To mark its centenary British Airways has released a new composition based on the famous piece of music, Flower Duet, which featured in Delibes’ opera Lakmé.

The original version of the music will also be recognisable as it has featured in a number of adverts from across the airline’s history, and is also played in the cabin during boarding.

The new version has been composed by Lyndon Ooi – a quality engineer at British Airways – whose day job involves checking that aircraft are fit to fly from a technical perspective.

The reworked composition is made up of 10 variations representing 10 significant milestones in British Airways’ history. It rises, falls, speeds up and slows down to moments including the formation of Imperial Airways, the introduction of the new jet age, Concorde’s farewell and the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5.

A full video of the music being performed by the British Airways Orchestra, made up of 30 British Airways colleagues including Lyndon, can be seen here.

In its centenary year, British Airways is hosting a range of activities and events. The airline is hosting BA 2119 - a programme, which will lead the debate on the future of flying and explore the future of sustainable aviation fuels, the aviation careers of the future and the customer experience of the future.