Edinburgh business leader reveals how two junior staff helped transform BA flights
An idea from two British Airways employees working at an airport desk helped change the experience of business travellers flying overnight, according to Edinburgh-based former executive Hamish Taylor.
Taylor, who led brand management at British Airways before becoming chief executive of Eurostar and later Sainsbury’s Bank, said the staff suggested serving meals in the airport lounge before passengers boarded their flights.
The aim was simple: allow travellers to eat before take-off so they could sleep for longer during the flight and arrive in London better prepared for the working day.
Speaking to Champions Speakers Agency, Taylor said the idea showed why businesses should listen to employees at every level.
“Some of the best ideas come from some of your most junior staff,” he said.
“The idea of serving meals in the lounge before a flight so people could get more sleep came from the two ladies that manned the desk at JFK airport in New York.”
Taylor said the airline had focused on how business travellers felt when they arrived at Heathrow at 6am after an overnight flight.
Its aim was to help them arrive ready to work, with more sleep, less hassle and the chance to freshen up.
“And there were nine words in this customer promise. Arrive ready for business. More sleep, less hassle, refreshment,” he said.
That promise gave staff across the airline a common goal and encouraged them to think about how each part of the journey could be improved.
Taylor said the approach helped inspire developments including arrivals lounges, where passengers could freshen up after landing, and fast-track services during the 1990s.
He said the same principle later influenced his work at Sainsbury’s Bank, where understanding customers' circumstances helped shape both products and how they were presented.
Supermarket shoppers, he explained, were often in a hurry and had little time to discuss financial products while buying their groceries.
“They're in a hurry. They want to get in, they want to get out,” he said.
A lengthy conversation about banking had to compete with other demands, including melting ice cream and children running up the aisle.
“So, we had to change the whole product range and the way we addressed customers,” he said.
Taylor said the lesson for businesses was to understand what customers needed and how they felt, rather than concentrating solely on the products or services being offered.
He added that the principle applied to every department, including finance and human resources, whose work affects colleagues elsewhere in an organisation.
“Everything we do has a customer and our success is totally dependent on theirs,” he said.
Taylor now uses his experience in public speaking, aiming to give audiences practical ideas they can apply in their own organisations.
“I would like people to go away with two or three actions they can take tomorrow,” he said.