's plans   about to hit a spot of turbulence just use it  that cuz I think we're out have to wash wine glasses back in Cardiff the team have a full house with  five plans all in for sheduled maintenance the   engineers work to a tight deadline as  a grinded plane makes no money for the   airline we know that our customers are  absolutely dependent on what we do we   we've got time skills to work to we know  that we've got to deliver an aircraft at   a certain time if we don't do that if we don't  keep our promises then essentially that has a   knock on effect to our customers because  our customers could be delayed today Ken   York and the team were running a test on  one of the most vital parts of the tri 7 aircraft with a list price of around $30 million  each these giant engines can push a fully laden   trip 7 to a maximum takeoff speed of 215 M an  hour the way to the engine is around 8 and 1   half 10 so that's probably around five family  Saloon cars worth of weight hanging from the   wing although the engine will be running today  it will be powered by compressed air and not jet   fuel but the test still gives the team a chance  to spot any potentially catastrophic defects   so part of the dry motoring that we do with the  engine is just ensuring that we have engine oil   pressure we're also looking for any potential oil  leaks from uh when we've done fil changes so we   looking at the hydraulic system we're looking  at leaks in the pneumatic system a bit later   we'll get fuel down on the engine while we're  motoring just to make sure that we've got fuel   pressure and we've got no fuel if we do have an  issue if we do have a leak then we identify that   straight away we shut the engine down with safety  gear in place and the area secure the test can [Music] begin they're highly trained  professionals they know what they're   doing um and typically this test will  be done in a very short period of time [Music] and in just a matter of minutes the inspection is  complete the engineer just finished doing the test   now no issues identified at all we've primed  the fuel systems we've checked for hydraulic   leaks no hydraulic leaks uh with the filters no  pneumatic leaks are under the pneumatic decks so   next phase now is to close the engine up before  we actually push the aircraft outside but on the   other side side of the hanger it's not good news  for Tim's team who are at a critical stage of   their refurb delivery is looming and they've hit  a problem unfortunately that window heat system   fails which involved us happen to change the  window try that way it's not something we want   to happen it's certain a challenge for [Music]  them he Terminal 5 is the largest freestanding   structure in the UK in 2019 it was voted the best  airport terminal in the world today there's a   special test flight departing to New York's JFK  Airport New York is a very special destination   very important market for us the largest longhall  market in the world the largest Lal market for us   the journey between London and New York is the  world's most valuable route with the airlines   12 flights a day earning the company over  a billion dollar annually and their play in   spending 42,000 r in the air every year as they  cross the Atlantic it's especially popular with   lucrative business passengers who are happy to  spend serious money to sit in luxury cabins which   makes this flight all the more important today  change in development manager Jonathan Foster   will test the brand new first class service  on fairp paying customers for the first time   any customers that flown British Airways in first  before they will see everything has changed apart   from our salt and pepper um but every piece  of equipment is new so everything is now full   size in the past historically Airline catering  equipment has been slightly smaller it's all   been designed to fit into the small spaces  that GLE are so our challenge has been how   can we put fulls size dinner service on board  within the space that we have and we've done that also stepping on board today is service  proposition and standards manager CLA Rose   whose job it is to evaluate the team and  feedback to head office in London from a   customer perspective I'm going to be looking  at the timings of the service understanding   how quickly the service is delivered I'm also  going to be looking at the customer reactions   to new products from a crew perspective um how  easy it is for the crew to deliver the service   I think the hardest bck for the crew will be they  won't be familiar with all of the products and the   new catering and the new equipment so I think  sometimes it's around locating things in the   galley um being able to deliver in quite a timely  fashion I think that can often be the challenge   please make yourselves comfortable pleas you keep  the a clear for all remaining customers support   thank you this flight will be a real test for the  company because when the passengers are paying up   to £5,000 for a seat they expect the very best  so for the crew on board the stakes are Skyhigh   it's an expensive part of the aircraft to fly in  therefore we need to deliver to their levels of   expectations as they take off the team are under  scrutiny straight away in first class passengers   can order food at any time throughout the flight  so the heat is on and less than an hour into the   journey comes the first test for the garnish into  the bottle of the bowl soup Into The Jug and this   be presented to the customer out of the table  that's just a case of taking the soup out and   pouring at a slight little swirl motion