Ten Children from Around the World flown to BA headquarters for Kids' Council

British Airways recently marked its commitment to the customers of the future by hosting the inaugural meeting of the 'British Airways Kids' Council'. Ten children from around the world were flown to BA headquarters to discuss the BA brand and product offering.

In the first ever initiative of its kind to be implemented by an airline, the Kids' Council provides young people with the opportunity to genuinely influence the British Airways flying experience.

Jonathan Liu, 11, from Kowloon in Hong Kong is one of the 12 children in British Airways' inaugural Kids Council. Jonathan's winning entry asked for more entertainment options for youngsters; specifically recommending that some of the features found in British Airway's World Traveller Plus cabin be integrated into their economy class.

Children from Hong Kong, Uganda, Mexico, Nairobi and South Africa flew into Heathrow to join council members from the UK for the first meeting on Wednesday August 8, with Jonathan applying for a seat on the Kids' Council because he has "loved British Airways since [he] was 3" and has "ideas on what should be a comfortable flying experience for kids," according to his entry.

When asked what they would like to see more of onboard, technology was top of the agenda.

Suggestions included an interactive webcam in the cockpit and connections for MP3 players to download music and live broadcast of football matches.

Other suggestions included clowns and magic shows in the check-in queues; soft play areas on board and free chocolate for all children flying.

The interactive session gave them the chance to take part in a cabin crew role-play exercise and a Q&A session with a British Airways pilot.

Key questions included "what is the difference between flying a plane and driving a car?" and "have you ever flown with a giraffe onboard?".

This was followed by the opportunity to rate a selection of food and drinks with the airline's chefs and the chance to 'take-off' and 'land' in an aircraft simulator with the help of a pilot.

Molly Collett, aged 12 and from Fulham, said, "I thought the food task was really fun, it's great that BA is asking us what kind of food we like and it was good to try lots of different things."

Sonette Jacobs, aged 14 from Cape Town, South Africa was excited to become a member of the council. "I've made lots of friends today and we have all swapped email addresses" she said. "I'm pleased that BA is interested in what we think and will be changing things after our meeting."

Rodrigo Hernandez Ponce, aged 12 from Mexico, was determined to become a member of the Kids' Council after he read about it in the newspaper. His mother is a member of British Airways' international cabin crew and he loves flying. Rodrigo's entry summed up the theme of the council, "Kids are the future of tomorrow's world!". When asked why he should be a member of the council Rodrigo had written: "I always love to travel, I enjoy the in-flight entertainment and the interaction with the crew. They are like heroes to me"

Tiffany Hall, British Airways' head of marketing and distribution, said, "We set up the Kids' Council so that we could learn about the views of our young customers - what they like and what they feel needs changing. We are delighted with the success of the first meeting. The kids all seemed to enjoy themselves and we got some really interesting ideas and feedback from them."

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