British Airways

History of British Airways

British Airways traces its roots to 25 August 1919, when its forerunner Aircraft Transport and Travel began the world's first daily international scheduled air service, from London to Paris. Later predecessors included Imperial Airways (1924), BOAC and BEA. British Airways itself was created in 1974 by merging BOAC and BEA.

The airline operated Concorde from 1976 until 2003, completed its privatisation in 1987 and merged with British Caledonian in 1988. In 1999 it co-founded the oneworld alliance with American Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Qantas. In January 2011 British Airways and Iberia combined under International Airlines Group, which now also owns Aer Lingus, Vueling and LEVEL.

British Airways was an early mover in NDC. It and Iberia were among the first airlines to reach IATA's NDC@Scale certification in December 2019, and agreements followed to distribute BA NDC content through Amadeus (2021) and Travelport (2021). Its loyalty programme, previously the Executive Club, is now called The British Airways Club and uses Avios as its currency. In 2024 the airline launched a large transformation plan covering cabins, lounges and digital systems.

Fleet

Aircraft types in service as of 2026

British Airways says it operates more than 280 aircraft, from the A380 and A350-1000 to the Embraer 190 flown by BA CityFlyer at London City. In 2025 it took 13 new aircraft: one Boeing 787-10, seven A320neos and five A321neos. All new long-haul deliveries come with the Club Suite business class seat, and a cabin retrofit of the A380 fleet was announced in October 2026.

Network and hubs

Heathrow, especially Terminal 5, is the centre of the British Airways network, carrying most long-haul and connecting traffic. The airline also flies from Gatwick, London City and Stansted, with Gatwick focused on leisure routes in Europe, the Caribbean and beyond.

British Airways says it serves around 200 destinations in more than 75 countries. Joint businesses extend the network: with American Airlines, Iberia and Finnair across the Atlantic, with Japan Airlines, Finnair and Iberia towards Asia, and with Qatar Airways via Doha.