Leadership, lentil fritters and new London routes: what to know about British Airways this month

Inspired by The Earthshot Prize, served on board

British Airways is serving a fresh selection of vegetarian dishes on all flights to and from India throughout November, inspired by its partnership with The Earthshot Prize and this year’s awards night in Mumbai.

Founded by Prince William in 2021, The Earthshot Prize backs solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Each year, five environmental leaders are recognised for their work and supported to scale their impact.

A Global Alliance Member since 2024, British Airways has supported past Earthshot winners and finalists, including Boomitra, which restores soils and advances regenerative agriculture; LanzaJet, which develops alternative fuels; and Notpla, which provides seaweed alternatives to single-use plastics.

Learn more about The Earthshot Prize

Leadership without the boardroom jargon

What does great leadership really look like? A new vodcast series, This Is Leadership, gets into the honest, practical conversations behind the big ideas.

Sponsored by British Airways and hosted by business leaders Karen Blackett CBE and Katie Lloyd, the series brings together ten guests with very different perspectives on leadership. They include Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, Hollywood filmmaker Ava DuVernay and Lord Andrew Roe, who led the London Fire Brigade’s response to Grenfell and later served as its Commissioner.

You can watch This Is Leadership on British Airways’ in-flight entertainment and across all major streaming platforms.

A taste of Sri Lanka on the way to Colombo

British Airways is bringing the flavours of Sri Lanka on board to celebrate the return of three flights a week to Colombo for the winter season. From 23 October, Club World customers travelling on the new London Gatwick route can enjoy a limited-time menu created with Hoppers, the award-winning London restaurant known for its Sri Lankan and South Indian cooking.

The menu takes inspiration from Hoppers’ much-loved dishes and the food culture of the island. Start with lentil vadai, a fritter served with yoghurt, tamarind syrup and coriander chutney. For the main course, choose kalupol-spiced chicken with lemon rice and beetroot curry, or banana-leaf-wrapped pollichathu cod with coconut rice and spicy pineapple curry. Watalappam bread pudding, served with spice crumble and malt cream, brings a Sri Lankan twist to a British classic.

The collaboration is available in Club World on British Airways flights from London Gatwick to Colombo from 23 October to 30 December. 

Fly direct to Colombo

Tanzania calling: Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar join the map

Big safari energy or barefoot island days? From May 2027, British Airways will fly from London Gatwick to two new destinations in Tanzania: Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. Flights will operate three times a week, landing in Kilimanjaro before continuing to Zanzibar. The seasonal service runs from 29 May to 31 October, timed for the UK summer holidays and peak safari season.

Kilimanjaro is the gateway to Tanzania’s Northern Safari Circuit, with the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, Tarangire and Lake Manyara all within reach. It’s also the starting point for journeys up Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak. Then there’s Zanzibar: white-sand beaches, colourful coral reefs, spice plantations and the Unesco-listed streets of Stone Town.

The new routes are part of a wider expansion of British Airways’ summer 2027 long-haul network, including a 25 per cent capacity increase to Latin America. Changes include daily non-stop flights to Buenos Aires – with an onward service to Santiago, more seats to Rio de Janeiro and year-round flights to San José, Costa Rica. Cape Town and Las Vegas will also see additional flights.

London Gatwick flights to Barbados, launched this October, will continue through summer 2027, with onward services to Grenada, Guyana and Tobago. London Gatwick to St Lucia will continue as a direct service, four times a week.

And there’s more on the horizon: in addition to the flights from London Gatwick to Colombo, beginning this autumn, London Heathrow flights to Melbourne via Kuala Lumpur begin on 9 January. 

Helping to reduce plastic waste and poverty

British Airways is proud to partner with Plastic Bank and Linstol with the aim of further reducing plastic waste. To advance this goal, the airline is incorporating recycled Social Plastic® into its Club World, selected First and children’s headsets. Across the range, the headsets contain between 42% and 73% recycled plastic, with Social Plastic® incorporated at levels of 4.5% to 10%, depending on the product type. Social Plastic® is made from plastic waste sourced from coastal regions, which is hand-gathered by local communities and exchanged for money and social benefits, helping people to pave a path out of poverty while creating environmental, social and economic impact. To date, British Airways has incorporated 2,935.6 kg of Social Plastic® into its headsets, equivalent to more than 146,000 waste plastic bottles.

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A new perk for Club members

There’s a new reason to look forward to summer 2027. Tickets for American Express presents BST Hyde Park are now on sale, with an allocation reserved exclusively for members of The British Airways Club, bringing them closer to some of the UK's most sought-after live music events.

The tickets are the latest addition to BA Club Live, which launched earlier this year with access to British Airways Arc.

See what’s on and buy tickets