The Creation of British Airways

Today British Airways is the biggest airline company in the United Kingdom. It history can be traced it roots back to the start of civil aviation, where the forerunner to British Airways, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, launched the world’s first daily international schedule air service between London and Paris beginning on 25 August 1919.

The company that is now British Airways has had a varied history of merges and acquisitions.

In 1935, several small airlines offering services within the United Kingdom merged to form the original privately owned British Airways Limited.

In July 1939, a Bill was introduced to merge Imperial Airways and British Airways into a public corporation, British Overseas Airways Corporation, which actually came into being in April 1940, shortly before the Second World War.

British Overseas Airways Corporation introduced the word’s first jet airliner, the Comet in 1952, but had to withdraw it from service after three crashes in the next two years.

British Airways was formed on March 31, 1974, through the merger of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA).

Since that time the company acquired Dan Air, and Brymon Airways.

Following 1994 it has since acquired Caledonian Airways. The airline was privatized on February 11, 1987.

The Creation of British Airways