British Airways

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations and second largest measured by passengers carried, behind easyJet.

General information

The British Airways Board was established in 1971 to control the two nationalised airline corporations, BOAC and BEA, and two smaller, regional airlines, Cambrian Airways, from Cardiff, and Northeast Airlines, from Newcastle upon Tyne. On 31 March 1974, all four companies were merged to form British Airways.

A long-time Boeing customer, British Airways ordered fifty-nine Airbus A320 family aircraft in August 1998. In 2007, it purchased twelve Airbus A380s and twenty-four Boeing 787 Dreamliner, marking the start of its long-haul fleet replacement. The centrepiece of the airline's long-haul fleet is the Boeing 747-400; with 52 examples in service, British Airways is the largest operator of this type in the world.

• British Airways (BA) was created in 1974, when the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways Corporation (BEA) were combined under the newly formed British Airways Board

• British Airways and Air France operated the supersonic airliner Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde; the world's first supersonic passenger service first flew in January 1976 from London Heathrow to Bahrain.

• 30 July 2008, British Airways and Iberia, a Spanish fellow Oneworld partner, announced a merger plan; the two airlines would retain their original brands, similar to KLM and Air France in their merger agreement. British Airways ceased trading on the London Stock Exchange on 21 January 2011, after 23 years as a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. On 21 January 2011, British Airways and Iberia merged, resulting in the world's third-largest airline in terms of annual revenue and the second largest airline group in Europe.

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British Airways and Iberia merged in January 2011, forming the International Airlines Group, one of the world's largest airlines

OperationsBritish 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 as well. The airline carried 34.6 million passengers in 2008 but easyJet, a rival, low-cost carrier carried 44.5 million passengers that year, passing British Airways for the first time. British Airways holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating License, it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. British Airways' main base is at London Heathrow Airport in west London, England, but it also has a major presence at Gatwick Airport

FleetWith the exception of the Boeing 707 and early Boeing 747 variants from BOAC, the airline as formed in 1972-4 inherited a mainly UK-built fleet of aircraft. The airline introduced the Boeing 737 and Boeing 757 into the fleet in the 1980s, followed by the Boeing 747–400 , Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 in the 1990s. Boeing-built aircraft for British Airways are allocated the customer code 36, which appears in their aircraft designation as a suffix, such as 737–436, 747–436 and 777–236. Although British Airways utilizes a large Boeing fleet, it has always operated aircraft from other manufacturers . British built aircraft were transferred from BEA and BOAC, and in the 1980s the airline operated the Lockheed L-1011.It also operated the DC-10 and Airbus A320-100 through the acquisition of British Caledonian Airways in the 1980s.

Boeing 737 Boeing 777

A320 family A318/A319/A320/A321

Lockheed L-1011

Airports

London serves as the largest aviation hub in the world by passenger traffic, with five international airports, handling over 133 million passengers in 2011,more than any other city. London's second busiest airport, Gatwick, is the world's busiest single runway airport. The aircraft movement of London's combined gateways is second only to New York City in runway operations (number of takeoffs and landings).

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The United Kingdom is home to many of Europe's largest and busiest airports as well as one of the busiest international airports in the world, London Heathrow Airport, which handles over 67 million international passengers annually.

Queue of aircraft for take-off at London Heathrow Airport which handled 69million passengers in 2011

Manchester Airport, the third busiest airport in the UK and busiest of the non-London airports.

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Long haul First (rebranded from 'FIRST' in 2009) is the long-haul first class service on British Airways, offered only on Boeing 747 and Boeing 777 aircraft. There are fourteen private "demi-cabins" per aircraftClub World is the long-haul business class on Boeing 767, 777, 747, and Airbus A318 aircraft; the cabin features fully flat beds. World Traveller is the long-haul economy class offered on international flights to destinations outside Europe; offering seat-back entertainment and several complimentary drinks and meals

CabinsShort haul UK Domestic is British Airways' economy class on domestic UK flights. Business UK operates the same cabin as UK Domestic, but has pre-flight lounge access. Euro Traveller is British Airways' economy class offering on flights from the UK to the rest of Europe.[ Club Europe is the short-haul business class on all short-haul flights, except within the UK. This allows for access to business lounges at most airports.

To Fly. To Serve