If a British Airways plane is stuck on a Heathrow taxiway waiting for a clear stop, BA HQ will be fully aware. And we will work on a solution.
If some passengers are transiting through the hub to another flight and time is tight, BA will know this too. So will the flight crew. And those passengers will have already been a priority.
How do I know BA will know? Because I’m inside the airline’s modern Integrated Operations Control Center (IOC) at its Waterside headquarters, next to Heathrow, discovering how this impressive operational center tracks each of its aircraft around the world and springs into action in the first sign of hiccups.
And it is responsible for planning up to 820 daily flights to around 210 destinations (with up to 100 aircraft from a fleet of 260 in the air at any one time) and at Heathrow’s T5 terminal for allocating aircraft to stops.
This requires a lot of organization. But British Airways It has some nifty IT tools at its disposal and sharp-minded staff that thrive on tackling complexity.
MailOnline Travel’s Ted Thornhill takes a look inside BA’s integrated operations control center (above) at its Waterside head office, next to Heathrow.
The IOC is responsible for planning up to 820 flights daily to some 210 destinations, with up to 100 aircraft from a fleet of 260 in the air at any one time.
The IOC’s planning remit includes “load control”, ensuring that what is loaded on the aircraft is placed in the correct place in the cargo hold to maintain balance and performance on take-off. And that priority bags (including the luggage of travelers with connections) enter last so they can leave first.
The IOC also determines how fast the planes will fly, how high they will reach, and how they will get from A to B.
BA uses predictive tools that use historical data to help with flight plans, so the airline already has a pretty good idea before departure day of how much fuel will be needed and how many bags will appear.
This image then comes into sharp focus on the day, with the figures populating a “load sheet” that is sent to the pilots.
The plane’s performance systems calculate thrust for takeoff and pilots will be told how much fuel they need, although they have discretion to increase it.
This image shows a map of Heathrow displayed at the IOC. The plane icons will show the number of passengers transiting through the hub to another flight. Notice the plane in the middle which is yellow; This means that it has been delayed in reaching its base.
Given the number of BA flights operating from Heathrow (250 short-haul and 80 long-haul per day), a smooth day at this hub is a priority, as delays here can cause waves of disruption later on.
Chief operating officer Richard Anderson directs my gaze to a screen showing today’s on-time performance, with the needle for Heathrow at 89 per cent.
I was told it was at 90 percent when I arrived around 10:30 a.m., and the staff were rewarded with tuck shop snacks.
“We made sure we had a very good start from Heathrow,” says Richard. ‘We have a target for the “first wave”, which is that 90 per cent of planes that take off from Heathrow before 9.30am leave on time.
‘If you can get the first wave out in time, you have a good chance of getting it back in time. That’s why we put a lot of effort into the first wave.”
On every desk there are signs saying “every second counts”, and Richard emphasized that the IOC strongly encourages a “culture of punctuality”, which includes staff being aware of BA’s performance.
Where BA flies and what types of aircraft are used is decided through network planning in collaboration with the commercial team.
Then the IOC takes over.
10 DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE
Chief Operating Officer Richard Anderson says: “We made sure we got off to a very good start from Heathrow [above]. We have a target for the “first wave”, which is for 90 per cent of planes leaving Heathrow before 9.30am to leave on time.
The BA operation is fine-tuned from 10 days before departure to the day before departure by Ben Lang, Chief of Operational Readiness, and his team.
Their job is “tactical planning.”
Lang explains: “We decide which aircraft goes where, taking into account operational constraints: aircraft configuration, aircraft capacity, flight crew availability, operating environments, defects and where we can maximize seat availability.”
Essentially, it’s like a giant game of Tetris, with Lang showing me a computer tool that shows him whether certain aircraft deployments will fit into maintenance schedules and create breathing room for delays.
If an aircraft assignment pattern does not work, a red warning message appears.
Lang also reveals how British Airways can “flex its fleet” for the benefit of passengers.
For example, because it operates planes of various sizes – unlike some low-cost airlines – it can swap planes in response to demand.
Large aircraft could be freed up by using smaller planes for less booked flights, or a long-haul wide-body aircraft could be used to pick up a large group of stranded passengers on multiple short-haul flights.
Or the airline can assign aircraft with high-performance takeoff capabilities, such as the Airbus neos, to serve airports with short runways, such as Florence.
DEPARTURE DAY – BEWARE OF 3000 FT WINDS
British Airways can “flex its fleet” to benefit passengers, Ted learns at the IOC (above). For example, because it operates planes of various sizes (unlike some low-cost airlines), it can swap planes in response to demand.
Richard Treeves is Head of Integrated Operations Control and his team is tasked with delivering the schedule on departure day or “recovering the plan” if something goes wrong.
And they have a lot to deal with: strikes in air traffic control (which causes grimaces throughout the office), technical problems and the weather, to name just three.
I’m told that a common headache-causing threat is “3,000-foot winds.” They do not cause any disturbance on the ground, but cause flow restrictions at airports for security reasons.
Richard Anderson says: “It’s frustrating for the client because everything seems fine on the ground, as the sky may be clear and the trees aren’t even moving.”
The Treeves team monitors the weather, the news, social media (yes, when you tag BA in and shown. live.
BA uses predictive tools that use historical data to help with flight plans, so the airline already has a pretty good idea before departure day of how much fuel will be needed and how many bags will appear.
The IOC team communicates with its pilots via satellite phones and text messages, and with its cabin crew via Microsoft Teams, allowing BA to offer proactive customer service mid-flight. For example, the IOC center can rebook a reservation for a customer whose flight is delayed, inform the crew, and that message can be transmitted directly to the customer on the plane.
One of the planes is marked yellow, which apparently means it is experiencing a delay getting to its parking spot.
Some of the planes have numbers indicating how many passengers on board must take a connecting flight.
There is also a world map showing available flight corridors, with known areas of turbulence marked in green and prohibited areas marked in red.
The IOC team constantly communicates with its pilots via satellite phones and text messages, and with its cabin crew via Microsoft Teams, allowing BA to offer proactive customer service mid-flight.
For example, the IOC center can rebook a reservation for a customer whose flight is delayed, inform the crew, and that message can be transmitted directly to the customer on the plane.
Broken entertainment screen? Compensation for this can take place “on the spot”: delivered in flight from the IOC to customers via flight attendants.
The IOC nerve center can also help pilots obtain ATC clearance for takeoff and even monitor what is happening in the stands via CCTV.
I watch as an operator approaches the tail of a plane at Heathrow to check the registration number while assessing how long he will remain on the stand.
The idea of constant monitoring in many areas of life is unpleasant.
But when it comes to air travel, everything is extremely reassuring.
