The monumental flight took place during Black History Month (U.S), which honours the achievements and struggles of African Americans throughout U.S history. BeME colleague network group organised the flight, to celebrate the contribution that black colleagues make to the success of the airline. British Airways also told Business Insider that the flight aimed to highlight the importance of representation and role models to drive greater diversity. As well as the on-board flight team, every person involved with the flight, from the ground crew, gate team, and dispatcher, were black. It is believed that the flight will showcase the range of jobs available to people from diverse backgrounds across the aviation industry.
A British Airways employee tweeted about the flight, expressing they were “so grateful to have been apart of this”, calling the flight “a very monumental day in BA’s history”. Passengers on-board the flight also tweeted, with one stating they were “honoured to be a passenger…it was celebrated by all”. Another claimed they “clapped” when the pilot announced the all-black crew.
Despite this being the first time in British Airways’ history that they have had an all-black crew, other airlines have operated all-black crews. American Airlines flight AA 372 flew from Dallas-Fort Worth to Phoenix, with a crew of 36 black women. This was to celebrate Bessie Coleman, who was the first black woman to earn a pilot’s license in 1921. The flight took place in August 2022, to honour the 100th anniversary of Coleman performing the first public flight by an African American woman.
