USAir recently introduced a special half fare for wives who
 accompanied their husbands on business trips. Expecting valuable
 testimonials, the PR department sent out letters to all the wives
 of businessmen who had used the special rates, asking how they
 enjoyed their trip.
 Letters are still pouring in asking, "What trip?"
 -------------------------------------------------------------------
          From the United Kingdom via Electronic Telegraph
        BA's arty logos a safety hazard -  By Robert Hardman
     THE multicultural artistic splodges on the tailfins of British
 Airways jets could be a hazard to air safety, according to the Civil
 Aviation Authority, which is investigating two cases of "livery con-
 fusion" at Heathrow.
     There was cross-party support last night for an investigation
 into the use of the new logos which BA introduced, to widespread
 derision, in place of the Union flag. The question, however, is no
 longer one of tradition versus Cool Britannia but of safety.
     The Telegraph has learned that pilots and air traffic controllers
 are increasingly concerned that aircraft painted with the new designs
 are not always recognised as BA jets. The latest air traffic control
 report to be issued by the CAA's safety data department contains de-
 tails of an incident at Heathrow on Jan 25 when an unnamed foreign
 airliner failed to recognise a BA A320 bound for Copenhagen as a
 group of planes were moving towards the runway.
     The CAA reported a "general safety problem at night, caused by
 possible incorrect identification of aircraft in [the] airline's new
 livery scheme". The report noted that the "new livery can be mis-
 identified by other taxying [sic] aircraft and also air traffic con-
 trol". Ten days later, there was a similar incident when a jumbo jet
 failed to identify a BAe 146 in one of the new colour schemes. The
 report recorded: "Livery confusion. A taxying [sic] B747 misidenti-
 fied a Manx BAe146 in the new BA livery schemes."
     Air traffic controllers frequently give taxiing planes directions
 in relation to aircraft around them. However, pilots unused to the
 latest additions to BA's changing collection of diverse liveries
 might, it seems, run the risk of taking their bearings from the wrong
 plane.
     Yesterday the CAA said that it had started an investigation into
 the incidents. "Our safety regulators are taking a look at the whole
 area," said a spokesman. "They will try to establish the scope of the
 problem because these are relatively recent events. It may be that
 there are other cases that haven't been reported yet."
     Last night, one controller said it was vital for BA to opt for
 one universally recognisable design. "We are not that bothered if
 it's a splodge rather than a flag, just as long as it is the same
 splodge."
     These concerns were echoed by MPs. "BA's colour schemes are ugly
 but if they are going to cause a problem then BA have got to be made
 to see sense," said Eric Pickles, Tory MP for Brentwood and Ongar and
 a member of the Transport Select Committee. "Maybe their tailfins
 should have a common design. They've got other parts of the plane to
 stick outrageous designs on."
     Gwyneth Dunwoody, MP, a former Labour transport spokesman and
 another member of the committee, said that it was something the
 committee might examine in the future. "Visual identification is a
 very important part of safety," she said. "I do think it's something
 British Airways should address."
     BA denies that its new logos pose any sort of risk. "Any sugges-
 tions that our new livery raises any safety concern is rubbish," said
 a spokesman last night. "Safety is always our first priority and
 always will be. To quote an air traffic controller: 'To suggest that
 an aircraft's tail colour scheme could be a flight safety risk is
 incredible.' "
     These incidents, however, will be a renewed source of embarrass-
 ment for Robert Ayling, BA's chief executive, who has been heavily
 criticised for replacing the British flag with a range of global
 artwork including an Aboriginal painting.
 6 April 1998
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