okay the  Crockery has been designed so that the bowl holds   the exact amount of soup that's in the pouring jug  the soup must be poured in front of the customer   so let's hope they don't hit a spot of turbulence  we've changed a few elements of the service and   trying to bring the theater back into the cabin  and I think crew that have maybe worked in the   first cabin for a long time have become very used  to the service we've had uh so anything we changed   on board Suddenly It's like unlearning everything  you've done and relearning it again but as more   passengers order food and drink during the flight  the crew discover a problem a lot out there I know   but it's this is one of the things it's good  to know if we're going to run out we're going   to have to look for space to load more on board  just us it that cuz I think we're out wine have   to wash wine glasses thankfully Jonathan is not  afraid of a bit of onboard washing up well that's   clean that's there if you need it if you want  to with dinner served the crew prepare their new   signature afternoon tea looking on CLA is making  sure the finest standards are being met there's   no room for error and the smallest detail can make  a big difference lots of work goes on behind the   scenes to get to this point so we've done lots of  work in meeting rooms and then we go across to a   c Mo up on the ground and we work out where to put  different items on the table was the cup furthest   away wasn't it we wanted to see how the crew would  deliver and where they would place of different   items so I was just checking with my camera  just to make sure that we had the items plac correctly after 8 hours the flight finally arrives  in New York time to find out if the team delivered   that five-star service that CLA was hoping for  the crew were thrown into it into the dpen there's   little things that we can work on it's more around  that finesse so making sure we've got consistent   table layups I think the customers do notice the  detail and if it's done well hopefully it should   look very effort there no big changes I think  it's just sort of those small little details that   we need to focus on with CLA happy with the team  how does Jonathan think they performed the things   I'll take away from here is just maybe from a crew  delivery perspective we just managed to serve all   the wine we needed so we're going to have to look  at loading some more of those on board the crew   I thought did really well today they really just  threw themselves into it so I was really proud of   how they dealt with it and they just were able to  deliver a seamless service to the [Music] customer   coming up the airline prepares to say goodbye to  a faithful flying machine this has got character   it's different it's quirky and it's just like  an old friend that's going and delivery day is   looming for the engineers in Cardiff will  their plan be ready for takeoff we can't   fix the windscreen today then it could deflect  the flight time that's not something we want to [Music] happen back in Cardiff and Tim and  the team were up against the clock as they   are just hours away from completing a cabin  Refresh on this Tri 7 aircraft they've been   working on the plane for 4 weeks but now  the airline want it back in service and   earning money so the pressure is on let's  get that thing fixed there and then we'll   speak and then speak with John that's  very that's just that's the attention to detail although the cabin has been transformed  there's still plenty to do before Tim can hand   the plane over for its test flight in the  morning we're coming to the final part now   so now is putting ceiling panels up putting  the curtains in finishing any problems with   the carpets testing the systems so it's a  busy time um last few two jobs we've got   about 20 people working on the aircraft  today the pressure's on they're working   the aircraft 24 hours a day to make sure that we  satisfy delivery of the aircraft for its flight test but just as the team think it's job done  there's a problem with a cockpit window that   could jeopardize their delivery deadline we  needed to do a test on the Window heat system   the window is heated for antifogging and impact  resistance so by warming the window up it makes   it more flexible unfortunately that window heat  system failed on test which involved us having   to change the window just putting the window  lining back on after we stripped it down uh   to replace this number two window it was uh  delaminated um and Ming up you know there's   a lot of hard work riding on what the guys  needed to achieve today if we couldn't fix   the windscreen today then it could deflect  the flight time that's not something we want   to happen yeah we about to replace this and  we're just putting everything back together [Music] now yeah job done let's go picked it  up on this picked it up in plenty of time and   um change the window time to move on next job  with the cockpit window finally fitted there's   just time for a lick of pain and a spring clean  and this giant makeover is complete we've got a   new business class with a new infly entertainment  Panasonic system new LED lighting new Furnishings   new carpets a complete color change we've gone to  a much darker finish throughout the cabin which is   then accentuated out by all the the mood lighting  that we've got throughout the cabin so the colors   can change throughout the cabin depending on the  the time of the day morning afternoon evening look   at it it's modern and it looks like a brand new  aircraft this touched IR in cter 42 days ago and   