BA Suffers 2009 Business Superbrand Decline
The slide of British Airways from 8th to 36th in the 2009 Business Superbrands list has been blamed on the much criticised opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow. Last year, Heathrow’s Terminal 5 suffered a disastrous opening as baggage went missing, check-in staff failed to turn up and flights were cancelled.
Despite the drop in places, British Airways remains the second strongest brand in the travel and leisure industry behind Virgin Atlantic which finished 25th overall. New entrants from the world of travel include Qatar Airways, Swiss, and National.
Stephen Cheliotis, chief executive of The Centre for Brand Analysis, who compiled the survey, said:
“British Airways has had some high profile problems and certainly its fair share of negative publicity...nevertheless the strength of its brand – built up over many years – has meant that the flying public have given the airline the benefit of the doubt and continued to trust it, rating its brand highly.”
It is the first time the airline has fallen out of the Business Superbrands Top Ten list and will be particularly worrying for the airline considering their sizeable reliance on business customers. The Business Superbrands rankings are judged by a panel of experts as well as over 1,500 business professionals, who base their decision on quality, reliability and distinction.
