British European Airways(BEA), formallyBritish European Airways Corporation,was a Britishairlinewhich existed from 1946 until 1974.
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| Founded | 1 January 1946 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 31 March 1974 (merged withBOAC,Cambrian AirwaysandNortheast Airlinesto formBritish Airways) | ||||||
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| Destinations | Europe,North Africa,Middle East | ||||||
| Headquarters | BEAline House,Ruislip,Hillingdon,England | ||||||
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BEA operated toEurope,North Africaand theMiddle Eastfrom airports around the United Kingdom.[1]The airline was also the largest UK domestic operator, serving major British cities, includingLondon,Manchester,Glasgow,EdinburghandBelfast,as well as areas of theBritish Islessuch as theHighlands and Islandsof Scotland, theChannel Islandsand theIsle of Man.[2]BEA also operated a network of internal German routes betweenWest BerlinandWest Germanyas part of the Cold War agreements regulating air travel within Germany.[3]The company slogan wasNumber One in Europe.
Formed as the British European Airways division ofBritish Overseas Airways Corporation(BOAC) on 1 January 1946, BEA became acrown corporationin its own right on 1 August 1946.[4]
Operations commenced fromCroydonandNortholtairports, withDH89A Dragon RapidesandDouglas DC-3s.[4]
Having established its main operating base at Northolt,[4]BEA operated its first service fromHeathrowin April 1950; by late 1954, all Northolt operations had moved to Heathrow, which remained the airline's main operating base until the merger with BOAC in 1974.[5]
During 1952, BEA carried its millionth passenger,[5]and by the early 1960s it had become the Western world's[nb 1]fifth-biggest passenger-carrying airline[nb 2]and the biggest outside theUnited States.[6]
In 1950, BEA operated the world's firstturbine-poweredcommercial air service withVickers'Viscount 630prototype,fromLondontoParis.[7]The airline entered thejet agein 1960 withde Havilland'sDH106 Comet 4B.[8]On 1 April 1964, it became the first to operate theDH121 Trident;on 10 June 1965, a BEATrident 1Cperformed the world's firstautomatic landingduring a scheduled commercial air service.[9]
For most of its existence, BEA was headquartered atBEAline HouseinRuislip,London Borough of Hillingdon.[10]
BEA ceased to exist as a separatelegal entityon 1 April 1974 when the merger with BOAC to formBritish Airways(BA) took effect.[11]The name was revived by British Airways from 1991 to 2008 when it changed the name of an existing subsidiary,British Airways Tour Operations LimitedtoBritish European Airways Limited.British Airways Tour Operations Limitedwas itself founded in 1935 as an air travel company, namedSilver Wing Surface Arrangements Limited.[12]
History
editFormation and early years (1946–1950)
editWiththe outbreak of war in September 1939all commercial and private flying within the UK had been severely restricted by the government due to the possibility of civil flights encountering enemy aircraft. To offset this halting of civilian air traffic limited aerial services were instead carried out from 1940 onwards by the state-owned and operatedBritish Overseas Airways Corporation(BOAC) to a number of destinations, both European, and worldwide. On 1 January 1946, theAttlee governmentliftedwartimerestrictions on civil flying in the United Kingdom. Within Europe, this resulted in BOAC resumingImperial Airways' pre-warroutes tocontinental Europeaugmented byRoyal Air Force Transport Commandnon-military flights fromCroydon Airport,usingDouglas DakotasinRAFliveryflown by crews in RAF uniforms,[4][13]and UK domestic air services operated by theAssociated Airways Joint Committee(AAJC), which had been formed of several pre-warcharter companieson 27 June 1940.[14]
BOAC formed a British European Airways division on 1 January 1946 in anticipation of that year's Civil Aviation Act. Following its formation, BOAC's new division began taking over Transport Command's operations from 4 March 1946. On that day, it inaugurated a weekly Dakota service from Northolt toMadridandGibraltar,followed by additional Dakota services toStavangerandOslo,Copenhagen,as well asAthensviaMarseilleandRome.On each of these flights, half of the Dakota's 16 seats were reserved for UK government officials. Initially, crews continued to wear BOAC uniforms. Although some services still used Croydon for some time, the main operating base moved toRAF Northolt.[4]
On 1 August 1946, the Civil Aviation Act 1946 was givenRoyal Assentand passed into law. This established BEA as a crown corporation in its own right (British European AirwaysCorporation) and transferred primary responsibility for scheduled air services from the UK to Europe (including the British Isles) to BEA. To fulfill its role as the new short- and medium-haul Britishflag carrier,BEA was organised into two divisions based at Northolt andLiverpool Spekerespectively, with the former responsible for all scheduled services to theContinentand the latter for all scheduled services within the British Isles. The Civil Aviation Act 1946 furthermore provided fornationalisationof private, independent[nb 3]British scheduled airlines and gave BEA alegal monopolyas the sole short-haul scheduled British airline.[4][13][15]Due to BEA's inability to take over the UK domestic flights of independent scheduled operators such asRailway Air Services,Allied Airways (Gandar Dower)and British Channel Islands Airways[16]on 1 August, these independents continued to ply their scheduled routes under contract to BEA until they were absorbed into the corporation in 1947.[17]
The first flight operated by the newly constituted British European Airways Corporation departed Northolt for Marseille, Rome and Athens on the day of its formation at 8:40 am. This was followed by further route launches toAmsterdam,BrusselsandLisbon.[4]
Initially, BEA supplemented its ex-RAF Transport Command Dakotas withDragon RapidesandAvro Nineteens.[4]
G-AHPO in BEA's early bare metal finishliveryatManchester,England,in August 1952.
Between August and October 1946, BEA took delivery of the first 11 of an eventual 83Vickers Vikingpiston-enginedairliners. These were BEA's first new aircraft, which itleasedfrom the UK government. The first Viking revenue service departed Northolt for Copenhagen on 1 September 1946. Compared with the Dakota, the Viking took 35 minutes less to reach Copenhagen from London. Following their introduction on the London–Copenhagen route, Vikings began replacing Dakotas on BEA's services to Amsterdam, Oslo,Stockholm,Gibraltar andPrague.[18]
G-AHOF in BEA's early bare metal
finish livery atManchester Ringway
on 25 September 1947.
In November 1946, BEA's first service toNorthern Irelanddeparted Croydon for Belfast (Sydenham) viaLiverpool,using an ex-LuftwaffeJunkers Ju 52/3moperated by independent airline Railway Air Services on the fledgling corporation's behalf. The following month, BEA's Belfast operations transferred toNutts Cornerwhile Dakotas replaced the "Jupiter" class Ju 52s from 1947.[2]
On 1 February 1947, the process of merging the wholly private, independent airlines operating in the UK under the AAJC umbrella into BEA began. Railway Air Services,[19]Isle of Man Air Services,[20]andScottish Airways(which had been formed in 1937 by mergingNorthern & Scottish AirwaysandHighland Airways)[21][22]were among the first independents merged into the new corporation.
1947 was also the year BEA operated its first scheduled all-cargo flight from Northolt to Brussels with aDC-3freighter.[23]The same year, it inaugurated a scheduled service betweenLand's End Airportin southwestCornwall,England,andSt Mary's Airporton the largest island of theIsles of Scillyarchipelagooff the southwest coast of Cornwall, using "Islander" class Dragon Rapides.[2]
Despite the previous year's nationalisation of several private airlines and their absorption into BEA, the government-owned carrier continued to contract its private sector counterparts to operate a limited number of regional feeder services on its behalf via "associate" agreements. These needed to be approved by the Air Transport Advisory Council (ATAC), the contemporary UK government department in charge of air transport economic regulation.CambrianandWestern Airwayswere the first two airlines to be given associate status by BEA in May 1948. These arrangements enabled the latter to contract the operation of a new feeder route betweenCardiffandWeston-super-Mareto both of the former, which respectively used Dragon Rapides andAvro Ansonsto provide a daily service.[24]East Anglian Flying Services(EAFS) was another early BEA associate. The association agreement between BEA and EAFS resulted in the latter operating aSouthend–Rochesterfeeder service on behalf of the former.[25]
1948 was also the year BEA's reservations department moved to new premises at Dorland Hall,Lower Regent Streetin London'sWest End.[26]
BEA made aviation history in 1950 with the world's first turbine-powered commercial air service from London to Paris, using the UKMinistry of Supply-owned Vickers Viscount 630 prototype G-AHRF.[7]By that time, BEA's main operating base at Northolt was the busiest airport in the UK; however, the airline was losing money, which resulted in replacing former BOAC director, Gerard d'Erlanger, who was BEA's firstchairman,withLord Douglas of Kirtleside,as well as appointingPeter Masefieldas its newmanaging director.[18]
In April 1950, BEA operated its first service fromLondon Heathrow Airport.[5]
Following the provisional introduction of the Viscount 630 prototype on the London–Paris and London–Edinburgh routes, BEA ordered 20Viscount 701sin August 1950 for delivery from 1953.[7]Also in 1950, BEA informed Vickers of its requirement for an aircraft with 10% lower costs perseat-milethan the800 series Viscount.This provided the impetus for Vickers to begin developing the four-enginedVanguardhigh-capacityturbopropin 1953.[27]
Expansion, modernisation and commercialisation (1951–1960)
editPeter Masefield'sarrival as managing director (MD) in 1950 marked the beginning of BEA's commercialisation. This entailed introduction of newcost controlmeasures and innovative methods to boost revenue andpassenger loads,including off-peak fares on late-evening flights and high-frequency services on the London–Paris route. BEA's new commercially aggressive approach soon resulted in monthly earnings of£1 million.[5]
In early 1951, BEA introduced its first "Pionair" class Douglas DC-3, aScottish AviationDC-3 conversion featuring British instrumentation and an increased seating capacity of 32. In addition to having 38 DC-3s converted to Pionair passenger carriers, BEA had a further 10 DC-3s modified as "Leopard" class freighters. The same year, BEA introduced its firsttourist classon Viking services. This entailed re-configuring a total of 49 aircraft in a 36-seat, single class layout. BEA referred to its re-configured, all-tourist class Vikings as "Admiral" class [aircraft].[5]
In 1952, BEA carried its one-millionth passenger[5]and introduced the first of 20Airspeed Ambassadors.These cost £3 million and featured a 49-seat mixed-class layout. BEA's first commercialAmbassadorservice left London for Paris on 13 March 1952. Flights toMilanandViennabegan the following month. These aircraft introduced the airline's passengers to new standards of comfort and speed. Compared with BEA's older piston types, the Ambassador's flight time from London to Milan, for example, reduced by two hours. In June 1952 BEA re-launched the pre-war mid-daySilverwingservice pioneered by Imperial Airways on the London–Paris route with 40-seat all-first classAmbassadors. The Ambassador was BEA's last major piston-engined type. It referred to the aircraft as "Elizabethan" class to commemorate theaccession of Elizabeth IIthat year.[28][29][30]Also in 1952, BEA madeJersey-based independent airlineJersey Airlinesan associate to develop a network of routes within the Channel Islands and expand services between the islands and theUK mainland.
