Although each airline's branding was maintained initially, two years later the British Airways Board unified its branding, effectively establishing British Airways as an airline on 31 March 1974. Ĭonsequently, 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. However, opposition from the Treasury blocked the proposal. The chairman of BOAC, Miles Thomas, was in favour of a merger as a potential solution to this disagreement and had backing for the idea from the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, Rab Butler. Increasingly BOAC was protesting that BEA was using its subsidiary Cyprus Airways to circumvent an agreement that BEA would not fly routes further east than Cyprus, particularly to the increasingly important oil regions in the Middle East.

Proposals to establish a joint British airline, combining the assets of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA), 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. Main article: History of British Airways A Boeing 747-100 in BOAC-British Airways transition livery (1976)

The alliance has since grown to become the third-largest, after SkyTeam and Star Alliance. It is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance, along with American Airlines, the now-defunct Canadian Airlines, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas. The carrier expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian in 1987, Dan-Air in 1992, and British Midland International in 2012. After almost 13 years as a state company, BA was privatised in February 1987 as part of a wider privatisation plan by the Conservative government. However, it marked 2019 as its centenary based on predecessor companies. On 31 March 1974, all four companies were merged to form British Airways. īA 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. British Airways is the first passenger airline to have generated more than US$1 billion on a single air route in a year (from 1 April 2017, to 31 March 2018, on the New York-JFK – London-Heathrow route). It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and in the FTSE 100 Index. IAG is the world's third-largest airline group in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest in Europe. In January 2011 BA merged with Iberia, creating the International Airlines Group (IAG), a holding company registered in Madrid, Spain.

The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers carried, behind easyJet. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport.

Stephen William Lawrence Gunning ( CFO and director)īritish Airways plc ( BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom.

I credited the flight to United, earning 3,179 redeemable miles. TPG took advantage of the 50% Pay With Points rebate offered by his Business Centurion Card, redeeming a total of 93,750 Membership Rewards points for the trip. Instead, we ended up booking a round-trip from Dublin (DUB) to New York-JFK with the outbound in business and the return in economy for about $1,875. I kept checking to see if business-class awards would pop up, but they never appeared. BookingĪlthough Aer Lingus isn't a member of Star Alliance, the carrier does partner with United, and you can confirm award availability on United's site. The solution: Fly Qatar's Dreamliner from Doha (DOH) to Dublin (DUB) and hop an Aer Lingus A330 - with the new(ish) lie-flat business class - to New York. TPG grabbed a seat on the airline's nonstop A350-900 flight to JFK, but we were after something a bit more creative for me, so I'd have an opportunity to do another review. After a great flight on Qatar Airways' first Airbus A350-1000, I needed to make my way back home.

Flying first class aer lingus