In January 2011 BA merged with Iberia, creating the International Airlines Group (IAG), a holding company registered in Madrid, Spain.

The chairman of BOAC, Miles Thomas, was in favour of a merger as a potential solution to this disagreement and had backing for the idea from the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, Rab Butler.

[11] Following two years of fierce competition with British Caledonian, the second-largest airline in the United Kingdom at the time, the Government changed its aviation policy in 1976 so that the two carriers would no longer compete on long-haul routes.

As a result of the case BA management apologised "unreservedly", and the company agreed to pay £110,000 in damages to Virgin, £500,000 to Branson personally and £3 million legal costs.

[27] BA unveiled its new subsidiary OpenSkies in January 2008, taking advantage of the liberalisation of transatlantic traffic rights between Europe and the United States.

[29] The agreement was confirmed in April 2010,[30] and in July the European Commission and U.S. Department of Transportation permitted the merger and began to co-ordinate transatlantic routes with American Airlines.

[35] As a part of the merger, British Airways ceased trading independently on the London Stock Exchange after 23 years as a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

[36] In September 2010 Willie Walsh, now CEO of IAG, announced that the group was considering acquiring other airlines and had drawn up a shortlist of twelve possible acquisitions.

When asked by reporters for more information on the ongoing problems, British Airways stated "The root cause was a power supply issue which our affected our IT systems - we continue to investigate this" and declined to comment further.

[50] In 2019, as part of the celebrations of a centenary of airline operations in the United Kingdom, British Airways announced that four aircraft would receive retro liveries.

[51] On 28 April 2020, the company set out plans to make up to 12,000 staff redundant because of the global collapse of air traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic[52] and that it may not reopen its operations at Gatwick airport.

The airline stated that its decision to bring forward the date was in part due to the downturn in air travel following the COVID-19 pandemic and to focus on incorporating more modern and fuel-efficient aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787.

[77][78] British Airways holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.

[80] Waterside was completed in June 1998 to replace British Airways' previous head office, Speedbird House,[81][82] located in Technical Block C on the grounds of Heathrow.

[112] In 2005, wildcat action was taken by union members over a decision by Gate Gourmet not to renew the contracts of 670 workers and replace them with agency staff; it is estimated that the strike cost British Airways £30 million and caused disruption to 100,000 passengers.

[113] In October 2006, BA became involved in a civil rights dispute when a Christian employee was forbidden to wear a necklace bearing the cross, a religious symbol.

[120] Industrial action re-emerged in 2017, this time by BA's Mixed Fleet flight attendants, whom were employed on much less favorable pay and terms and conditions compared to previous cabin staff who joined prior to 2010.

[157] In October 2022, BA launched a brand new ad campaign, titled "A British Original" produced by London-based Uncommon Creative Studio.

[158][159][160] British Airways purchased the internet domain ba.com in 2002 from previous owner Bell Atlantic,[161] 'BA' being the company's initialism and its IATA Airline code.

[167] Beginning on 1 September 2017 the airline introduced the new Comic Relief live action safety video hosted by Chabuddy G, with appearances by British celebrities Gillian Anderson,[168] Rowan Atkinson,[169] Jim Broadbent, Rob Brydon, Warwick Davis, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ian McKellen, Thandie Newton, and Gordon Ramsay.

[168] A "sequel" video, also hosted by Chabuddy G, was released in 2018, with Michael Caine, Olivia Colman, Jourdan Dunn, Naomie Harris, Joanna Lumley, and David Walliams.

[171] On 17 April 2023, the airline launched a new safety video as a part of “A British Original” campaign, with Emma Raducanu, Robert Peston, Little Simz, and Steven Bartlett.

[179] Several people spoke out against the change, including the former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who famously covered the tail of a model 747 at an event with a handkerchief, to show her displeasure.

[180] BA's traditional rival, Virgin Atlantic, took advantage of the negative press coverage by applying the Union flag to the winglets of their aircraft along with the slogan "Britain's national flagcarrier".

[182] In 2011, British Airways made a brand relaunch project, in which BA introduced a stylised, metallic version of the arms by For People Design to be used along with its Speedmarque logo.

[187][188] British Airways' tiered loyalty programme, called the Executive Club, includes access to special lounges and dedicated "fast" queues.

Each First suite comes with a 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) bed, a 15-inch (38 cm) wide entertainment screen, in-seat power and complimentary Wi-Fi access on select aircraft.

The award encompasses the overall family travel experience such as seating policies, check-in facilities, priority boarding, meals and amenities for children, as well as other family-oriented aspects.

[213][214] Since BA's inception in 1974, it has been involved in three hull-loss incidents (British Airways Flight 149 was destroyed on the ground at Kuwait International Airport as a result of military action during the First Gulf War with no one on board) and two hijacking attempts.

To date, the only fatal accident experienced by a BA aircraft occurred in 1976 with British Airways Flight 476 which was involved in a midair collision later attributed to an error made by air traffic control.