In 1953, BEA began receiving the first 16 Viscount 701 turboprops it had ordered in August 1950. The first of these "Discovery" class aircraft entered service with 47 mixed-class seats in April 1953, and the first production aircraft (G-AMAV) went on to win the transport class of the1953 London to Christchurch, New Zealand, air race,with BEA MDPeter Masefieldas team manager andco-pilot.[7]
1953 was also the yearFlightmaster,BEA's first mechanicalreservations system,was installed. This enabled the simultaneous display ofseat availabilityon 32,000 flights.[26]
Between February and April 1954, BEA's expanding Viscount fleet replaced Elizabethans between London,Niceand Rome, and on regional routes from Manchester andBirmingham.[7]By that time, BEA had shifted its main operating base to Heathrow, which became the London terminal for all international flights. Although it continued to use Northolt as a London terminal for domestic flights serving Manchester, Edinburgh,Renfrew (Glasgow),Aberdeen,Belfast and the Channel Islands which by that time were mainly operated by 36-seater "Admiral" class Vikings, these were wound down in favour of concentrating all of BEA's London flights at Heathrow. A Jersey-bound Pionair in October 1954 was BEA's final flight from Northolt.[5]
The Viscount's commercial success had made it the leading short-haul aircraft in Europe in the mid-1950s. This ledLord Douglasto believe that turboprops would continue to be the mainstay of BEA's fleet into the 1960s.[7]
On 31 March 1955, BEA completed its first profitable financial year, recording an operating profit of £552,314 and anet profitof £63,039.[31]
In July 1955, BEA became the launch customer for the Vanguard, Vickers' new high-capacity turboprop powered by fourRolls-Royce RB109 "Tyne"engines. The airline's launch order was for 20 aircraft, including sixVanguard V.951sand 14 heavierV.953s.[27]
In mid-1955, BEA entered into a 10-year operating agreement with its associateCambrian Airways.This resulted in the latter launching new services from Liverpool and Manchester to Jersey (viaBristoland Cardiff) on behalf of the former.[32]
In its 1955–56 financial year, BEA carried more than two million passengers for the first time at an all-time high averageload factorof 69.4%. During that period, it recorded a profit of £603,614, mainly as a result of revenue growth accounted for by the Viscount fleet.[31]
In 1956, BEA acquired a 25%minority shareholdingin Jersey Airlines and the corporation'sSouthampton–Guernseyand Southampton–Alderneyroutes transferred to the independent.[nb 4][33]
1956 was also the year BEA began using Viscounts for nightfreight operations to increase cargo capacity as well as the aircraft's utilisation.[23]While BEA continued taking delivery of Viscount 701s, it placed its first order for 12 larger 66- to 68-seatViscount 802/806s.These were delivered from February 1957. By 1958, BEA had 77 Viscounts in service.[7]
On 7 February 1958, BEA acquired a 33⅓% minority shareholding inWelshindependentregional airlineCambrian Airways.[34][35][36]
In March 1958, BEA ordered sixde Havilland DH106 Comet 4Bjet aircraftfor delivery from 1960. This was BEA's answer to the impending introduction of theSud-Est Caravelle,Air France's new short-/medium-rangejet,on theFrenchflag carrier'sEuropean,North AfricanandMiddle Easternnetwork, including the prime Heathrow –Le Bourgetroute from July 1959.[8]
The arrival at Heathrow on 30 July 1958 of a BEA Elizabethan fromColognemarked the type's last service with the airline. Although itsoperating costson short routes such as London–Paris were lower than the Viscount's, the piston type could not match the turboprop's passenger appeal. Unlike the Pionairs and Leopards, which continued serving regional feeder and freight routes, Elizabethans were deployed on trunk routes where passenger appeal was more important; this further hastened their demise in BEA service.[29]
On 12 August 1959, BEA signed a £28 million contract for 24de Havilland DH121 Trident Mark 1(C)"second-generation" jets plus 12 options, making it the launch customer for the world's first commercialT-tailedrear-enginedtrijetdue to enter service in spring 1964.[37][38](This version of theTridentwas smaller and lighter than de Havilland's originalDH121of 1956.[37][39]At that time BEA's chairman, Anthony Milward, had insisted that a launch order from BEA depended on scaling down the original design, in the belief that theVickers Vanguardhigh-capacity turboprops it had ordered the year before would remain competitive against jets on trunk routes as a result of lower operating and seat-mile costs.[7]BEA's insistence on building the Trident smaller with less powerful engines and a lower fuel capacity than originally proposed was also a manifestation of the cautious attitude of the airline'ssenior managementagainst a backdrop of a [temporary] reduction in itsprofit marginand slowdown in its growth rate.[40]Meeting BEA's specifications for the Trident involved reducing the length of the aircraft'sfuselage,itswingspanandweightand replacing theRolls-Royce RB141/3 "Medway"engines withRolls-Royce RB163 "Speys".Shrinking the original design also reduced seating capacity from 111–130 to 79–90, in mixed- and single-class configuration respectively.[37])
On 7 November 1959, BEA took delivery of its first Comet 4B (G-APMB), nearly two months ahead of the contracted delivery on 1 January 1960. This was followed by the official handover ceremony of the airline's firstjet airlineron 16 November.[41]
In its 1959–60 financial year, BEA carried 3.29 million passengers and recorded a profit of £2.09 million.[31]
On 1 April 1960, BEA began commercial jet operations with its new Comet 4Bs. On that day, the airline commenced jet operations from Heathrow to Athens,Istanbul,Moscow,Munich,Rome andWarsawwith an initial, five-strong Comet fleet. By June, this fleet grew to seven (out of an eventual 18) aircraft, enabling the launch of additional jet services to Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm,Düsseldorf,Malta,ZürichandFrankfurt.[42]
On 27 September 1960, BEA welcomed its 25-millionth passenger.[43]
Also in 1960, BEA took delivery of its final two Viscount 701s[nb 5]bringing its total fleet strength of this sub-type to 50.[7]
1960 was furthermore the year theUK Parliamentenacted theCivil Aviation (Licensing) Act 1960(8 & 9 Eliz. 2.c. 38), which abolished thestatutory monopolyBEA and BOAC had enjoyed on principal domestic and international scheduled routes since the beginning of the post-war era. In theory, this gave independent airlines equal opportunities to develop scheduled routes in their own right;[44]however, in reality, the corporations would object to applications by independent airlines seeking to be licensed as competitors to the state airlines. Each application by an independent airline for a scheduled route licence was heard by the newly established Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB),[45]the new UK government body in charge of air transport economic regulation that succeeded ATAC. At these hearings, the independents needed to convince the ATLB that there were sufficient passengers to justify the proposed scheduled services, that these stood a reasonable chance of becoming profitable and that they opened up new markets rather than divert traffic from the corporations to overcome the latter's objections.[46]Although the ATLB grantedBritish EagleandBritish United Airways(BUA), BEA's and BOAC's two biggest independent competitors during the 1960s, licences to operate rival international scheduled services on several trunk routes from London Heathrow andGatwickrespectively, these airlines were unable to use them without actual traffic rights. For example, lack of traffic rights prevented BUA from running direct London (Gatwick) – Paris (Le Bourget) scheduled flights although it held a licence for that route, which the ATLB had awarded it in late 1961. In that case, BUA's failure to obtain traffic rights was mainly the result of the French authorities' refusal to grant these without a corresponding reduction in BEA's share of London–Paris flights.[47][48][49]
In its 1960–61 financial year, BEA carried 3.99 million passengers at an average load factor of 65% and recorded a loss of £1.75 million.[50]
BEA at its peak (1961–1971)
edit
By the early 1960s, BEA carried just under four million passengers per year, more than any other airline in Europe (excludingAeroflot); worldwide (excluding Aeroflot and the ChineseCAAC Airlines), only the "Big Four" US airlines – American Airlines, United Airlines, Pan Am and TWA – carried more.[6]By that time, BEA served most major European cities, with the network stretching as far east as Moscow,KuwaitandDohaas well as North Africa to the south, and it was furthermore a founder/minority shareholder ofAlitalia,Aer Lingus,Cyprus Airways,Gibraltar Airwaysand Jersey Airlines.[40][50]
In 1961, BEA placed an order for threeArmstrong Whitworth Argosyall-cargo aircraft. These were the airline's first dedicated freighters; the first aircraft was delivered and entered service later the same year.[23]
On 1 March 1961, BEA began commercial Vanguard services following a delay to the aircraft's entry into service, as a result of major defects discovered in itsRolls-Royce Tyneengine'scompressorduring testing in early 1960.[27]Following their delayed entry into service, BEA's Vanguards began flying to international destinations such as Malta andBarcelonaand by 1962, took over approximately half of the flights previously operated by Viscounts on the airline's UK domestic trunk routes,[nb 6]where they operated in a 132-seat, single-class configuration.[7][51]The Vanguards' introduction on BEA's Heathrow–Scotland trunk routes increased traffic by more than 20%.[7]
On 1 April 1961, BEA moved some flights to Paris (Le Bourget) and other European destinations from Heathrow to Gatwick in accordance with the wishes of the British government to develop the latter airport.[52][53]
In 1962, BEA sold its 25% minority holding in Jersey Airlines. This was followed by theBUA group's takeover of Jersey Airlines in May of that year.[54][55][56]
On 19 May 1962, Pionair G-ALTT operated the type's final service on BEA's Scottish internal network betweenIslay,CampbeltownandGlasgow (Renfrew).[22]
In its 1962-63 annual report, BEA estimated that introduction of both the Comet 4B and Vanguard had cost it more than £6 million over a two-year period. The airline considered this "a heavy financial burden" in support of British aircraft manufacturers, which adversely impacted its ability to compete with overseas rivals whose choice of aircraft was not influenced by political considerations.[40]
In November 1963, BEA's independent rivalBritish Eaglebecame the first independent airline to compete with it on a main UK domestic trunk route, whenthe independent launched daily scheduled servicesbetween London Heathrow and Glasgow with 103-seater, two-classBristol Britannias.This was followed by daily two-classBritanniaservices from Heathrow to Edinburgh and Belfast the next day.[57]This was also the first time a scheduled airline had offered a separate first class cabin on a domestic route in the UK. As British Eagle was restricted to a single daily round-trip on each route, it sought to differentiate itself from BEA. While BEA served these routes with 132-seat Vanguards in an all-touristconfiguration with minimal onboard catering, British Eagle provided full catering on all flights.[51]British Eagle furthermore differentiated itself from its state-owned competitor by introducing assigned seating and "trickle loading".[nb 7]The former was a first for a UK scheduled domestic carrier while the airline claimed to have started the latter in the UK as well. BEA, whose frequencies were not restricted, responded to the challenge on its three most important domestic routes by scheduling additional flights that departed and arrived at the same time or within 10 minutes of its rival's scheduled departure and arrival times. This had the effect of "sandwiching" British Eagle's flights. BEA's response also included the introduction of trickle loading and subsequent introduction of full onboard catering as well as a separate first class cabin.[51][58][59][60][61]
On 11 March 1964, a BEA Trident 1C operated the Trident's first commercial service, standing in for a Comet 4B that had been scheduled to fly 79 fare-paying passengers from Heathrow to Copenhagen. BEA's regular commercial Trident operations commenced on 1 April 1964.[62]Initially, BEA operated its Tridents in a 79-seat, two-class configuration, comprising 15 first class and 64 tourist class seats.[37]
In June 1964, BEA acquired a minority shareholding inNortheast England-based independent regional airlineBKS Air Transport.[34]
On 10 June 1965, BEA Trident 1C G-ARPR performed the world's firstautomatic touchdownatLondon Heathrowon a commercial flight with fare-paying passengers. Another BEA Trident performed the world's first fully automatic landing in fog by a civil aircraft in zero visibility at Heathrow in November 1966.[40][63]
On 26 August 1965, BEA signed the contract for a follow-on Trident order. This covered 15 firmTrident 2Esplus 10 options for delivery from spring 1968. The 2E series was anaerodynamicallyimproved version of the original1C seriesincorporating the re-arranged interior of the "hot-and-high"1E seriesthat resulted in a greater seating capacity, as well as a highergross weight,increased fuel capacity by providing an additional fuel tank in thefinand more powerfulRolls-Royce Speyengines to fly non-stop from London toBeirutwith 90 passengers.[64]
In the mid-1960s, BEA's European rivals began placing orders for new "second-generation" jet aircraft, such as theBoeing 727-200and its smaller stablemate, the737-200,as well as theDouglas DC-9-30/40.Compared with the Trident, these were more economical, in terms of range, revenue generation and seat-mile costs. Of particular concern to BEA in this context were Air France's plans to replaceCaravelleswith new727-200son most of its London–Paris flights. BEA also had a requirement for a jet to replace Vanguards on the Heathrow–Manchester route to regain traffic lost toBritish Railas a result of the electrification of the London–Manchester line andBerlin-based Viscounts to restore the competitive balance withPan Am's new727son the internal German services. Therefore, in February 1966, BEA began evaluating the 727-200, 737-200 andDC-9-40for these requirements, favouring the former two seating up to 166 and 111 passengers in single-class configuration respectively. In June 1966, BEA requested UK government permission to place an order withBoeingfor 18 727-200s and 23 737-200s.[65]Following the UK government's refusal to grant BEA permission to order an all-Americanfleet of Boeing 727-200s and 737-200s, theBoard of Trade(BOT) directed the airline to buy comparable British aircraft instead. This resulted in a BEA order for 18 firmBAC One-Eleven 500splus six options in January 1967, for delivery from autumn 1968, to meet BEA's requirement to replace Vanguards/Viscounts on its Heathrow–Manchester and internal German routes.
