British Airways Flies Panda Plane To Launch China Route

The front of British Airway’s Panda Plane

British Airways (BA) marked the launch of its first flights from London Heathrow airport to Chengdu in China on September 22 by flying a Boeing 777-200 aircraft painted with the face of a smiling giant panda.

British Airways has commenced three flights per week to Chengdu from Heathrow. The outward service will be numbered BA-88 as the number 8 is considered lucky in China.

Chengdu is the capital of the Sichuan Province in southwest China and the sixth largest Chinese city. Sichuan is known for its spicy cuisine, teahouses and also accounts for 80 percent of the world’s remaining giant pandas.

Chengdu is BA’s fourth destination in China after Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.