Overview
Founded in March 13, 1924, British Airways plc actually started out as Imperial Airways Limited. It was only in 1974 when British Airways finally came to be, as a product of the merger of two large airlines that were based in London– BEA and BOAC – as well as two smaller regional airlines – Northeast Airlines Newcastle and Cambrian Airways Cardiff. British Airways has hubs located in London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport. The Executive Club and Premier are the frequent flyer programs of the airline, with the following for its member lounges: Concorde Room, Galleries Club, Galleries First, Galleries Arrivals, First Lounge, Executive Club Lounge, Terraces Lounge, Executive Club Lounge, Chesapeake Club Lounge, and Gate 1 Lounge. The company slogan that the airline operates with is “Upgrade to British Airways”.
Company Profile and History
The British Airways Group was established back in September 1, 1974 through the efforts of nationalism of the Labour Government. A merger involving two larger airlines, the BEA and the BOAC, and two smaller regional airlines, Cambrian Airways Cardiff and Northeast Airlines Newcastle, paved the way to the formation of this group. All of these four companies were actually dissolved on March 31, 1974 to establish British Airways. Come February 1987, the company was then privatized and expansion plans were set when they were able to acquire British Caledonian the following year. They were also able to win some routes of the carrier Dan-Air back in 1992.
Over the years, British Airways has had a lot of ups and downs to reach its present status. Recent developments include the unveiling of its latest subsidiary, OpenSkies. This affiliation with OpenSkies comes with liberalization of traffic rights for transatlantic flights, giving them unlimited access to fly nonstop between America and major cities in Europe.
Talks of Mergers
On July 30, 2008, the airline announced a possible merger with Iberia Airlines, resulting in the two airlines combining efforts in all-stock transactions. However, the two airlines would still maintain their separate brands, much like what Air France and KLM is doing with their merger agreement as well.
Fleet Size and Destinations
With a massive fleet size reaching 245, the airline travels to 169 destinations in more than 70 countries worldwide. Airbus aircraft models include A318-112, A319-131, A320-211/232, A321-231, and A380-800. Boeing models, meanwhile, include 737-300, 737-436, 737-500, 747-400, 757-236, 767-336ER, 777-236, 777-236ER, 777-300ER, 787-836, and 787-936.
Destinations
British Airways flies to the following destinations: Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania, Uganda, Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Tunis, Angola, South Africa, Zambia, Ghana, Nigeria, China, Japan, India, Thailand, Singapore, Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E., Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, North America, South America, the Caribbean, and Oceania.