In February 1967, BEA sought UK government approval to order up to 40[nb 8]BAC Two-Elevens,a 200-seat, six-abreast development of the five-abreastBAC One-Elevenpowered byRolls-Royce RB211high-bypass turbofanengines, for service entry in the early 1970s.[65][66]The UK government's refusal to let BEA order American aircraft, as well as its subsequent decision to stop funding the development ofBAC'sTwo-Elevenand a delay to the rivalRolls-Royce RB207-powered, 250-seat pan-EuropeanAirbus A300widebody,[65]also resulted in another Trident order from the airline for 26 firm3B seriesaircraft plus 10 options in early 1968, for delivery from 1971.
As this necessitated the purchase of a greater number of aircraft with fewer seats and less range that needed to be inducted into the fleet over a shorter period of time due to later availability compared with the originally chosen American aircraft, BEA had made both its £32 millionOne-Eleven 500order and £83 millionTrident 3Border dependent on receiving asubsidyfrom the UK government to compensate it for having been directed against its commercial judgement to order British aircraft with a lower earning potential and later delivery dates. The UK government responded to BEA's plea by agreeing to transfer £25 million from the airline's existing borrowings to a special account on which no interest was payable, including the option to transfer this amount to itsprofit and lossaccount as required. This arrangement furthermore permitted a subsequent transfer to BEA of an additional £12.5 million in case this was required.
BEA's first order for the BAC One-Eleven enabled BAC to proceed with the development of the500 series,a more powerful, stretched version of the originalOne-Eleven 200launched by BEA's independent rivalBritish United Airwaysin 1961; its second repeat-order for Tridents launched the 3B series, a more powerful, aerodynamically enhanced, stretched version of the earlier Trident models already in service with/ordered by the airline. The 3B had an unusual (and noisy) feature, a small fourth engine (aRolls-Royce RB162) in the base of thetailfintoincrease power during takeoff.TheOne-Eleven 510EDsordered by BEA had a range of 1,150 mi (1,850 km) and were configured for 97 passengers in a single class while the Trident 3Bs entered service with the airline either in a 152-seat, single-class or a 130-seat, two-class[nb 9]configuration.[67][68][69]BEA'sBAC One-Eleven 510EDsandHawker Siddeley Trident 3Bsalso featured common instrumentation to attain a high degree of commonality. This was achieved by havingSmithssupply theavionicsof both aircraft, which in the case of theOne-Elevenreplaced theCollinsavionics found on all other 500 series.
The differences in flight deck layout between the510EDand other 500 series were so significant that a separateaircraft type ratingwas required to fly the former.[69]Another notable difference between the 510ED and all other 500 series was that the former'sRolls-Royce RB163-25 Mk 512-11 Speyengines lacked the latter'sMk 512-14DWs'demineralised waterinjectionsystem, and that these engines were rated at the samethrustas theSpeyspowering BEA's Trident 2Es and 3Bs. To compensate for the 510ED's lower rated engines, no forward integral airstairs were fitted. The resulting weight saving permitted an increase inpayload.It also offset (to some extent) the additional costs of customisation to attain commonality with the Trident 3B. Although unique in the context of the 500 series, the absence of forward airstairs was a characteristic BEA's 510EDs shared with BUA's201ACs.[40][70][71][72]
On 4 January 1966, BEA's biggest independent rival,BUA,simultaneously launched daily BAC One-Eleven jet services from Gatwick to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast, which indirectly competed with the corporation's London–Scotland and London – Northern Ireland trunk routes from Heathrow. This allowed BUA to steal a march on BEA by becoming the first scheduled all-jet operator on UK domestic trunk routes.[73]
In November 1966, BEA increased its shareholding in BKS Air Transport to 50%.[34]
In March 1967, BEA established British Air Services as a newholding companyfor BKS Air Transport and Cambrian Airways, its two loss-making regional airline subsidiaries.[11][34][74]
1967 was also the year theWilson governmentappointed a committee of inquiry under the chairmanship of Professor Sir Ronald Edwards, at the time the chairman of theElectricity Counciland a professor at theLondon School of Economics,to deliberate the future prospects ofBritain's air transport industry.[75][76][77][78]The Edwards Committee published its report entitledBritish Air Transport in the Seventieson 2 May 1969.[75][76]Its principal recommendations were
- creation of a British Airways Board to bring both BEA and BOAC under joint management control[77][78]
- creation of a majority privately owned "Second Force" airline to counterbalance the near-monopoly of the corporations, which provided 90% of all UK scheduled air transport capacity at the time[75][77][78][79]
- permitting the corporations to participate in theinclusive tour(IT)chartermarket alongside the independents by establishing dedicated, non-IATAsubsidiaries[77][78][80][81][82]
- creation of aCivil Aviation Authority(CAA) to combine the separate regulatory functions of the UK Air Registration Board (ARB), ATLB and BOT in a new statutory body with enhanced powers.[77][78]
The report's publication led to the formation ofBEA Airtoursas BEA's wholly owned charter subsidiary later the same year while subsequent adoption of its recommendations by theHeath governmentresulted in the merger of BEA's independent rivalsCaledonian Airwaysand BUA to formCaledonian//BUA,which assumed the role of the "Second Force" in November 1970.[75][83][84]To enable the new "Second Force" to become viable and to redress the competitive imbalance between it and the corporations, the Heath government ordered a limited route transfer from the latter to the former.[75][85]For BEA this entailed the loss of the Heathrow – Le Bourget route, which was transferred to its newly formed independent rival to accommodate the newcomer's Gatwick – Le Bourget service within the constraints of theAnglo-Frenchbilateral air treaty.[49][86][87][88]
On 15 February 1968, BEA took delivery of its first Trident 2E.[67]This was followed by entry into service on the airline's routes from Heathrow to Milan, Madrid,Dublinand Stockholm on 1 June that year.[89]
On 1 April 1968, BEA's first scheduled service to ParisOrly Airportdeparted Heathrow; this resulted in splitting its Paris operations between Orly and Le Bourget.[90]
Following its commercial debut on 1 September 1968 on BEA's internal German routes, the airline's new One-Eleven 500s began regular scheduled operations on 17 November 1968, respectively replacing Vanguards and Viscounts on the corporation's Heathrow–Manchester and Berlin routes.[91][92]
By 1969, BEA carried 132,000tonnesof freight each year. That year, it also opened a new cargo centre at Heathrow, which it jointly operated with BOAC. To cope with increasing amounts of air freight, it began replacing its nine Argosy freighters with the same number ofVickers V.953C Merchantmans,which were convertedV.953 Vanguardpassenger planes.Aviation Traders Engineering Limited(ATEL) ofSouthendconverted the first two of these while BEA's inhouse engineering department converted the remainder using kits supplied by ATEL.[23][93]
In its 1969–70 financial year, BEA's revenue from ticket sales was £126 million resulting in a profit of £6.5 million, almost twice the previous year's and the biggest in the airline's history until that time.[94]
In its 1970–71 financial year, BEA carried 8.67 million passengers at an average load factor of just over 54%. During that period it employed just under 25,000 people, revenues totalled £133 million and the operating loss stood at £780,000.[95]
On 18 February 1971, BEA received its first Trident 3B. Commercial operations began on 1 March of that year on the airline's Heathrow–Orly route.[67][96]
On 31 October 1971, BEA operated its last scheduled service from Heathrow to Le Bourget, marking the end of 25 years' continuous operations by the airline at the historic Paris airport.[97]This move was necessitated by the Anglo-French bilateral air treaty to make room forBritish Caledonian's Gatwick – Le Bourget service,[nb 10]which began the following day.[88]This in turn resulted in all of BEA's Heathrow–Paris flights exclusively using Orly from then on.[88][97]
In early-December 1971, BEA bought both ofChannel Airways'Trident 1Esfor use by the airline's Channel Islands Airways division andNortheast Airlines[nb 11]on mainline routes from Birmingham and regional routes from Newcastle and Leeds/Bradford respectively. Together with the ongoing Trident 3B deliveries, this additional Trident purchase would bring the total number of Tridents in BEA's fleet[nb 12]to 67,[nb 13]making the type its most numerousjetliner.[98][99]
1971 was also the year BEA underwent a major reorganisation under its then chairman Henry Marking entailing the establishment of 10 divisions that were meant to act asprofit centres.These were
- BEA Mainline
- BEA Cargo
- Super One-Eleven
- Scottish Airways
- Channel Islands Airways
- BEA Helicopters
- BEA Airtours
- British Air Services
- Travel Sales
- Sovereign Group Hotels.[11]
BEA Mainline assumed responsibility for all of BEA's Heathrow operations other than those to and from Manchester,Leeds/Bradford,Liverpool,Newcastle,Aberdeen,Inverness,the Isle of Man, Berlin (including both non-stop and one-stop services) and certain regional European destinations such asBordeaux,Cork,LuxembourgandRimini,as well as its Birmingham operations other than those to and from the Channel Islands.[11]
BEA Cargo assumed responsibility for all of BEA's freight activities, including all pure freighter aircraft.[11]
The Super One-Eleven division was headquartered in Manchester. It assumed responsibility for BEA's entire BAC One-Eleven 500 fleet and all of the airline's Manchester operations other than those to and from the Channel Islands, as well as all of its Berlin operations, with at least six aircraft based atRingwayand up to 12 atTempelhof.[72][91]From 1 April 1973, it also began replacing Viscounts and Tridents plying the Aberdeen–Heathrow route on behalf of BEA's Scottish Airways division with One-Eleven 500s, as the latter were more efficient and had greater passenger appeal.[91]
The Scottish Airways division was headquartered in Glasgow and assumed responsibility for all of BEA's Scottish internal routes, as well as all of the airline's Glasgow–Belfast, Aberdeen–Heathrow and Inverness–Heathrow services. In addition to its Viscount mainline aircraft, Scottish Airways also operated a dedicated fleet of smallerregional feeder aircraft.These served remote communities in Scotland's Highlands and Islands region.[2]
The Channel Islands Airways division assumed responsibility for all of BEA's services to and from the Channel Islands other than those to and from Heathrow, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool and Newcastle. It also operated domestic and international routes from Birmingham, using a dedicated Trident 1E, as well as a mix of Scottish and Channel Islands Viscounts.[2]
BEA's wholly ownedhelicoptersubsidiary assumed responsibility for its entirerotorcraftfleet and all of the airline's rotorcraft operations, including the scheduled service betweenPenzanceand the Isles of Scilly.[100]
BEA's wholly owned charter subsidiary BEA Airtours assumed responsibility for all of its regular, non-IATA flying activities usingfixed-wing aircraft– i.e., predominantly ITcharter flightsunder contract to third-partytour operators.[101]
The British Air Services division assumed responsibility for Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines, BEA's two majority-owned regional airline subsidiaries. This included all services operated by these airlines on behalf of theirparent company,principally all of the corporation's domestic and international services from and to Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool, Newcastle and the Isle of Man, as well as selected international regional services from Heathrow such as Bordeaux, Cork, Luxembourg and Rimini.[11]
Travel Sales assumed responsibility for all of BEA's sales-related activities.[11]
Sovereign Group Hotels assumed responsibility for the management of all Sovereign hotels, BEA's associated hotel chain.[11]
BEA–BOAC merger (1972–1974)
editBritish Airways Board (1972)
edit
