British Airways celebrates its 100th anniversary on 25th August 2019, marking a century of an iconic British brand that has seen air travel evolve from the birth of civil aviation to the global network we have today.
The airline has come a long way from its one-flight-a day origins in a converted First World War bomber. A British Airways aircraft now takes off somewhere around the world every 90 seconds to one of over over 200 destinations across the globe.
The airline, which has 45,000 employees and counting, has over 45 million customers annually, to whom they provide over 25 million cups of tea and 1.25 bottles of champagne each year.
BA’s existence goes beyond such facts and figures, however. It’s woven into the fabric of British life to such an extent that when its staff threaten industrial action, the news gets splashed across the front pages. There’s no hiding place for the airline, no matter what ups and downs it suffers.
We fly back through the century, and take a brief journey through some of BA’s most significant milestones.
25th August 1919
Aircraft Transport & Travel Limited — soon to become British Airways — launches the world’s first daily international scheduled flight, between London and Paris. The plane in question is a converted De Havilland bomber, the sole passenger is a journalist, and the cargo is a list of British staples: Devonshire cream, jam, several brace of grouse and the day’s newspapers.
1924
Imperial Airways Limited is formed following the merger of Aircraft Transport & Travel Limited with three smaller airlines.
1925
By the end of its first year, the airline has carried 11,935 passengers and 212,380 letters to various destinations across Europe.
But Imperial Airways doesn’t have it all its own way. A number of smaller UK air transport companies have sprung up, also offering flights across Europe, and merge to form Imperial Airways’ main competitor: the original, privately-owned British Airways Limited.
1939
The British Government announces the nationalisation of Imperial Airways and British Airways to form the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). A new airline, British European Airlines (BEA), is formed to run all domestic and European flights.
1952
BOAC launches its ‘silver-wings’ service between Heathrow and Paris. The flight is deliberately slowed to 80 minutes so that passengers may take full advantage of the elaborate cuisine provided on board.
1974
BEA and BOAC merge to form British Airways as we know it today.
21st January 1976
British Airways launches a commercial Concorde flight for the first time, on the route from Heathrow to Bahrain. It’s the world’s first — and, to date, only — supersonic passenger service. The Queen takes her first flight on Concorde a year later, the first of many times that Her Majesty used the service.
1985
Designer Roland Klein is asked to design new uniforms for BA staff, replacing those created by Baccarat Wetherall eight years earlier. Subsequent designers of the uniforms will include the likes of Julien Macdonald, Paul Costello and Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng. Boateng’s 2008 design is the one that is still in service and worn by 32,000 employees.
1986
British Airways moves into its new home: Terminal Four at Heathrow, which it will use until 2009, when Terminal Five opens.
1987
British Airways becomes one of many publicly-owned companies to be sold off by Margaret Thatcher’s government. The newly-listed company then merges with rival airline British Caledonian Airways, taking control of 70% of the UK air travel market.
1995
First class cabins are given an upgrade, as full-length beds are introduced for the first time and cabin crew are given training under Michelin-star chef Michel Roux to deliver an ‘a la carte service in the sky’. A later update, in 2010, adds an afternoon tea service based upon that at the Dorchester hotel in London.
24th October 2003
Concorde embarks upon its final scheduled, commercial flight, from New York JFK to London Heathrow, before it is formally taken out of service by British Airways.
2019
BA celebrates its centenary year with all manner of events. The Queen visiting the company headquarters; the company’s photo archive is opened to the public; and in April planes decorated in all the company’s former liveries fly together to mark the 50,000th customer flight. It’s not all about looking backwards, though: the company is looking forwards too, as it takes delivery of 72 new planes as part of a £6.5 billion investment.
Credit: Lucy Ford
72 hours in New York: Can you do the city that never sleeps justice in one weekend?
From Times Square to the Met, New York boasts some of the world's biggest and most popular tourist attractions, as
Perfect island getaways in the Maldives, Madagascar and St Lucia
British weather couldn't be drearier than it is right now, so here are three of our favourite island hotels around
Credit: Lucas Gilman
Anse Chastanet: A St Lucian paradise where jungle biking, chocolate-making and sailing are all part of the fun
Set into an unspoilt tropical hillside above a perfect white beach and a World Heritage site, St Lucia's Anse Chastanet
-
A well-connected rural playground with 23 acres on the edge of the South Downs National ParkOld House Farm is an impressive family home with a wealth of amenities that would inspire any rural passion.
-
The UK gets its first ‘European stork village’ — and it's in West SussexAlthough the mortality rate among white storks can be up to 90%, the future looks rosy for breeding pairs in southern England.
