25 Facts About British Airways

1.

British Airways is the first passenger airline to have generated more than US$1 billion on a single air route in a year.

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2.

BA was created in 1974 after a British Airways Board was established by the British government to manage the two nationalised airline corporations, British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways, and two regional airlines, Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines.

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3.

Proposals to establish a joint British airline, combining the assets of the British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways were first raised in 1953 as a result of difficulties in attempts by BOAC and BEA to negotiate air rights through the British colony of Cyprus.

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4.

Consequently, it was only following the recommendations of the 1969 Edwards Report that a new British Airways Board, managing both BEA and BOAC, and the two regional British airlines Cambrian Airways based at Cardiff, and Northeast Airlines based at Newcastle upon Tyne, was constituted on 1 April 1972.

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5.

In 1992 British Airways expanded through the acquisition of the financially troubled Dan-Air, giving BA a much larger presence at Gatwick Airport.

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6.

British Asia Airways ceased operations in 2001 after BA suspended flights to Taipei.

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7.

In July 2008, British Airways announced a merger plan with Iberia, another flag carrier airline in the Oneworld alliance, wherein each airline would retain its original brand.

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8.

British Airways was the official airline partner of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

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9.

In 2019, as part of the celebrations of a centenary of airline operations in the United Kingdom, British Airways announced that four aircraft would receive retro liveries.

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10.

British Airways is the largest airline based in the United Kingdom in terms of fleet size, international flights, and international destinations and was, until 2008, the largest airline by passenger numbers.

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11.

British Airways holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.

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12.

British Airways owned Airways Aero Association, the operator of the British Airways flying club based at Wycombe Air Park in High Wycombe, until it was sold to Surinder Arora in 2007.

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13.

British Airways Limited was established in 2012 to take over the operation of the premium service between London City Airport and New York-JFK.

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14.

British Airways provides cargo services under the British Airways World Cargo brand.

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15.

Staff working for British Airways are represented by a number of trade unions, pilots are represented by British Air Line Pilots' Association, cabin crew by British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association, while other branches of Unite the Union and the GMB Union represent other employees.

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16.

British Airways serves over 170 destinations in 70 countries, including eight domestic and 26 in the United States.

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17.

British Airways co-founded the airline alliance Oneworld in 1999 with airlines American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas.

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18.

Musical theme predominantly used on British Airways advertising has been "The Flower Duet" by Leo Delibes.

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19.

British Airways is the official airline of the Wimbledon Championship tennis tournament, and was the official airline and tier one partner of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

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20.

British Airways was the official airline of England's bid to host the 2018 Football World Cup.

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21.

Aeroplanes that British Airways inherited from the four-way merger between BOAC, BEA, Cambrian, and Northeast were temporarily given the text logo "British airways" but retained the original airline's livery.

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22.

British Airways operates airside lounges for passengers travelling in premium cabins, and these are available to certain tiers of Executive Club members.

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23.

In 2011, due to the merger with Iberia, British Airways announced changes to the Executive Club to maximise integration between the airlines.

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24.

In 2006, British Airways launched Next Generation New Club World, featuring larger seats.

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25.

British Airways is known to have a strong reputation for safety and has been consistently ranked within the top 20 safest airlines globally according to Business Insider and AirlineRatings.

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