The first attempt at a merger of BEA and BOAC arose in 1953 out of inconclusive attempts between the two airlines to negotiate air rights through the British colony ofCyprus.The Chairman of BOAC, Miles Thomas, was in favour of the idea as a potential solution to a disagreement between the two airlines as to which should serve the increasingly important oil regions of theMiddle East,and he had backing for his proposal from theChancellor of the Exchequerat the time,Rab Butler.However, opposition from the Treasury blocked the idea, and an agreement was reached instead to allow BEA to serveAnkarainTurkey,and in return to leave all routes east and south of Cyprus to BOAC. Paradoxically, through its effective control ofCyprus Airways,BEA was able to continue to serve destinations ceded to BOAC, including Beirut and Cairo by using Cyprus Airways as its proxy.[102]
However, it was only following the recommendations of the 1969 Edwards Report,[77][78]that a new British Airways Board, combining BEA and BOAC, was constituted on 1 April 1972.[103]This event coincided with the establishment of the CAA, the UK's new, unified regulator for the air transport industry.[104]
One of the newly formed British Airways Board's first major decisions was to place a£60 million order for six Rolls-Royce RB211-poweredLockheed L-1011 TriStar series 1widebodies on BEA's behalf, with an option on six more for either BEA or BOAC.[105]BEA was to take delivery of its first widebodied aircraft during the fourth quarter of 1974.[106]
On 1 September 1972, BEA became the British European Airways Division of the newly formed British Airways Group.[11][107]
In its 1973–74 financial year, BEA's last, the airline carried 8.74 million passengers and – excluding losses on its Scottish and Channel Islands operations – recorded its highest-ever profit of £6.7 million.[31]
British Airways (1974)
edit
BEA ceased operations on 1 April 1974 when it merged with BOAC to form British Airways. A BEA Trident operated the airline's final flight from Dublin to Heathrow on 31 March 1974. Following the late-night arrival at Heathrow at 23:30 hrs of flight BE 943 ( "Bealine 943" ), BEA passed into history as of 00:00 hrs the following day.[nb 14][11][108] However, even after the merger, a British Airways European Division, which incorporated the former BEA Mainline operation, the erstwhile Super One-Eleven and Cargo divisions, as well asBritish Airtours,[nb 15][109]continued to exist alongside a British Airways Overseas, a British Airways Regional and four other divisions until 1 April 1977 when these were replaced by a unified operating structure organised into a number of departments, including commercial operations, flight operations, engineering, planning, catering and personnel. These organisational changes were accompanied by the adoption of a single, two-letter, IATA airline identification code for the entire airline, i.e., BA, the old BOAC/Overseas Division code.[110]Until then, each of the three main airline divisions had its own two-letter, IATA airline identification code, BA for Overseas, BE for European and BZ for Regional.[109]
Highlands and islands operations
editScotland
edit
The Dragon Rapides BEA had inherited from Scottish Airways and other former independent airlines it had taken over in early-1947 initially operated the corporation's Scottish routes, including services to remote communities in the Highlands and Islands.[2]
From 1948, BEA Dragon Rapides were contracted to operate theScottish Air Ambulance Service.[2]
In 1952, BEA began replacing Dragon Rapides with Pionairs across its Scottish network; however, the pre-warde Havillandbiplanescontinued servingBarraas no other contemporary type in BEA's fleet could take off from and land onthe island's beach airstrip.The Scottish Air Ambulance Service continued to contract BEA Dragon Rapides as well.[2]
Following successful trials of de Havilland'sHeron Series 1demonstrator G-ALZL on BEA's Channel Islands routes during the second half of 1951, the airline placed an order for two1B seriesaircraft to replace "Islander" class Rapides on its Glasgow–Barra route as it was well-suited to serving restricted airfields in difficult weather conditions. Both aircraft were delivered in February 1955, wearing BEA's contemporary bare metal finish livery incorporating a burgundy cheatline separated by two thin, white lines above the cabin windows.[111]In BEA service the Herons were known as "Hebridean" class aircraft seating 14 passengers on regular commercial flights.[112][113]The Heron operated its first air ambulance service on 4 March 1955 while BEA crews were still undergoing conversion training on the new type. This was followed by a naming ceremony for both aircraft held at Glasgow's Renfrew Airport on 18 March 1955, when each aircraft was named after a Scottish medical pioneer (G-ANXA, the second aircraft to be delivered on 23 February 1955, was namedJohn Hunterwhile G-ANXB, the first aircraft to be delivered on 12 February 1955, was namedSir James Young Simpson). Scheduled operations commenced on 18 April 1955, following which one aircraft was exclusively used on scheduled services while the other was kept on stand-by for air ambulance duties.[111]An expansion of BEA's scheduled activities within the Scottish mainland as well as between the mainland and theOuter Hebrides,OrkneysandShetlandsnecessitated the acquisition of a third aircraft to provide adequate cover for the air ambulance service. This resulted in an order for a third Heron 1B, which was delivered on 13 April 1956. This aircraft (G-AOFY,Sir Charles Bell) crashed on 28 September 1957 while on an air ambulance service toPort Ellen/Glenegedale Airport,Islay,Inner Hebrides,with the loss of the pilot,radio officerand duty nurse on board.[114][115]
From 1962, BEA supplemented the Herons it used on its Scottish internal services with three new, 48-seaterHandley Page Dart Herald 100 seriesturboprops. These had originally been ordered in 1959 through the Ministry of Supply, which leased them to the airline. BEA operated its first commercialHeraldservice on 16 April 1962 on theNorthern Islesroute from Glasgow toSumburghviaWick,Aberdeen andKirkwall.However, BEA operated its Heralds, which wore the red, black and white livery,[116]only for a few years because of high crew training, maintenance and spares costs.[22][117]
1962 was also the year BEA introduced Viscounts on its Scottish network. These took over the routes toBenbeculaandStornowayin the Outer Hebrides from 21 May, only two days after BEA's last-ever Pionair service from Islay via Campbeltown to Renfrew.[22]
From October 1966, BEA operated only Viscounts and Herons on its Scottish network. It used the former on the busier, longer routes while it utilised the latter on short feeder routes to/from restricted airfields serving remote communities as well as on the air ambulance service.[118]
To improve the financial prospects of its loss-making Scottishlifelineroutes, BEA establishedScottish Airways Divisionin 1971. Glasgow-headquartered Scottish Airways became financially accountable for BEA's Scottish internal routes. It also assumed financial responsibility for the airline's services from Glasgow to Belfast, as well as from Aberdeen and Inverness to Heathrow. While it was initially operationally responsible for its entire network as well as the Scottish Air Ambulance Service, operational responsibility for the Aberdeen–Heathrow route passed to BEA'sSuper One-Eleven divisionon 1 April 1973 when the latter's One-Eleven 500s began replacing Scottish Airways Viscounts andmainline divisionTridents.[11]
In November 1972, BEA ordered twoShort Skylinerturboprops, a 19-seatdeluxeall-passenger version of theShort Skyvanutility aircraft, to replace the ageing Herons.[119]Following BEA's last scheduled Heron service from Barra viaTireeto Glasgow in March 1973 and successful route trials of the newSkyliners,[2][120]which wore a modified BEA "Speedjack" livery incorporating dualBEA/British airwaystitles,[121]the latter debuted on BEA's Scottish internal services from Glasgow to Barra and Campbeltown.[122]BEA's Skyliners were intended to replace the airline's Herons as air ambulances as well; however, when Glasgow-based independentair taxi,charterand regional scheduled operatorLoganairassumed responsibility for the Scottish Air Ambulance Service on 1 April 1973, the Skyliners had yet to enter service. This turn of events therefore marked the end of BEA's air ambulance services in Scotland after 25 years' continuous operation.[119][120]
On 31 March 1974, the British Airways Board placed an order for twoBritish Aerospace 748 Series 2Bturboprops for delivery to British Airways in 1975. These were intended to replace ageing Viscounts on the Scottish routes the new airline would inherit from BEA the following day, as well as for use onNorth Seaoil explorationflights.[123]
Channel Islands
editBEA acquired a presence in the Channel Islands as a result of the takeover ofChannel Islands Airwayson 1 April 1947. Channel Islands Airways was the holding company and successor of pre-war independent scheduled airlinesJersey AirwaysandGuernsey Airways.It was also among the independents that were absorbed into BEA following their nationalisation which began earlier that year.[4][13][15][124]
BEA commenced its services in the Channel Islands in 1947, using Dragon Rapides inherited from its independent predecessors.[2][124]
Following the transfer of BEA's London–Jersey route from Croydon to Northolt on 21 April 1947, DC-3s began replacing Rapides on most services. By 2 November 1947, all of the corporation's London–Guernsey flights had moved from Croydon to Northolt as well.[124]
In 1949, BEA expanded its fledgling Channel Islands operations by inaugurating London–Alderneyand inter-island scheduled services linking Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney.[2]
On 28 April 1950, BEA launched a summer service from Gatwick to Alderney, the airline's first scheduled route from Gatwick as well as its first scheduled service from there to the Channel Islands.[2][124]Additional scheduled services from Birmingham and Manchester to the islands began the following month.[124]
In 1951, BEA launched a Glasgow–Jersey summer service with DC-3s, the airline's first direct service between Scotland and the Channel Islands.[2][124]During that year's second half, it also successfully trialled de Havilland'sHeron 1demonstrator on its Channel Islands network.[111][124]
In April 1952, a newExeter–Jersey route launched, which BEA contracted to its new independent associate Jersey Airlines. Two months later, a new paved runway opened at Jersey, which enabled the introduction of bigger, heavier aircraft types on BEA's (and other airlines') services to and from the island.[124]
In Summer 1953, BEA introduced "Elizabethan" class Ambassador aircraft on its London–Jersey route.[124]
Following the departure of BEA's last flight from Northolt to Jersey in October 1954, the airline's London – Channel Islands flights served the British capital exclusively via Heathrow.[5][124]
In 1955, BEA ordered twode Havilland Heron 2 seriesaircraft for use on its Channel Island feeder routes. These differed from the pair of 1B series Herons used on the airline's Scottish feeder network and air ambulance services in terms of theirundercarriage;theseries 2had aretractable undercarriagewhile theseries 1's was fixed. Following BEA's acquisition of a 25%minority stakein its regional associate Jersey Airlines and a subsequent transfer of routes from the corporation to the independent in 1956, theHeron 2sordered by the former were delivered to the latter.[33][125]
BEA's withdrawal from Alderney, as well as from Southampton–Guernsey, Jersey–Dinard and Guernsey–Dinard, on 20 April 1956 coincided with the airline's last Rapide service in the Channel Islands. 1956 was also the year that saw Viscounts supplementing DC-3s/Pionairs on the corporation's Heathrow–Jersey route as well as a new summer service from Belfast to Jersey.[124]
BEA's acquisition of minority stakes in its independent associates Jersey Airlines and Cambrian Airways in 1956 and 1958 respectively resulted in the former's withdrawal from a number of mainly secondary routes serving the Channel islands, which were transferred to the latter.[2][33][124]
The launch of a new BEA summer weekend service from Aberdeen via Edinburgh to Jersey in 1957 was followed by the transfer of most of the corporation's London–Jersey and London–Guernsey flights from Heathrow to Gatwick when the latter reopened as London's second airport on 9 June 1958, in line with contemporary UK government policy to develop the airport.[124][126]
On 1 August 1960, a new paved runway opened at Guernsey, which enabled the introduction of bigger, heavier aircraft types on BEA's (and other airlines') services to and from the island.[124]
