Champagne flutes from BA first-class to fly off the shelf

BRITISH Airways is preparing to sell off champagne flutes and fine china, weeks after its owner revealed that its losses topped £5.4 billion in the year to September.

The airline is understood to be preparing to announce a sale of the tableware once used to serve first-class passengers next week.

Drinks trolleys and earlier designs of glassware could also be up for sale, as well as equipment from 747 jets, which the airline retired earlier this year.

The sale is in part being planned because BA will not be requiring so much tableware for its cabins in the near term, given that its fleet of planes is expected d to be reduced for some time, me, as Covid-19 weighs on demand emand for travel.

Many of the items s to be sold off are sitting in n warehouses.

Earlier this year, BA sold millions of pounds worth orth of art from its collection n in an effort to bolster its sc ash holdings.

Sotheby’s was brought ught in to value the airline’s e’s art collection, which boasts works by artists such uch as Damien Hirst.

The sale, which could take place before Christmas, is likely to be presented as an opportunity for customers to own part of British Airways history. A decision on whether the sale will go ahead is expected soon.

British Airways declined to comment.

The news comes as BA continues to be battered by the fallout from Covid-19, with the Government banning Britons from holidays abroad during the second national lockdown.

Since the virus hit there has been a severe downturn in travel and, like many in the sector, British Airways was forced to cut costs. It is estimated to have got rid of 10,000 jobs since the start of the year.

Figures released last month from owner I AG showed that it lost the equivalent of almost €1 million an hour over the nine months to the end of September, equal to €6.2 billion over the total period.

Luis Gallego, t he I AG chief executive, has said the results “demonstrate the negative impact of Covid-19 on our business, but they’re exacerbated by constantly changing government restrictions.

“This creates uncertainty for customers and makes it harder to plan our business effectively.”

BA has been reining in its operations across British airports, and has suspended all flights from Gatwick during the second lockdown.

In this period, it has been allowed to run flights to repatriate customers from overseas and move essential cargo.

Before lockdown, BA had already shifted most of its short-haul flights to Heathrow, a policy expected to continue until March.

The airline’ s Gatwick operations could ultimately be a smaller part of the business even after it emerges from the crisis, as part of a major recovery plan being drafted by BA executives.

The plans, which emerged last month, include boosting long-haul leisure flights to premium destinations such as Barbados and Barbuda to cope with dwindling demand for business travel.