About British Airways
British Airways (BA) is one of the world’s leading global airlines, serving customers in over 180 destinations. The company is committed to ensuring every customer feels valued and supported, including those with disabilities and communication barriers.
To strengthen its inclusive customer service, BA identified a need to improve awareness and confidence among frontline colleagues when supporting Deaf and hard of hearing passengers.
Alison Dalton, Accessibility Manager at British Airways, led the initiative to ensure Deaf customers receive the same exceptional service as every other passenger.
British Airways recognised that while significant progress had been made in supporting customers with physical disabilities and visual impairments, there was a gap in Deaf awareness and communication confidence.
The challenge was to create training that:
- Educated colleagues on the needs of Deaf customers
- Built confidence to communicate inclusively
- Integrated seamlessly with BA’s Beyond Accessibility programme
As Alison explains:
“We recognised we had a gap in terms of our awareness and our customer service delivery when communicating with Deaf customers. We wanted to put that right.”
Victoria worked closely with British Airways to co-design a bespoke Deaf awareness training programme tailored to the unique environment of air travel and customer service.
Together, they developed an engaging training video featuring Deaf actors and a Deaf film crew, showing real experiences from the perspective of Deaf passengers.
This storytelling approach created emotional impact, helping colleagues understand how travel feels for Deaf customers and how small actions can make a big difference.
“Victoria and I discussed where we potentially had some gaps in our customer service delivery and an initial plan was put in place to rectify this. It was very much an iterative process. The plan evolved and developed as we talked it through, then tried various ideas.”
— Alison Dalton, Accessibility Manager, British Airways
The final training included BA’s key accessibility messages and aligned closely with their wider Beyond Accessibility initiative, ensuring clear synergy across all learning materials.
“Whenever we identify a training requirement, we ensure we always engage with specialist expertise to help us address our specific needs. We would recommend Victoria because she fits the above criteria. She was very business-focused, which meant we were able to meet our business needs. The final result was very effective and professional.”
— Alison Dalton, Accessibility Manager, British Airways
“We recognised we had a gap in terms of our awareness and our customer service delivery when communicating with Deaf customers. We wanted to put that right.”
— Alison Dalton
“Working with Victoria was a great example of expert collaboration. She demonstrated flexibility and helped us achieve what was needed by using their expertise in the requirements of the Deaf community while integrating with the broader training programs we already have in place.”
— Alison Dalton
“The idea developed into using a Deaf film crew with Deaf actors as customers. The result showed Deaf customers talking about the impact of travelling, it was very engaging and real.”
— Alison Dalton
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