The withdrawal of Pionairs from BEA's Channel Islands services on 20 March 1961 resulted in the transfer of operations from Southampton toBournemouthto enable the introduction of Viscounts, which were too heavy for the former's grass runways. On 21 March 1961, BEA launched year-round Viscount services from Bournemouth to Jersey and Guernsey. 1961 also saw BEA's first dedicated pure freight services from both London and Southampton to Jersey. These were operated with "Leopard" class DC-3 freighters.[22]The same year, BEA furthermore terminated its association agreement with Jersey Airlines as both airlines had become competitors on the prime London–Jersey and London–Guernsey trunk routes[nb 16]as a result of the Civil Aviation (Licensing) Act that had been enacted the year before. This had abolished the corporations' statutory monopoly on principal domestic and international scheduled routes.[127]
On 31 March 1962, BEA disposed of its minority holding in Jersey Airlines.[55]The following month, Argosies replaced Leopards on BEA's London–Jersey freight run.[22]
In April 1963, most of the corporation's London – Channel Island flights transferred back to Heathrow as a result of the new competitive relationship between BEA and its former associate Jersey Airlines. The following month, BEA launched a London–Guernsey Argosy freighter service.[22][127]
On 1 June 1964, Vanguards made their debut on BEA's Heathrow–Jersey route. BEA subsequently introduced the type on selected services from Heathrow as well as Manchester.[2][22]
Between November 1965 and February 1966,BEA Helicopterstemporarily operatedS-61Nson behalf of its parent company on the Jersey–Guernsey inter-island service whileJersey's runway was being resurfaced during daytime.[22]
On 1 April 1966, BEA resumed Southampton–Jersey services following the replacement of Southampton's grass runways with a paved runway suitable for bigger, heavier aircraft types such as the Viscount and Vanguard.[22]
Following a successful proving flight on 18 July 1967, BEA introduced Vanguards on selected flights serving Guernsey.[22]
On 31 March 1969, BEA withdrew its Jersey–Guernsey inter-island service, which was taken over by Alderney-based independent air taxi, charter and regional scheduled operatorAurigny Air Services.[22]
To improve the financial prospects of its loss-making Channel Islands operations, BEA establishedChannel Islands Airways Divisionin 1971. BEA's Channel Islands Airways division assumed financial and operational responsibility for all of its routes serving the Channel Islands except those serving the islands from Heathrow, Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds/Bradford, Liverpool and Newcastle.[2]
Isle of Man
editBEA acquired a presence in the Isle of Man as a result of the takeover ofIsle of Man Air Servicesin 1947. Operations in the island commenced the same year with Dragon Rapides inherited from its independent predecessors.[124]
In July 1954, BEA operated a proving flight from the mainland to the island using a Vickers Viscount turboprop.[124] In summer 1955, BEA began supplementing DC-3s with Viscounts on its Manchester – Isle of Man route.[124]
On 31 October 1960, BEA operated its last Pionair services to the Isle of Man.[124]
On 1 April 1963,Cambrian Airwaystook over BEA's remaining routes to and from the Isle of Man[nb 17]as well as all of the corporation's services between Liverpool and Belfast.[nb 18]This route transfer also resulted in Cambrian's acquisition of six ex-BEA Viscount 701s, its first turboprop aircraft, to serve the Welshregional carrier's enlarged network.[2][22][128]
Isles of Scilly
editFollowing the inauguration of scheduled services between Land's End in Cornwall and St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly in 1947, BEA continued serving this route with Dragon Rapides due to a lack of a suitablefixed-wingalternative untilBEA Helicopterstook it over on 2 May 1964. On that day, BEA's remaining three Rapides were replaced with its helicopter subsidiary's newSikorsky S-61Nrotorcraft on theScilliesroute.[22][129][130]
Overseas-based operations
editBEA in Berlin
editFrom 1946 until 1974, BEA operated a comprehensive network of high-frequency, short-haul scheduled services between West Germany and West Berlin.[131]This had come about as a result of an agreement between theUnited States,the United Kingdom,Franceand theSoviet Unionat the end ofWorld War II,which prohibitedGermanyfrom having its own airlines and restricted the provision of commercial air services to and from Berlin to air transport providers headquartered in these four countries. RisingCold Wartensions between the Soviet Union and the three Western powers resulted inunilateral Soviet withdrawalfrom attendance at theFour PowerAllied Control Councilin 1948, culminating in thedivision of Germanythe following year.Sovietinsistence on a very narrow interpretation of the post-war agreement on the Western powers' access rights to Berlin meant that until the end of the Cold War air transport in West Berlin continued to be confined to the carriers of the Allied Control Commission powers. Aircraft had to fly across hostileEast Germanterritory through three 20 mi (32 km) wideair corridorsat a maximumaltitudeof 10,000 ft (3,000 m).[nb 19][132][133]
BEA's first-ever internal German flight took to the air in September 1946 when one of its DC-3s departedHamburg FuhlsbüttelforRAF Gatowin Berlin.[3]
During the 1948–49Berlin Airlift,BEA co-ordinated the operations of the 25 British airlines that participated in the Airlift'sOperation Plainfare.[134]
On 8 July 1951, BEA transferred its operations fromGatowtoTempelhof,thereby concentrating all West Berlin air services at Berlin's city centre airport.[135][136]
BEA's move to Tempelhof resulted in a significant increase in passenger numbers due to the removal ofAlliedrestrictions on the carriage of local civilians on commercial airline services from/to West Berlin and Tempelhof's central location. This enabled the airline to expand its Berlin-based fleet to six Douglas DC-3s.[3][137]
During the early-to-mid-1950s, BEA leased in aircraft that were bigger than its Tempelhof-based fleet of DC-3/Pionair, Viking and Elizabethan piston-engined airliners from other operators to boost capacity, following a steady increase in the airline's passenger loads.[138](BEA continued to augment its Berlin fleet with additional aircraft leased from other airlines on anad hocbasis.[139][140]This included an ex-TransairVickers Viscount 700belonging to its newly formed independent rivalBritish United Airways,which was damaged beyond repair on 30 October 1961 in a non-fatal landing accident atFrankfurt Rhein-Main Airportat the end of a passenger flight that had originated at Tempelhof.[141][142][143])
In 1958, BEA began replacing its ageing piston airliners withVickers Viscount 701turboprop aircraft in a high-density, 63-seat single class seating arrangement. Up to 10 newVickers Viscount 802s,which featured a more spacious, 66-seat single-class seating arrangement, soon replaced the older series 701 aircraft. The greater range and higher cruising speed of the802 seriesenabled BEA to inaugurate a non-stop London Heathrow –Berlin Tempelhofservice on 1 November 1965.[3][11][138]
By 1964, BEA operated up to 20,000 flights each year from and to Berlin. These represented approximately half of the airline's total yearly flights to/from Germany and generated profits of £1 million per year.[3]
22 January 1966 marked the first appearance of a British trijet at Tempelhof whenHawker Siddeleyflew in itsHS 121 Trident 1E[nb 20]demonstrator aircraft for evaluation by BEA.[144]A week later, on 29 January, BEA began evaluating the BAC One-Eleven's suitability for its Berlin operations, with the start of a series oftest flightsconducted on its behalf by BAC's475 seriesdemonstrator. This included a number of takeoffs and landings at Tempelhof to test the aircraft's short-field performance.[145][146]
On 18 March 1966, BEA's main competitor on the internal German services (IGS) routes,Pan American World Airways(Pan Am), became the first airline to commence regular, year-round jet operations from Tempelhof with new 128-seat, single-classBoeing 727 100 series,one of the first jet aircraft with a short-field capability.[131][147][148][149][150]
Pan Am's move put BEA at a considerable competitive disadvantage, especially on the busy Berlin–Frankfurt route where the former out-competed the latter with both modern jet planes as well as a higher flight frequency.[134]BEA responded to Pan Am by increasing the Berlin-based fleet to 13 Viscounts by winter 1966/7 to offer higher frequencies.[151]This also entailed re-configuringaircraft cabinsin a lower-density seating arrangement, as a result of which the refurbished cabins featured only 53Comet-type first-class seats in a four-abreast layout instead of 66 five-abreast economy seats. In addition, BEA sought to differentiate itself from its main competitor by providing a superior in-flight catering standard. (BEA'sSilver Starservice included complimentary hot meals on all flights whereas Pan Am only offered free on-board snacks. Sections of the localpressdubbed the contrastingstrategiesof the two main protagonists plying the internal German routes from Berlin – estimated to be worth £15–20 million in annual revenues – theDinner oder Düsen?( "Dinner or Jet?" ) battle.) Henceforth, the airline marketed these services asSuper Silver Star.[11][137][138][152][153][154]
The introduction of Pan Am's 727s to the Berlin market represented a major step change because of the aircraft's ability to carry more passengers than any other contemporary aircraft type used by scheduled carriers in the short-haul Berlin market, and its ability to take off from and land on Tempelhof's short runways with a full commercial payload as only light fuel loads were required on the short internal German services. Compared with BEA, Pan Am's 727s carried 20% more passengers than the British carrier's Comet 4Bs[nb 21]and up to 2½ times as many passengers as the latter's Viscounts.[nb 22][155]
Within two years of Pan Am's introduction ofjet equipmenton the bulk of its internal German services from/to West Berlin, its market share rose from 58% to 68% while BEA's declined from 38% at the beginning of this period to 27% at its end. The lower seat density in BEA's re-configured Viscounts combined with higher flight frequencies, superior catering and increased promotion proved insufficient to counter the appeal of Pan Am's new jets, despite these being laid out in a comparatively tight, 34 in (86 cm)pitchseating configuration. On the other hand, BEA's reduced capacity in the domestic air travel market between West Berlin and West Germany enabled it to attain higher load factors than its competitors.[138][156][157]
From August 1968, BEA supplemented its Tempelhof-based Viscount fleet with de Havilland Comet 4B series jetliners.[138][145]Although these aircraft could operate from Tempelhof's short runways without payload restrictions, they were not suited to the airline's ultra short-haul operation from Berlin (average stage length: 230 mi (370 km)) given the high fuel consumption of the Comet, especially when operating at the mandatory 10,000 ft (3,000 m) altitude inside the Allied air corridors.[133][134][155][158]This measure was therefore only a stopgap until most of BEA's Berlin fleet was equipped with 97-seat, single-class BAC One-Eleven 500s.[nb 23][138]BEA's re-equipment of its Berlin fleet with new One-Eleven 500 jets was central to the airline'scompetitive strategyto regain ground lost to Pan Am's 727s. The new One-Eleven 500, which BEA called theSuper One-Eleven,operated its first scheduled service from Berlin on 1 September 1968.[11][138][145][158][159]It began replacing the airline's Berlin-based Viscounts from 17 November 1968.[92]
Air France, West Berlin's third scheduled carrier, which had suffered a continuous traffic decline ever since the transfer of Berlin operations to more distantTegelat the beginning of 1960 due to Tempelhof's operational limitations that made it unsuitable for its Caravelles, was worst affected by the equipment changes at the latter airport during the mid- to late-1960s. To reverse growing losses on its Berlin routes resulting from load factors as low as 30%, Air France decided to withdraw from the internal German market entirely and instead enter into ajoint venturewith BEA. This arrangement entailed the latter taking over the former's two remaining German domestic routes to Frankfurt and Munich and operating these with its own aircraft and flightdeck crews from Tempelhof. It also entailed repainting the fins of the BEA One-Eleven 500s in a neutral, dark-blueschemefeaturingSuper One-Eleventitles instead of BEA's"Speedjack"motif. The Air France-BEA joint venture became operational in spring 1969 and terminated in autumn 1972.[3][134][138][155][156][160][161][162][163][164][165]
