British Airways
British Airways Boeing 747
British Airways Concorde, since retired
British Airways Airbus A319
British Airways Boeing 737-400
British Airways Boeing 767
British Airways Boeing 757
This article deals with the modern airline British Airways. For the 1930s airline of similar name see British Airways Ltd.
British Airways (IATA designator:BA) is the largest airline of the United Kingdom and Europe. It is also one of the largest airlines in the world.
British Airways flies to destinations in Europe, North America, South America, the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australia.
British Airways was formed in 1974 from the merger of the state owned British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways (BEA). During the fiscal year ending 2002, BA carried 40 million passengers on revenues exceeding GBP 8 billion. The flag carrier was privatised and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1987 by the Conservative government of Mrs. Thatcher.
Some British Airways services are operated by various subsidiaries and franchisees including British Airways Citiexpress, British Mediterranean Airways, Sun-Air (Denmark) and Loganair.
British Airways is based at London Heathrow Airport. It also has a commanding presence at Gatwick. BA has succeeded in dominating Heathrow to the point that the airport is commonly referred to as Fortress Heathrow within both the airline and its competitors.
As an incumbent airline, BA had grandfather rights to around 36% of takeoff and landing slots at Heathrow, many of which are used for the lucrative trans-Atlantic market. Some competitors, such as Virgin Atlantic, bmi British Midland and United Airlines, assert that this stifles competition and some political think tanks recommend an auction of slots. In recent years British Airways has been buying slots from other airlines including United Airlines, SN Brussels and Swiss International Air Lines, and now owns about 40% of slots at Heathrow.
British Airways was an operator of the famous Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde supersonic airliner. BA had a daily Concorde service between London and New York. It was announced (on April 10, 2003) that, after October 24, 2003, they would cease scheduled services with Concorde, due to depressed passenger numbers and increasing maintenance costs. The last day of its Saturday-only London Heathrow to Barbados Concorde flight was on August 30, 2003.
British Airways aircraft generally use the Airline call sign "Speedbird" in ATC radio transmissions. On UK Domestic routes some flights use "Shuttle" as their call sign. The airline's IATA designator is BA. British Airways is a founding member of the oneworld airline alliance.
British Airways owns just under 20% of Qantas, and are very closely aligned on the Kangaroo routes (such as sharing revenue).
British Airways are pioneering the use of "flat beds" in the premium cabins on their long-haul routes and have the most flat beds of any airline on their aircraft.
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Destinations
The list does not include cities only served by British Airways Citiexpress, GB Airways, British Mediterranean Airways, or other affiliated regional carriers.
Africa
Asia
East Asia
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Southwest Asia
Europe
North America
United States, Canada, and Mexico
Bermuda and the Caribbean
Oceania
South America
Other facts of interest
External links
| List of Aircraft - Aircraft Manufacturers - Aircraft Engines - Aircraft Engine Manufacturers |
| Airlines - Air Forces - Aircraft Weapons - Missiles - Years in Aviation |