British Airways Waterside
Posted: 02 Oct 2014, 19:05Today I visited the headquarters of British Airways to visit their museum which is located in the speedbird centre. I have memories of visiting the Queens building at Heathrow as a child to watch all the different planes, lots of Tridents, Tristars, VC10s and if lucky the Concorde. Found out about this museum via a trip report on another website.
You need to prebook your visit, which I did with a friendly member of staff called Jim (they may all be volunteers?). You can either drive directly to Waterside and park or you can get a staff bus from Terminal 5, either option needs to be arranged beforehand so that security can be told and I assume a pass for the bus. I chose to drive there and found it very easy to find as it is just off the A4 west of the Airport.
The Waterside complex is impressive with light and airy feel to it, with lots of people going about their business, there are cafes and shops on site as well.
The museum is small but you are shown around by a member of staff/volunteer (in our case it was Adrian) who has a lot of knowledge of the history of Aviation in the UK. I thought I knew a lot but he was able to give some interesting facts and insights on how BA came to be. It would seem that back in the day that flying was a dangerous activity which attracted arrogant mavericks. The new fact I found most interesting was about the Boy on each flight (yes Boy as a Man would take up to much space!) whose job was to serve tea during the flight from a small corner at the back of the plane!
There was a large number of model aircraft on display, right from the early ex first world war planes, all the way to the Dreamliner. We had 2 toddlers with us who did their best to get these models and general misbehaved, so I would recommend this type of visit for older children. To his credit Adrian was friendly and kept his patience throughout.
There is an opportunity to buy a book and some postcards at the end, in truth I was hoping to bag one of those BA bags but none were for sale. They also have mock up of their latest seats, from World Traveller to New First. As I normally fly VA long haul this was my first chance to try them out. To be honest I was not that impressed with the Club seat but did like the New First set up. Would put Upper Class in-between these 2 products. We spent nearly 2 hours on site which was a lot longer than expected.
Chose not to have lunch on site as the Little Ones were starting to play up! It felt quiet strange to be walking with them through BA's headquarters as there was not another kid in sight!
Would recommend for a visit especially if you are near Heathrow or have a long layover.
You need to prebook your visit, which I did with a friendly member of staff called Jim (they may all be volunteers?). You can either drive directly to Waterside and park or you can get a staff bus from Terminal 5, either option needs to be arranged beforehand so that security can be told and I assume a pass for the bus. I chose to drive there and found it very easy to find as it is just off the A4 west of the Airport.
The Waterside complex is impressive with light and airy feel to it, with lots of people going about their business, there are cafes and shops on site as well.
The museum is small but you are shown around by a member of staff/volunteer (in our case it was Adrian) who has a lot of knowledge of the history of Aviation in the UK. I thought I knew a lot but he was able to give some interesting facts and insights on how BA came to be. It would seem that back in the day that flying was a dangerous activity which attracted arrogant mavericks. The new fact I found most interesting was about the Boy on each flight (yes Boy as a Man would take up to much space!) whose job was to serve tea during the flight from a small corner at the back of the plane!
There was a large number of model aircraft on display, right from the early ex first world war planes, all the way to the Dreamliner. We had 2 toddlers with us who did their best to get these models and general misbehaved, so I would recommend this type of visit for older children. To his credit Adrian was friendly and kept his patience throughout.
There is an opportunity to buy a book and some postcards at the end, in truth I was hoping to bag one of those BA bags but none were for sale. They also have mock up of their latest seats, from World Traveller to New First. As I normally fly VA long haul this was my first chance to try them out. To be honest I was not that impressed with the Club seat but did like the New First set up. Would put Upper Class in-between these 2 products. We spent nearly 2 hours on site which was a lot longer than expected.
Chose not to have lunch on site as the Little Ones were starting to play up! It felt quiet strange to be walking with them through BA's headquarters as there was not another kid in sight!
Would recommend for a visit especially if you are near Heathrow or have a long layover.