By 1971, BEA carried 2 million passengers each year on its Berlin routes. 1971 was also the year the airline's last Berlin-based Viscount departed the city.[11][166][167][168]
East Germany's relaxation of border controls affecting all surface transport modes between West Berlin and West Germany across its territory from 1972 onwards resulted in a decline of scheduled internal German air traffic from/to West Berlin. This was further compounded by theeconomic downturnin the wake of the1973 oil crisis.The resulting fare increases that were intended to recover higher operating costs caused by steeply risingjet fuelprices led to a further drop in demand. This in turn resulted in a major contraction of BEA's – and subsequently British Airways' – (as well as Pan Am's) internal German operations, necessitating a reduction in the Berlin-based fleet[nb 24]and workforce in an attempt to contain growing losses these once profitable routes generated by the mid-1970s.[138][164][166][169]
Subsidiaries
editBEA Helicopters
edit
The airline carried out trials with its Helicopter Experiment Unit, operating mail services inEast Angliaduring 1948 and a passenger service from Cardiff viaWrexhamtoLiverpool (Speke) Airportin 1950. In 1952, BEA established a base at Gatwick on the site of the airport's old Beehive terminal.[170]On 1 January 1964, BEA formed BEA Helicopters as a separate helicopter subsidiary, which established its administrative headquarters and engineering base at Gatwick. Following retirement of BEA's Dragon Rapides, BEA Helicopters took over the scheduled service between Land's End and the Isles of Scilly on 2 May 1964. On 1 September of that year, the service transferred fromLand's End St Just airfieldto a new, purpose-builtheliportat Penzance.[130][171]
BEA Airtours
edit
On 24 April 1969, BEA formed BEA Airtours as a wholly owned, non-IATA subsidiary to provide it with a low-cost platform to participate in the then rapidly growing IT holiday flights market, which until then had been the exclusive domain of the independent airlines.[80][82]On 6 March 1970, BEA Airtours commenced operations fromLondon Gatwickwith a fleet of seven second-hand ex-BEA de Havilland Comet series 4B aircraft seating 109 passengers in a single-class high-density configuration.[80][172] [173]On that day, BEA Airtours' first revenue flight departed Gatwick forPalma de Mallorca.[174]
British Air Services
editFollowing establishment of British Air Services as BEA's new holding company for its two loss-making regional airline subsidiaries, BKS Air Transport and Cambrian Airways, in March 1970, the corporation acquired a two-thirds majority shareholding in British Air Services in the autumn of that year to ensure its regional partners' survival. While this arrangement transferred overall control ofBKSand Cambrian to BEA, it left the former's identities and local managements in place. This effectively gave BEA the final say in all major policy matters and delegated the day-to-day running of the two smaller airlines to their respective managements.[34]BEA subsequently increased its shareholding in British Air Services to 70%.[35]BEA's amalgamation with BOAC to form British Airways on 1 April 1974 resulted in the dissolution of British Air Services and the merger of its constituent members with BEA's Scottish and Channel Islands divisions into a new British Airways Regional Division.[175]
Cyprus Airways
editCyprus Airwayswas established on 24 September 1947 as a joint venture between BEA, the BritishColonial Government of Cyprusand private interests. Operations commenced on 18 April 1948 with threeDouglas DC-3aircraft. The aeroplanes, which carried 21 passengers each, flew on a route network centred onNicosia Airportthat included Rome, London (via Athens), Beirut, Athens, Cairo, Istanbul, and Haifa. During the next three years the airline purchased an additional three DC-3 aircraft and introduced services toAlexandria,Amman,Bahrain,Khartoum(via Haifa) andLod.
In 1952, BEA took over the Cyprus Airways service to London with anAirspeed Ambassador,which featured apressurized cabinthat allowed nonstop routing avoiding a stopover in Athens. On 18 April 1953, BEA began using its newly deliveredVickers Viscount 701on their scheduled service from London to Rome and Athens. The continuing sector from Athens to Nicosia was operated by BEA under charter to Cyprus Airways. This route from London to Nicosia was the world's first regular turboprop service.[176]
In September 1957, with the political situation deteriorating in Cyprus, Cyprus Airways entered into a five-year agreement with BEA for the latter to operate services on its behalf. As a result, BEA took over the operation of all Cyprus Airways services from 26 January 1958.[177]
Following independence for Cyprus in 1960, the government of newly independent island became the majority shareholder in Cyprus Airways, with a 53.2 per cent holding, while BEA's stake was reduced to 22.7 per cent. Private individuals held the rest. Thereafter, Cypriot nationals began to be hired and trained for the flight crews, which had previously been made up of British expatriates from BEA. Cyprus Airways still relied on BEA for aircraft and in 1961 BEA began introducing Comet 4B jets on all Cyprus Airways routes through a joint aircraft pool arrangement that included Greece's Olympic Airways. On 5 April 1960, BEA introducedde Havilland Comet4B aircraft on theNicosia,Athens,Rome,andLondonroutes. With the introduction of the Comets, Cyprus Airways became the first airline in theMiddle Eastto have jet airplanes. The Comets flew in the BEA livery, but had the Cyprus Airways logo and title above their doors. In 1965, Cyprus began leasing its own Viscounts from BEA for regional routes. The Comet and Viscount aircraft were replaced with five Trident jets, three of them acquired from BEA. The firstHawker Siddeley Tridentjet was introduced in September 1969. Cyprus also leased a BAC 1-11. The faster planes allowed more European trade centres (Frankfurt, Manchester, Brussels, and Paris) to be added to the timetable.
British Airways finally divested itself of its former BEA stake in Cyprus Airways in 1981, selling its shares to the Government of Cyprus.
Aircraft operated
edit
BEA fleet
editDates below are for service with BEA and BEA Airtours,[178]those still in service in 1974 subsequently passed to British Airways.[179]
BEA Helicopters fleet
editThe early helicopters of all types were collectively known as the "King Arthur" -class. Dates are for service with BEA Helicopters,[181]those still in service in 1974 subsequently passed toBritish Airways Helicopters.[179]
| Aircraft | Total | Introduced | Retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell 47 | 2 | 1947 | 1964 | |
| Bell 47J Ranger | 1 | 1959 | 1965 | |
| Bell 206A Jet Ranger | 1 | 1968 | 1974 | Transferred toBritish Airways Helicopters |
| Bell 212 | 1 | 1972 | ||
| Bristol 171 Sycamore | 3 | 1951 | 1964 | |
| Sikorsky S-51 | 4 | 1947 | 1954 | |
| Sikorsky S-61N | 8 | 1964 | 1974 | Transferred toBritish Airways Helicopters |
| Westland Whirlwind WS.55 | 3 | 1954 | 1968 |
Aircraft on display
edit
The following aircraft are on public display in British European Airways markings:
- DH89AG-AGSHis on display at theShuttleworth CollectioninOld Warden, Bedfordshire.[182]
- Handley Page Dart HeraldG-APWAis on display at theMuseum of Berkshire Aviation.Woodley, Berkshire,England[183]
- Hawker Siddeley Trident 2EG-AVFBis on display at theImperial War Museum Duxford,England.[184]
- Vickers VikingG-AGRUis on display at theBrooklands Museum,Surrey, England.[185]
- Vickers Viscount 701G-ALWFis on display at theImperial War Museum Duxford,England.[185]
Incidents and accidents
edit- On 7 August 1946,Flight 530,aDouglas C-47A(G-AHCS) crashed into trees onMistbergetmountain while on approach toOslo Airport, Gardermoendue to pilot error, killing three of 16 on board.[186]
- On 15 April 1947,de Havilland Dragon RapideG-AHKR crashed intoSlieau Ruywhile operating a scheduled passenger flight fromSpeke Airport,Liverpool,LancashiretoRonaldsway Airport,Isle of Man.There were only minor injuries among the six people on board.[187]
- On 6 January 1948, Vickers Viking 1B G-AHPK crashed atRuislipon approach toRAF Northoltafter flying into trees in low visibility killing the pilot and injuring 8 others.[188]
- On 5 April 1948, Vickers Viking 1B G-AIVP operating that day's scheduled flight from RAF Northolt viaHamburgtoRAF Gatowin Berlincollidedduring its approach to RAF Gatow with aSoviet Air ForceYakovlev Yak-3fighter which had been flying dangerously close while performingaerobaticsin the area at the time. As a result of the collision, the Viking spiralled out of control and crashed 1.9 mi (3.1 km) from the airport on East German territory[nb 25]killing all 14 on board. The Soviet fighter pilot was also killed.[189]The accident happened during aperiod of heightened Cold War tensions over Berlinwhen Soviet military aircraft frequently "buzzed" Western commercial aircraft inside the Allied air corridors. A British inquiry determined that the Soviet pilot's action, which contravened all accepted rules of flying and the specificquadripartiteflying rules to which the Soviets were party, was the cause of the accident.[190]The Soviets rejected these findings and blamed the British flightdeck crew instead.[191]
- On 21 April 1948,Flight S200P,a Vickers Viking 1B (G-AIVE), crashed into Irish Law Mountain on approach toRenfrew Airport,Scotland. None of the 20 passengers and crew were killed in the accident but 13 were injured and the aircraft was written off.[192]
- On 30 July 1948,Douglas Dakota C.3G-AGIX flying from Edinburgh to London belly landed in a field near Sywell following engine problems. All on board survived.[193]
- On 19 February 1949, Douglas C-47A G-AHCW flying from Northolt to Renfrewcollided in mid-airwithRoyal Air ForceAvro AnsontrainerVV243nearCoventrykilling all 14 passengers and crew on both aircraft. Neither aircraft had seen the other despite clear weather, and the accident was blamed on neither maintaining an adequate look out.[194]
- On 19 August 1949, Douglas C-47A G-AHCYcrashed into a hill15 mi (24 km) short of the flight's destination atManchester Airportdue to a navigation error and pilot error, killing 24 out of 32 passengers and crew.[195]
- On 13 April 1950, Vickers Viking 1B G-AIVL "Vigilant" was on a flight fromLondon-Northolt Airportto Paris over theEnglish ChannelnearHastingswhen a French passenger was suspected of making a suicide attempt after a bomb exploded in the rear toilet compartment, tearing a hole 8 ft (2.4 m) tall by 4 ft (1.2 m) wide in the fuselage. The flight returned to Northolt and landed safely. The passenger and aflight attendantwere injured in the blast.[196]The captain, Ian HarveyDFC,a formerRAF Bomber Commandpilot, was awarded theGeorge Medalfor the "coolness" that had characterised his deportment, throughout the incident: "In the face of this very grave emergency the action of Captain Harvey is worthy of the highest praise. The complete loss of the aircraft and all its company was avoided only as a result of his courage, high skill and presence of mind."[197]TheFlight Safety Foundationalso honoured Harvey and his crew with an award.[198]An official inquiry confirmed that a bomb had been detonated in the Viking's lavatory, but there was no evidence of how it had been done. The investigation revealed no motive for the attack. Material relating to it in thePublic Record Officehas been released and is available fromThe National Archives.[199][200]
- On 17 October 1950, Douglas Dakota C.3 G-AGIW crashed inMill Hillshortly after takeoff on a flight from RAF Northolt to Renfrew Airport. The accident killed 28 passengers and crew, leaving only 1 survivor, flight attendant James McKissick. The crew had shut down the No.2 engine after it developed problems, leaving the aircraft without sufficient power to clear high ground.[201]
- On 31 October 1950, Vickers Viking 1B G-AHPN "Lord St Vincent"crashedin bad weather and poor visibility atLondon Airportafter the aircraft struck the runway and went off the end of the runway and caught fire killing 28 out of 30 passengers and crew[202]
- On 5 January 1953, Vickers Viking 1B G-AJDL "Lord St Vincent"crashedon approach toBelfast Nutts Corner Airportdue to pilot error, killing 27 out of 35 on board.
