British Airways cabin crew member from Bedford surprises passengers with festive live performance
Passengers got the shock of their lives when British Airways broke into festive song at Heathrow.
Peter Gentry, from Turvey, along with his fellow cabin crew colleagues, a pilot and engineer, wowed thousands of people as they arrived at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 with a flying rendition of the quintessential Christmas carol, Deck The Halls.
The surprise performance was kicked off by cabin crew member Pippa Roblin. She stunned surrounding passengers as they collected their luggage from destinations including Japan and America.
She was quickly followed by colleagues Peter, Xander Bird, and Vicki Garson, who minutes before the rendition had stepped off a flight transforming from cabin crew to star alto.
The festive recital was given the West End seal of approval with Hamilton’s musical director, Richard Beadle, training up the choir. He even re-wrote the carol for a personalised welcome home to passengers - Deck the Arrivals Halls.
Peter, whose family lives in Turvey, said: "The passengers’ response was amazing, they all looked so surprised. So many people had their phones out and were taking videos of us singing and capturing the moment. It was a great way to welcome home our passengers in British Airways style."
The 39-year-old added: "It was slightly nerve-racking when we were all in the baggage reclaim area waiting for the performance to begin, but generally I was more excited to see the passengers’ reaction and as soon as we started singing the adrenaline kicked in and the nerves went away. We were all on such a high after it finished."
Richard Beadle said: “I was amazed by the dedication and talent from the British Airways choir. They really put their all into creating an amazing performance for their customers."
The idea for the festive flash mob was to celebrate British Airways’ centenary year. This Christmas, 210 British Airways flights will take to the skies on December 25 and 721 flights will operate on New Year’s Eve. The airline will deliver over 1.5 million bags across the network from now until December 27, and not forgetting the 100,000 traditional Christmas dinners that customers will be served up by the award-winning cabin crew.
