BA goes back in time to mark 80 Aussie years

BA goes back in time to mark 80 Aussie years

British Airways has gone retro to celebrate its 80th anniversary of flying down under.

The airline teamed up with Hollywood star Naomi Watts to recreate an iconic BA poster, with Watts donning a vintage swimsuit to reimagine the classic look, which was used many moons ago to promote flying down to Aussie shores.

Watts, despite not moving to Australia until age 14, has become an adopted Aussie actress, and having lived in Kent prior to migrating down under, Watts shares ties with both nations, making her top choice for the shoot.

“It has been great to go back in time with British Airways and recreate an iconic poster from such a glamorous era. I love the vintage style from the golden age of travel so it was really fun to bring this to life,” Watts said.

“Eighty years is an incredible landmark for British Airways, and with a personal connection to both countries it’s really special to take part in celebrating the history of travel between Australia and the UK.”

The first British Airways flight for paying customers from London to Australia took off on April 13, 1935, under the name of Imperial Airways – British Airways predecessor – in conjunction with Qantas Empire Airways.

The 12,754 mile trip departed London for Australia on a 12-day adventure via a host of major cities around the world including Baghdad, Delhi, Bangkok and Singapore.

British Airways Heritage Poster OriginalNaomi Watts recreates British Airways retro poster (c Jeff Vespa_Getty Images)

In those early days the journey began with a flight to Paris to connect to an overnight train to Brindisi, where passengers would resume their air journey as political considerations then prevented Imperial Airways flying over Italy.

The $376 one-way ticket, or $23,470 in today’s currency, took no less than 10 nights along a route that included hotels stays, trains and flights.

A decade later in 1945, British Airways began its first weekly service to Australia on what would later be dubbed ‘The Kangaroo Route’.

The airline now operates daily flights between London and Sydney, continuing to fly via Singapore just as the original Kangaroo route did.

British Airways Behind the scenes_Naomi Watts prepares to strike a surf pose as she helps British Airways celebrate 80 years of flying to Australia with a vintage photo shoot

British Airways’ executive chairman Keith Williams said the innovative spirit that saw the airline take British folk down under for the first time back in 1935 still flows through the company today.

“Flying customers that distance, across multiple continents to Australia had never been done before and was by no means an easy feat in the 1930s,” he said.

“It required a pioneering spirit and vision, something that remains a quality of British Airways to this day.”

“As the only European airline to still fly to the country, we are extremely proud to be celebrating 80 years of connecting our two great nations.”

And to ensure everyone can join in on the celebrations, British Airways is offering a discount of up to 10% across all four of its cabins on flights to London. Visit www.ba.com/celebrate to take advantage of the special airfares.

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