- On 12 August 1953, Vickers Viking 1B G-AIVG landed wheels-up after a landing gear tire blew out, all on board survived. Although the aircraft was written off and withdrawn from use, it was moved to the Musée National de L'automobile de Mulhouse around 1970 and then moved to EuroAirport for restoration in 2004.[203]
- On 20 January 1956,Vickers Viscount701 G-AMOM crashed on takeoff fromBlackbushe Airporton a training flight due to a loss of power in two engines; all five crew on board survived, but the aircraft was written off. The training captain was simulating a number four engine failure and had pulled the high pressure cock on the number three engine by mistake and throttled back the number four engine, causing a loss of power in both engines three and four.[204]
- On 14 March 1957,Flight 411,a Vickers Viscount 701 (G-ALWE, "RMA Discovery" ), crashed on approach to Manchester Airport due to a flap failure caused by metal fatigue. All 20 occupants on board died along with two on the ground. A bolt that held the bottom of the number two starboard flap unit broke, causing the aileron to become locked; this led to a loss of control.[205]
- On 28 September 1957,de Havilland Heron 1BG-AOFY, while operating a flight for the Scottish Air Ambulance Service, crashed on approach toPort Ellen/Glenegedale Airport,Islay, in bad weather. The three occupants, two crew and one nurse (a volunteer from Glasgow's Southern General Hospital) were killed. One of the remaining two Herons was namedSister Jean Kennedyafter the nurse; the other afterJames Young Simpson,a Scottish pioneer in anaesthetics.[115]
- On 23 October 1957, Vickers Viscount 802 G-AOJA on a flight fromHeathrow Airportcrashed after overshooting on approach to Belfast Nutts Corner Airport, killing all seven on board; the cause was not determined.[206]
- On 17 November 1957, Vickers Viscount 802 G-AOHP crashed atBallerup,Denmark,after the failure of three engines on approach toCopenhagen Airport.Both crew members survived. (There were no passengers on board the aircraft as this was an all-cargo flight.) The cause was a malfunction of the anti-icing system on the aircraft.[207]
- On 6 February 1958,Flight 609crashed in a blizzard on its third attempt to take off from an icy runway at theMunich Riem AirportinGermany.On board the plane was theManchester Unitedfootballteam, along with supporters and journalists. Twenty-three of the 43 passengers died. The accident is known as the "Munich Air Disaster".The charter flight was operated by Airspeed Ambassador 2 G-ALZU,Lord Burleigh.[208]
- On 28 April 1958, Vickers Viscount 802 G-AORC crashed atCraigie, South Ayrshireon approach toGlasgow Prestwick Airportwhen the pilot misread thealtimeterby a margin of 10,000 ft (3,000 m). All five occupants on board survived.[209]
- On 16 May 1958, Douglas Dakota C.3 G-AGHP crashed at Chatenoy, France while flying in a storm as a result ofstructural failure,killing the crew of three.[210]
- On 22 October 1958,Flight 142,a Vickers Viscount 701C (G-ANHC), was struck by anItalian Air ForceF-86E Sabreand crashed at Anzio, Italy with the loss of all 31 on board; the F-86 pilot was able to eject and survived.[211]
- On 5 January 1960, Vickers Viscount 701 G-AMNY was damaged beyond economic repair atLuqa Airport,Malta,when it departed the runway after landing following a loss of hydraulic pressure. Although the aircraft came to rest against the airport'scontrol tower,there were no fatalities among the 51 occupants (five crew, 46 passengers).[212]
- On 7 January 1960, Vickers Viscount 802 G-AOHU was damaged beyond economic repair when the nose wheel collapsed on landing atHeathrow Airportdue to ATC error. A fire then developed and nearly burnt-out the fuselage. There were no casualties among the 59 people on board.[213]
- On 21 December 1961, Cyprus Airways Flight 226, ade Havilland Comet4B (G-ARJM) operating on behalf of Cyprus Airways from London toTel Aviv,stalled and crashed on takeoff fromEsenboğa Airport,Ankara,Turkey.The aircraft was destroyed in the crash killing 27 of 34 on board.[214]The cause was attributed to a fault with thehorizon direction indicatorgiving the pilot a false indication and therefore leading him to put the aircraft in the wrongattitude.BEA and theirunderwritersbegan action in 1969 against the manufacturer of the indicator. The manufacturer stated they would defend the action and show that the cause was the pilot suffering a heart attack and the crew being negligent with flightdeck procedures.[215]
- On 4 July 1965,Armstrong Whitworth Argosy222 G-ASXL crashed into a hilltop nearPiacenza,Italydue to a navigation error. Although the aircraft was destroyed, both pilots survived.[216]
- On 27 October 1965,Vickers VanguardG-APEE on a flight from Edinburgh crashed onto the runway during an approach in bad weather at London Heathrow Airport due to pilot error. All 36 on board died.[217]
- On 12 October 1967,Cyprus Airways Flight 284operated by BEA de Havilland Comet 4B G-ARCO on behalf of Cyprus Airways, exploded in mid-air over theMediterraneanand crashed into the sea with the loss of all 66 on board. The explosion was caused by a device under a passenger seat.[218]
- On 4 December 1967, Armstrong Whitworth Argosy 222 G-ASXP crashed on a training flight atStanstedduring a simulatedengine failure,as a result of loss of control. Although the aircraft caught fire on impact, all three crew members survived.[219]
- On 3 July 1968, Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C G-ARPT was destroyed on the ground at London Heathrow when BKS Air TransportAirspeed Ambassador G-AMAD crashed at the airport.The Ambassador's impact cut the stationary Trident in half and severed the tailfin of another Trident parked next to it. While this made G-ARPT a completewrite-off,the aircraft next to it, Trident 1C G-ARPI, was subsequently repaired and re-entered service. (The latter aircraft would be involved in the worst accident in BEA's history as well as the worst involving a Trident, in terms of fatalities, on 18 June 1972.) As at the time of the accident both Tridents were empty and not being attended to while parked on theairport ramp,no BEA passengers or staff were among the fatalities.[220][221]
- On 2 October 1971,Flight 706,a Vickers Vanguard (G-APEC), crashed nearAarsele,Belgium,following a mid-air rupture of therear pressure bulkheaddue to severe, undetected corrosion. All 63 on board died.
- On 18 June 1972,Flight 548,a Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C (G-ARPI), the aircraft that had been repaired and returned to service after being struck by BKS Air Transport Ambassador G-AMAD at Heathrow on 3 July 1968,[221]crashed two minutes after takeoff from Heathrow Airport, killing all 118 passengers and crew. The accident occurred close to the town ofStaines,Middlesex.This was the worst accident in BEA's history as well as the worst involving a Trident, in terms of fatalities.[222]It was also the worst on British soil until1988.
- On 19 January 1973, Vickers Viscount 802 G-AOHI crashed intoBen More,Perthshirewhile on a test flight. All four people on board were killed.[223]
Liveries
editLate-1940s – early-1950s
edit
BEA's earlyliveriesin the late-1940s to early-1950s mainly consisted of a bare metal finish with upper case, blackBritish European Airwaystitles above the cabin windows on each side of the fuselage, the aircraft registration in bold, black capital letters on each side of the rear fuselage as well as on the underside of each wing, and a contemporary BEAlogoon each side of the forward fuselage featuring a stylised wing andBEAin capital letters on each side of the nose.[224]Additionally, Vikings featured a name given to individual aircraft in black capital letters each side of the nose.[225]
Early-1950s – late-1950s
edit
By the early-1950s, the bare metal finish on most BEA aircraft had evolved to incorporate a burgundycheatlineseparated by two thin, white lines above the cabin windows on each side of the fuselage. This cheatline was in turn separated by upper case, burgundyBritish European Airwaystitles in the middle. The bottom, burgundy part of this cheatline extended below the flightdeck windows to converge on the nose, with the space in-between painted black (matte finish) to reduceglarefor the pilots and shield sensitive navigational equipment housed in the nose from radiation. There was a contemporary BEA logo on each side of the forward fuselage featuring a stylised wing andBEAin capital letters on each side of the nose. In addition to the aircraft registration, there was also acoat of armson each side of the rear fuselage and a smallUnion flageach side of the lower part of the tail. The lettersBEAappeared in bold, upper case on the upper left and lower right wing while the aircraft registration appeared in bold, upper case on the upper right and lower left wing.[226]Later adaptations of this livery used on DC-3s/Pionairs featured an unbroken cheatline with large, upper caseBritish European Airwaystitles on a white upper fuselage and a larger Union flag, as well as the aircraft registration each side of a white tail and the aircraft's name prominently displayed in a white field on the left side of the nose and a coat of arms on its right side.[227]When applied to BEA's Elizabethans, this lackedBritish European Airwaystitles due to the aircraft'shigh-wing configurationthat left insufficient space on the upper fuselage.[228]
Late-1950s – late-1960s
edit
From the late-1950s to the late-1960s, BEA's aircraft wore its red, black and white livery, which was uniformly applied to the entire fleet from September 1959.[229]It consisted of a prominent BEA logo featuring the three-letter abbreviation of the airline's name in upper case white in a red square each side of a white tail as well as near the front and rear passenger doors on the left fuselage and near the service door[s] on its right side, where it interrupted an otherwise continuous, thick black cheatline across the cabin windows on each side of the fuselage. The cheatlines on each side of the fuselage converged on the nose, with the space in-between painted black (matte finish) as well to reduce glare for the pilots and shield sensitive navigational equipment housed in the nose from radiation. The upper part of the fuselage (above the thick black cheatline) was all-white while its lower part (below the thick black cheatline) was in natural metal finish or painted light-grey. The engines retained their natural metal finish as well while the wings were red, both on the upper and underside, with the BEA logo featuring the three-letter abbreviation of the airline's name in upper case white in a square appearing on each wing's upper side and the aircraft registration in bold, white capital letters on each wing's underside. This livery, which was also known as the "red square" livery because of its prominent display of the red-square BEA logo in multiple locations on the aircraft, featured the Union flag near the front passenger door on the silver/light-grey lower fuselage. It furthermore had the aircraft type on/near both front passenger/forward service doors in white letters on a black background (cheatline) and the aircraft registration in white capital letters on a black background each side of the tail (a thin, black horizontal strip at/near the top of the fin).[230]
Late-1960s – mid-1970s
edit
From the late-1960s, BEA's aircraft began to appear in the "Speedjack" livery. This was the airline's final livery. Like the previous red, black and white livery, it was uniformly applied to its entire fleet.[nb 26]It consisted of a dark-blue cheatline across the cabin windows on each side of the fuselage, extending in a straight line from the flightdeck windows to the tail cone/tail engine exhaust/auxiliary power unitexhaust. The upper part of the fuselage (above the dark-blue cheatline) was all-white while its lower part (below the dark-blue cheatline) was light-grey. Unlike the earlier [predominantly] bare metal/white tail, liveries worn by BEA aircraft, the new livery featured a dark-blue tail with a prominent display of part of the Union flag in the shape of an arrow that symbolised an aircraft (composed of a fuselage withswept wings) on each side. The arrow-shaped part of the Union flag symbolising an aircraft became known as the "Speedjack" motif. Tridents wearing this livery also displayed the type's name (Tridentfor Trident 1C/1E,Trident Twofor Trident 2E andTrident Threefor Trident 3B) in white letters each side of the dark-blue centre engine while One-Eleven 500s wearing it displayed the type's name (Super one-eleven) in white letters on a dark-blue horizontal strip on each of their bare metal engines.[231][232]This livery furthermore differed from its two immediate predecessors by only having the tip of the nose cone painted black (matte finish). All aircraft wearing this livery also featured the three-letter abbreviation of the airline's name in upper case white framed with a red border to emphasise the shape of the letters, which appeared above the dark-blue cheatline near the passenger/forward service doors each side of the white upper fuselage.[231]In the case of regional feeder aircraft, the three-letter abbreviation of the airline's name was followed by the respective operating division's name in lower case dark-blue letters (e.g.scottish airways).[233]The only aspect of the previous livery that was retained for all mainline aircraft were the red wings (both upper and undersides), with the aircraft registration in bold, white capital letters on each wing's underside.[233]Following the merger with BOAC, many former BEA aircraft retained their basic "Speedjack" livery with just the name changing from red-framed, whiteBEAto dark-blueBritish airwayspending repainting in the red, white and blue 1970s and early-80s Negus & Negus livery of British Airways.
