British Airways is the flagship airline of the United Kingdom and celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2009. The airline's main hub is located at London Heathrow Airport but also has a strong presence at London Gatwick Airport. As a part of the Oneworld alliance with other international airlines, British Airways can offer its passengers extended routes and privileges when traveling internationally.
The carrier began service on August 25, 1919 as Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, providing the world's first daily flights from London to Paris. In the mid-1930s, several smaller airlines combined to form the then privately owned British Airways Limited. The 1950s brought the passenger jet and enabled British Airways to service destinations like Johannesburg in half the previous travel time. Several smaller commercial carriers combined in the 1970s and were integrated into the now dominant British Airways.
British Airways flies international routes out of London's two main airports, Heathrow and Gatwick. British Airways services most major international travel destinations, including the United States. Nonstop service destinations include New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Boston, Baltimore, Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Seattle, Orlando and Tampa. Many of these routes are offered daily. Other popular destinations include Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in Brazil, Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore in India, Tel Aviv, Bangkok, Singapore, Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa and Cairo. Almost all major international airports in Europe are serviced by British Airways.
The British Airways fleet in 2010 consisted of seven types of passenger jets. The airline operates the Series 400 version of the Boeing 747, which is used for long-haul flights to North and South America, Australasia, Africa, the Middle and Far East and Gulf destinations. The popular Boeing 777-200 is also a long-haul aircraft for destinations similar to those of the 747. The Boeing 767-300, a wide-bodied plane, and the smaller 757-200 are used for shorter, European destination flights but the 767 is also occasionally used for transatlantic flights. The Boeing 737-400 and Airbus A319, A320 and A321 are designed for short-haul flights within the UK and Europe. The narrow-bodied Airbus A318 is the smallest of the Airbus aircraft and is used in London City Airport to New York JFK routes. British Airways also operates the CityFlyer fleet for short-distance flights.
The airline is putting focus on the environment and announced in 2007 its plans to purchase 12 new Airbus A380 and 24 new Boeing 787 aircraft. The current 21 Boeing 767-300 and 57 Boeing 747-400 aircraft will be phased out with the introduction of the new additions to the fleet. The new planes will protect the environment with lower CO2 emissions and 30 percent less fuel burn. British Airways is also considering noise pollution. The new family of aircraft will only produce approximately a quarter of the noise compared to current levels.
More than 2.5 million passengers flew on British Airways' supersonic jets that were in service from 1976 to 2003. The Concorde's fastest transatlantic crossing occurred on February 7, 1996, flying from New York to London in 2 hours 52 minutes and 59 seconds. The jet could reach cruising speeds of 1,350 miles per hour and carry 100 passengers. Because of the high heat the supersonic flights would create on the jet's body, the plane's cabin could stretch between 6 and 10 inches during flight. A special white paint was developed to absorb such changes and to dissipate the heat. The jet was powered by four Rolls-Royce engines, each producing 38,000 pounds of thrust.
