What you need to know

  • British Airways is going to provide each of its 15,000 cabin crew members with an iPhone XR.
  • It is part of a £6.5 billion investment aimed at improving customer experience.
  • Some crew members are already touting the benefits of having the iPhone XR at their disposal.

British Airways announced a new initiative to improve customer service that will involve providing every one of its cabin crew members with an iPhone XR.

Here's what British Airways said in a statement announcing the news:

As part of British Airways' £6.5bn investment for customers, the airline has announced that all of its 15,000 cabin crew will be issued with iPhone XRs to help them offer a more personalised service to the more than 45 million customers that travel with the airline every year. The investment for all cabin crew members follows a successful trial of iPads for senior cabin crew on board every flight.

These iPhones will come pre-loaded with some apps that are meant to provide additional assistance to customers. Some members have already received the new phone and are beginning to tout the benefits.

"Recently, when a customer realised that he had forgotten to order a special meal, he was really impressed when I quickly took out the phone, logged onto ba.com and ordered a meal for his return journey - all within a matter of minutes in the middle of the flight.

"It felt so rewarding to be able to immediately resolve the situation for the customer. All my crew reference guides are also loaded onto the phone, so everything I need is in my pocket throughout each flight; it really has made a huge difference already."

Most of the interactions travelers have with airlines now is done online. Should they stumble upon issues on a British Airways flight, a member will now have an iPhone XR at their disposal to help them out. No word yet on which colors British Airways went with.