City centre check-in facilities
edit
Following BEA's formation, its firstCentral Londonair terminal at which check-in facilities for passengers and baggage were available was located close toVictoria station.Before World War II, this facility had been used by Imperial Airways. When wartime restrictions on civil aviation in the UK were lifted, BEA began sharing it with BOAC. Once passengers had checked-in, they boarded one of theCommer Commandobuses the airline provided to take them to Northolt. These 1½-deckers featured a raised seating area at the back, which increased the baggage space below.[26]
On 31 May 1948, BEA moved its Central London check-in to Kensington Air Station, the first purpose-built facility for the exclusive use of BEA's passengers.[26][234]
From 1952, BEA introduced newAEC Regal IV1½-decker buses to carry its passengers from Central London to Northolt and Heathrow.London Transportoperated these on BEA's behalf, in white/grey (later white/blue) livery.[235][236]
In late 1953, BEA's Central London air terminal was moved again to a new site theWaterloo Air Terminalat next toWaterloo stationon thesouth bankof theRiver Thamesbetween theHouses of Parliamentand theCity of London.[26][237]The Heathrow bus journey was now 20 minutes longer but an optional, more expensive, helicopter link was briefly operated from aSouth Bankhelipad.
On 6 October 1957, BEA relocated its Central London air terminal once more to theWest London Air TerminalinCromwell Roadin London'sRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.This was a new, £5 million facility that was officially inaugurated upon completion in 1963.[26][238]
In 1966, BEA introduced a fleet of double-decker LondonAEC Routemasterbuses. These initially wore a blue and white livery, before being repainted in a white/grey livery, a white/blue livery incorporating BEA's "red square" logo and, finally, a white/red livery with Speedjack-style BEA lettering. The London Routemasters carried BEA's passengers from the West London Air Terminal to Heathrow and towed their baggage in large, two-wheeled trailers.[26][239]
In 1974, British Airways withdrew the Central London check-in facilities it had inherited from BEA because of declining demand and closed the West London Air Terminal. This resulted in disposal of the dedicated fleet of Routemaster buses, some of which had already been repainted in the new red, white and blue Negus & Negus livery of British Airways.[26]
Reuse of name
editBetween June 2000 and July 2002, independent UK regional airlineJersey European Airways(JEA) revived the by then long-dormantBritish Europeanname by adopting it as its new trading name to reflect JEA's UK-wide expansion and growing partnership with Air France. This also included the prefixing of all JEA flights with the former BEA two-letter, IATA airline identification code BE, which continued in use when JEA rebranded asFlybeon 18 July 2002.[240]
Arms
edit
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See also
editNotes
edit- ^excluding the formerEastern Bloccountries and thePeople's Republic of China
- ^afterAmerican Airlines,United Airlines,Eastern Air LinesandTrans World Airlines(TWA)
- ^independent fromgovernment-owned corporations
- ^Southampton–Dinardtransferred subsequently as well
- ^on lease from the manufacturer
- ^Heathrow–Glasgow, Heathrow–Edinburgh, Heathrow–Belfast and Heathrow–Manchester
- ^whereby passengers take their seats in the aircraft after checking in instead of awaiting their departure inside the airport terminal
- ^30 firm orders plus 10 options
- ^firstand tourist
- ^Caledonian//BUA became British Caledonian (BCal) in September 1971
- ^BKS Air Transport became Northeast Airlines in June 1970
- ^1964 to 1974
- ^241Cs,21Es,152Es,263Bs
- ^section 57 of the Civil Aviation Act 1971 was the legal basis for the dissolution of BEA and BOAC on 31 March 1974 while the Air Corporations (Dissolution) Order 1973 transferred BEA's and BOAC's property rights andliabilitiesto the British Airways Board on 1 April 1974
- ^BEA Airtours became British Airtours on 1 April 1974
- ^using Heathrow and Gatwick as BEA's and Jersey Airlines' respective London terminals
- ^Belfast – Isle of Man, Heathrow – Isle of Man, Liverpool – Isle of Man, Manchester – Isle of Man
- ^direct flights and flights stopping in the Isle of Man
- ^the cruising altitude ofproplinersemployed on theBerlin Airlift
- ^an improved version of the original Trident 1C BEA already operated, which lacked ashort-field capabilitythat would have made it suitable for the airline's Tempelhof operation
- ^from August 1968
- ^Silver Starconfiguration
- ^the temporary use of Comet 4Bs on BEA's Berlin routes enabled Viscount crews to undergo conversion training on the One-Eleven
- ^from nine to seven BAC One-Eleven 500s (following on from an earlier reduction from 12 to nine in response to the termination of the BEA-Air France joint venture)
- ^at the time theSoviet Zone of Occupation
- ^except BAC One-Eleven 500s which wore a modified livery featuring a neutral, dark-blue fin withSuper One-Eleventitles instead of the BEA "Speedjack" for the duration of the BEA-Air France joint venture (spring 1969 – autumn 1972)
Citations
edit- ^Classic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA),Vol. 45, No. 6, pp. 44/5, 49 (Jet equipment), Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^abcdefghijklmnopqClassic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA: Highlands and Islands – Never on a Sunday),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 46, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^abcdefClassic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA: Internal German Services – Berlin-bound),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 51, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^abcdefghiClassic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA: Post-war pioneers),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 45, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^abcdefghClassic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA means business),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 47, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^abClassic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA),Vol. 45, No. 6, pp. 45, 49 (Jet equipment), Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^abcdefghijkClassic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA means business),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 48, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^abClassic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA: Jet equipment),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 48, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^Classic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA: Jet equipment),Vol. 45, No. 6, pp. 50/1, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^"World Airline Directory".Flight International.28 September 1967. p. 529.Archivedfrom the original on 13 November 2012.Retrieved9 August2012.
- ^abcdefghijklmnoClassic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA: Birth of BA),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 52, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^Companies House London,https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/00297907Archived15 December 2021 at theWayback Machine
- ^abcHalford (2006), p. 35
- ^"The British Corporations"Archived27 July 2013 at theWayback MachineFlight28 April 1949 p. 500
- ^abHalford (2006), p. 34
- ^BEA "Decade"Archived18 October 2015 at theWayback MachineFlight3 August 1956
- ^"The British Corporations"Flight28 April 1949 p. 501
- ^abClassic Aircraft"Gone but not forgotten... BEA", Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 47, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^Merton Jones (1972) p. 64
- ^Merton Jones (1972) p. 48
- ^Merton Jones (1972) p. 67
- ^abcdefghijklmnPhil Lo Bao; Hutchison, Iain (2002).BEAline to the Islands: The Story of Air Services to Offshore Communities of the British Isles by British European Airways, Its Predecessors and Successors.kea publishing. p. 157.ISBN978-0-9518958-4-9.Archivedfrom the original on 15 December 2021.Retrieved5 November2016.
- ^abcdClassic Aircraft"Gone but not forgotten... Cargo carriers: unsung workhorses of BEA", Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 49, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^Airliner World (Cambrian Airways – The Welsh Dragon),Key Publishing, Stamford, UK, September 2012, p. 66
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- ^"ASN Aircraft accident Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident 1C G-ARPT London Heathrow (LHR)".Aviation Safety Network. 3 July 1968.Archivedfrom the original on 1 March 2012.Retrieved22 August2012.
- ^abWorld directory of airliner crashes (1960–1969),Denham, T., Patrick Stevens Ltd, Sparkford nr Yeovil, 1996, p. 85
- ^"ASN Aircraft accident Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident 1C G-ARPI near Staines".Aviation Safety Network.Archivedfrom the original on 9 June 2011.Retrieved21 August2012.
- ^"Report No: 4/1974. Viscount 802, G-AOHI. Report on the accident at Ben More, Perthshire, Scotland, on 19 January 1973".AAIB.Archivedfrom the original on 10 November 2012.Retrieved8 September2012.
- ^Classic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 45 (DC-3 image), Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^Classic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 46 (Viking image), Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^Classic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 48 (Viscount prototype image), Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^Classic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 47 (Pionair image), Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^Classic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 47 (image depicting DC-3 and Elizabethan flying in formation), Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^Jets (BEA: The Power and the Glory),p. 28, Kelsey Publishing, Cudham, September/October 2013
- ^Classic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA),Vol. 45, No. 6, pp. 44/5 (1964 Heathrow image depicting assorted BEA aircraft: Viscount 802 in foreground with Trident 1C and Vanguard in background), Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^abClassic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA),Vol. 45, No. 6, pp. 48/9 (image depicting Trident 2E), Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^Classic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 51 (image depicting One-Eleven 500), Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^abClassic Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten... BEA),Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 46 (image depicting Heron 1B), Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, June 2012
- ^"Kensington Air Station, Civil Aviation News...",Flight,p. 353, 1 April 1948,archivedfrom the original on 18 October 2015,retrieved20 July2012
- ^"Image of an AEC Regal IV 1½-decker bus operated by London Transport for BEA".Flickr.com. 1985.Archivedfrom the original on 5 January 2016.Retrieved18 January2017.
- ^"Comfort all the way",Flight,p. 537, 2 May 1952,archivedfrom the original on 11 December 2011,retrieved22 September2012
- ^"Helicopters and the South Bank",Flight,p. 573, 23 October 1953,archivedfrom the original on 18 October 2015,retrieved20 July2012
- ^"History & heritage – Explore our past: 1950–1959 (6 October 1957)".British Airways.Archivedfrom the original on 18 October 2015.Retrieved20 July2012.
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References
edit- Phil Lo Bao (1989).An Illustrated History of British European Airways.Browcom.ISBN0-946141-39-8.
- Lo Bao, Phil and Iain Hutchison (2002).BEAline to the Islands.Kea Publishing.ISBN978-0-9518958-4-9.
- Ellis, Ken (2016).Wreck and Relics 25th Edition.Manchester, England: Crecy Publishing.ISBN978-191080-9037.
- Merton Jones, A. (1972).British Independent Airlines since 1946, Volume One.UK: LAAS International.
- Halford-MacLeod, Guy. (2006).British Airlines Volume 1: 1946–1951.UK: Tempus Publishing.ISBN0-7524-3696-1.
- Hutchison, Iain. (1996).Air Ambulance, Six Decades of the Scottish Air Ambulance Service.UK: Kea Publishing.ISBN0-9518958-2-6.
- Poole, Stephen (1999).Rough Landing or Fatal Flight.Douglas: Amulree Publications.ISBN1-901508-03-X.
- "Gone but not forgotten: BEA".Classic Aircraft.45, 6. Hersham, UK: Ian Allan Publishing: 44–52. June 2012.ISSN2049-2081.(Classic Aircraftonline)
External links
edit
- British Airways Archive and Museum CollectionArchived3 August 2009 at theWayback Machine
- Air corridor travelers to Berlin became pawns in 1970–71 Four-Power negotiations.Includes image of unique joint BEA-Air France ticket.
