British Airways – a very British airline
There are several airlines throughout the world that continue to enjoy worldwide recognition due to their long standing history and prevalence in popular country. Amongst them is the British company British Airways. The company is the United Kingdom’s flag carrier airline and as such, the airline enjoys preferential privileges and sympathies from the British government in order to ensure the smooth running of the company during times of economic strain or financial crisis.
The company has its main hub at London Heathrow Airport close to the airline’s conveniently located base in Waterside. Of all the airlines that operate from the United Kingdom, British Airways is the largest in terms of the size of its fleet and the amount of destinations, both domestic and international, that the company operates flights to. That said, following the 2007 sale of the ‘BA Connect’ department to the regional carrier service operator Flybe, all BA passengers flying into the UK from international airports must now fly into England’s capital city of London in order to connect to another destination within the United Kingdom, rather than flying directly to their final destination.
British Airways was officially formed in 1971 in order to take charge of two of the United Kindom’s nationalised major airlines, the BEA and the BOAC, as well as two smaller airlines; Northeast Airlines and Cambrian airways from Newcastle upon Tyne and Cardiff respectively. This processed was finalised and all four of the separate companies were formed under one united BA company on the 31st of March 1974. The company continued to operate as a state company for a further thirteen years until it was sold in the first quarter of 1987 as part of the Thatcher administration’s plans for privatisation of businesses throughout the United Kingdom. BA later expanded following the takeover of British Caledonian and Dan-Air in 1987 and 1992 respectively.
BA provides passengers with flights to the rest of the United Kingdom and Europe, as well as to North America, South America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. The airline is therefore one of the few international airlines that operate services to all six of the inhabitable continents across the globe. These services are supplemented by a customer loyalty reward scheme which entitles frequent BA passengers to exclusive deals and discounts that allow them to save money on flights and receive additional in-flight services that are not normally available under usual travelling tickets.