In the summer of 2009 Heathrow appointed the first ever airport writer-in-residence to tell the story of the airport, its staff and passengers.

Alain de Botton, one of the world’s most respected modern philosophers, was given unprecedented access to all areas of the airport and full creative control over the book – a bold move by BAA as Heathrow was effectively opened up for literary critique, but one that gave instant credibility to the project.Much of his residency was spent at a desk in Terminal 5 providing thousands of passengers (and media) with a live brand experience. Social media feeds via Twitter enabled people to monitor the writer’s progress.Over 300 national and international media outlets covered the story including an eight-page feature in The Sunday Times.The resulting book served as its own media and told the real story of Heathrow – humanising the airport by capturing its emotion, the thousands of people who work there, and the 65 million passengers who pass through it each year.A Week At The Airport: A Heathrow Diary reached number 38 in the Amazon book chart. It is being sold in over 50 countries and in all major international (rival) airports.

Mr de Botton met hundreds of passengers and staff – from BAA chief executive Colin Matthews to baggage operators – enabling him to capture the human story of the airport. Much of his time was spent at a writing desk in Heathrow Terminal 5 providing thousands of passengers (and media) with a live brand experience. Social media feeds via Twitter enabled people to monitor the writer’s progress.There was only eight weeks from point of brief to execution. In this time an author had to be recruited, airport access arranged, a publisher found, a route into retail established and a 200 page book written (the average publishing process takes over 12 months).To launch the book – A Week At The Airport: A Heathrow Diary – Mr de Botton returned to the airport as its first ever reader-in-residence reading extracts of the book over the tannoy system.

Over 300 national and international media outlets covered the story including The Guardian, BBC News, CNN, New York Times and an eight-page feature in The Sunday Times.Influential websites such as Trendhunter.com and Springwise.com helped generate thousands of positive branded conversations online about Heathrow and its act of marketing transparency.By telling the real story of the running of the airport, Heathrow has seen a change in sentiment as people begin to appreciate the phenomenal effort and expertise that goes into running Europe’s busiest airport. This understanding has helped create a new sense of respect towards Heathrow – demonstrated through the previously anti-Heathrow newspaper Evening Standard concluding that Heathrow is finally an airport Britain can be "proud of".A Week At The Airport: A Heathrow Diary reached number 38 in the Amazon book chart. It is being sold in over 50 countries and in all major international (rival) airports.