British Airways Uses Comedy to Support Charities

Last year British Airways launched 'Flying Start' - its global partnership with charity Comic Relief, to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the UK and around the world.

As part of this partnership, the airline is supporting Comic Relief UK's bi-annual fundraising event - Red Nose Day. The event will be taking place on Friday 18th March, when the great British public will be asked to Do Something Funny For Money.

To date, twelve Red Nose Days have raised more than £500m. That money has helped, and is helping, to give extremely vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the UK and Africa a helping hand to turn their lives around.

To mark the occasion, British Airways is undertaking a number of fundraising initiatives; this includes hosting the Guinness World Record for the 'Highest Stand-Up Comedy Gig in the World' (taking place in the UK), as well as painting red noses on a number of its fleet, that will fly around the world.

Furthermore, the airline recently hosted a trip to visit some of the projects funded by Comic Relief UK in Cape Town, South Africa.

British Airways chief executive, Keith Williams, who attended the visit, said: "Having recently seen first-hand where the money goes, I am more enthusiastic than ever about Flying Start.

As a global airline, it is important for us to spread the positive message about Comic Relief and do our best collect loose change from customers. Every penny, cent and dime will go towards helping the most vulnerable children in the cities we fly to."

Keith Williams and the Comic Relief UK teams visited a number of projects in Cape Town last month, including mothers2mothers - a mentoring program offering comprehensive support for HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers - and Grassroots Soccer, which uses the power of football to educate, inspire and empower communities to stop the spread of HIV.

Customers can get involved by donating money on board flights, as well as online at www.ba.com/flyingstart.

Comic Relief UK is a UK wide charity, which aims to create a just world, free from poverty. It launched in 1985 and is perhaps best known for two major fundraising campaigns in the UK that take place in alternate years - Red Nose Day and Sport Relief. Thanks to the incredible generosity of the British public, Comic Relief UK has raised over £650million to help change lives.