it's been transformed with an all new interior  the team were hoping to get it done in 30 days   but it did slip into extra time worked on lots  of different aircraft in my 25 years in ba um and   I've never installed such a complex modification  we're within the allocated time as we've said for   the input we always have a contingency that  is built in because of the complexity of the   modification we've needed to use some of that  contingency however we will be delivering the   aircraft on time um as per the the original plan  Tim can now hand over the plane to complete its   final engine tests before it heads out on a 5H  hour test flight tomorrow morning I'm only one   part of a a great team um but we've worked  with that team throughout has been brilliant   I haven't done this they've done this hope you  guys are smiling we're all scheduling a night   out to celebrate the brilliant work that the guys  have done that'll be a good night out [Applause] it's just after 1000 p.m. at Heath Terminal 5  as cleaners begin to outnumber the passengers   a crowd has gathered at stand a18 to  witness a truly momentous occasion in Ba's history flight 663 arriving from Cypress  marks the end of an era the time has come   for the airline to bid farewell to the last  Boeing s 767 in its Fleet the dear old 767s   had her time but she has been such a work  course for us it's an airplane that started   its career with British Airways flying from  London to Paris which is a 30-minute flight   and then the aircraft expanded its destinations  to the point we were flying to Los Angeles from Manchester the 767 was Boeing's first widebody  twin engine plane and the airlines Fleet have   made more than 4 400,000 flights between them  the analogy I like to use the Boeing 767 is   just an amazingly capable estate car it's like a  car where you can fill every single seat and yet   there's still a huge boot out the back where  you can fit the sofa in as well it's a just a   fantastic versatile aircraft carry people safely  all over the world to Far Corners um and it's just   been brilliant this plan alone registration  Zulu Hotel Alpha has around 23,000 flights to   its name and has clocked up enough air miles to  fly to the moon andb 50 times it was always an   absolute pleasure to get on to this because  it's so light the controls it's so accurate   so stable it's lovely to fly absolutely lovely  tonight's final voyage was piloted by Captain   Julie Levy and along for the ride was a special  guest fellow pilot and husband Mark Levy because   this flight also marked Julie's final touchdown  as she bids farewell to the airline it has been   my office for a lot of those years and of course  to be able to combine this airplane's last flight   with my last flight is just I couldn't have  asked for anything better I spent a lot of   time in here and it's it's like a pair of  old slippers people describe often describe   airplanes that they've been flying for a long  time as such and I just feel so comfortable in here so many people have bought tickets to be  on this flight and for Julie to actually fly   the airplane for the aircraft to retire and Julie  to retire on the same day is a perfect way to end   a long career so I had to be on the flight and  our kids had to be on the flight it's so nice   to hear that everyone just loves our mom cuz we  know but it's so nice to see that everyone else   like knows it kind I think it was very emotional  I think for everyone and particularly for us   because I mean obviously our whole lives both  of our parents have been flying as places and   now our mom's going to finish and it's all very  sad really and we know how much this means to her   so yeah I don't want to take the Shine off the  airplane the airplane is the star of the show   really the 767 has has served British Airways  well for 26 years and I'm just very lucky to be   part of that but after so many years in service  the Aging 767 has witnessed the world of Aviation   change dramatically the trusty old Workhorse just  can't keep up with its leaner Greener rivals in   the morning this aircraft will be flown to Wales  where it will be decommissioned and sold on it's   unlikely ever to fly again the modern aircraft are  lighter more f efficient um it's a tough world now   in aviation commercially so we need to move on we  need more modern airplanes we need to be kinder   to the uh environment um and I think it's just  time for us to make Make Way for more modern [Music] airplanes next time there's issues  in overnight engineering as the team have   only ours to get a plan back into service the  engine has failed it runs so it's going to have   to come back in in the hanger it's still  uh still got an oil leak until we've got   into that engine and having a look Round  We it could be anything aircraft dispatch   manager San faces a race against the clock  just under an hour out so it'll be all go   from here on in I think but will technical  problems throw her plans into chaos one of   the machines that the loading team used has  broken down and it's a big day for Sarah as   she's in charge of moving a 50ton jet for the  very first time practice training Perfection [Music] perfection

Channel: Banijay Documentaries

Views: 76,375

Keywords: Air Travel, Aircraft Maintenance, Airline Industry, Airlines, Airplane Documentary, Aviation, Banijay, Banijay Documentaries, Behind the Scenes, British Airways, Flight Operations, Pilots, Travel Documentaries, boeing 777, cabin crew training, test flight to new york

Id: PY0_cV6eVf8

Length: 44min 5sec (2645 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 23 2023