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British Airways is the largest airline of the United Kingdom. It is also one of the largest airlines in the world, with the greatest number of flights from Europe to North America.
British Airways was formed in 1973 from the merger of the state owned British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways (BEA). During the fiscal year ending 2002, BA carried 40 million passengers on revenues exceeding GBP 8 billion. The flag carrier was privatised and floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1987 by the Conservative government of Mrs. Thatcher.
During the 1990s BA became the world's most profitable airline and trumpeted the slogan "The World's Favourite Airline." In 1992 Deutsche BA was established as a subsidiary operating in Germany. By the time it was sold in June 2003 DBA was operating 16 Boeing 737s and was the second largest German domestic carrier after LufthansaLufthansa is the name of the largest German airline company, headquartered in Cologne. Their main base at Frankfurt International Airport in Frankfurt am Main which is also Lufthansa's primary traffic hub. The company has developed a second hub at Munich'.
In 1995This is a list of aviation-related events from 1995: Events A Concorde sets a new speed record for a round-the-world flight. It returns to JFK International Airport in New York after a journey lasting 31 hours 27 minutes, passing through Toulouse, Dubai, BA formed British Asia Airways , a subsidiary based in TaiwanFor the political entity commonly known as "Taiwan," see Republic of China. The island of Taiwan ( Traditional: , Simplified: , Pinyin: Taiwn, Wade-Giles: T'ai-wan, Taiwanese: Tai-oan) is located off the coast of China in the Pacific Ocean. It is also kno. British Asia Airways was set up due to political sensitivities, the Union Jack tailfin replaced by Chinese characters. Many airlines followed the same practice, e.g. QantasQantas is Australia's oldest and largest airline, and the world's third oldest airline (after KLM and Avianca). Its IATA designator is QF. History The company was founded on 16 November 1920 as " Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited", flew as "Australia Asia Airways" and KLM's operations became "KLM Asia".
In 1996This is a list of aviation-related events from 1996: Events February the T-6 Texan II is selected as the new primary trainer for the United States armed forces. March March 15 The Fokker aircraft manufacturer is declared bankrupt. March 21 Tupolev and NAS British Airways, with its newly appointed Chief Executive Bob Ayling, entered a period of turbulence. Increased competition, high oil prices and a strong pound hurt profits. BA management and trade unions clashed and the resulting disruption cost the company hundreds of millions of pounds. In 1997 Ayling dropped BA's traditional Union Flag tailfin livery in favour of world design tailfinsIn 1997 British Airways adopted a new livery. One part of this was a newly stylised version of the British Airways " Speedbird" logo (right). The major change, however, was the introduction of a wide range of tail-fin art. Also known as the Utopia or worl, in an effort to change its image from a strictly British and aloof carrier to a more cosmopolitan airline. The move was not a success and Ayling slowed the process, eventually declaring the fleet would sport a dual livery; half a Union flag design, half the world art tailfins. Ayling devoted a lot of time pursuing a merger with American AirlinesAmerican Airlines AA is the major airline in the United States. It is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, and operates scheduled flights throughout the United States, as well as flights to Latin America, Western Europe, and Japan. Since 1982, AA has been however this was ultimately unsuccessful due to the conditions placed on the deal by regulatory authorities, the most painful of which was the sacrificing of landing slots at Heathrow.
Positive news during this time was cost savings of £750m and the establishment of the successful, but highly subsidised, Go Fly in 1998. Go was a low-cost carrier intended to compete in the rapidly emerging "no-frills" segment. After four years of successful operations, the airline was sold off and merged with easyJet. Another efficiency sought by Ayling was the reduction of capacity, cancelling 747-400 orders in favour of the 777 and rationalising BA's short-haul fleet with an order for the efficient A319/A320/A321 family.
In 1999 British Airways reported a 50% slump in profits, its worst since privitisation. In March 2000 Bob Ayling was removed from his postion. British Airways announced Rod Eddington as his successor in May. Eddington set about cutting the workforce further, dramatically so after the slump caused by the September 11th attacks in 2001. In May 2001 Eddington announced the return of the Union Flag to the entire fleet, reversing his predecessor's rebranding exercise.