As the summer holidays reach full swing, British Airways has released data revealing exactly what, and who is on one of the airline’s 850 flights a day.

A Boeing 747 operating from Heathrow to JFK is loaded with over 7,000 items - many of which have to be unloaded and re-loaded before each flight. Included in the inventory are 1,737 items of cutlery, 798 glasses, 101 full bottles and 388 quarter bottles of wine, 350 bags of pretzels, 78 toilet rolls, five first aid kits and 282 blankets, including the new Club World White Company day blanket, which has been introduced as part of British Airways’ £600 million ($774.1 million) investment in its long-haul business class.

The study also looked at how people fly and what for. In an average year, one in two (47 per cent) are solo travellers, while 27 per cent travel as a pair. Around 70 per cent are travelling for leisure, while 28 per cent are flying for business.

For those who’ve ever wondered what’s flying in the hold beneath them besides their suitcases, our sister company IAG Cargo can shed some light on this. So far in 2018, 26 per cent of cargo flying in the hold has been made up of priority goods such as fashion products, the latest smartphones, or tablets. While five per cent of the cargo was specialist cargo like live animals or high-value artwork, four per cent has been perishable produce such as raspberries from Kenya or lettuces from the US and three per cent of the cargo was temperature controlled pharmaceuticals and lifesaving vaccines. Some of the year’s most interesting shipments include beverages from Bordeaux to Kuala Lumpur, lettuce from Los Angeles to the UK and 1.5 tonnes of toys from London to Sydney.

Carolina Martinoli, British Airways' director of Brand and Customer Experience, said: “Many of our customers are curious about flying and want to know who or what else is on their aircraft, so we’re happy to give a glimpse into our operation. With more than 800 flights each day all over the world, it takes a lot of planning, from loading cargo to wine, toilet rolls, first aid kits, and our new White Company bedding. Behind the scenes, our teams work tirelessly year-round to make sure customers have a safe and enjoyable flight.”

British Airways has earmarked a £4.5 billion ($5.8 billion) investment over the next five years, focused on customers. The investment is also driving the installation of the best quality wi-fi and power in every seat, the fitting of 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors, and the delivery of 72 new aircraft. - TradeArabia News Service