BRITISH AIRWAYS

British Airways plc (LSE: BAY) is the national airline and flag carrier of the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. Its main hubs are London Heathrow and London Gatwick. British Airways holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, and is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. British Airways is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance.

The British Airways Group was formed on 1 September 1972 consisting of BOAC and BEA. These two companies were dissolved on 31 March 1974 to form British Airways (BA). The company was privatised in February 1987. It expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian in 1988 and some of the routes of Gatwick-based carrier Dan-Air in 1992. The formation of Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic in 1984 began a tense relationship with BA which ended in "one of the most bitter and protracted libel actions in aviation history" in 1993 in which BA apologised "unreservedly" for an alleged "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin and paid damages and legal costs.

Traditionally a Boeing customer, BA placed its first direct order for Airbus aircraft in November 1998. The company's next major order was the commencement of its replacement of its long haul fleet, ordering Boeing 787s and Airbus A380s in 2007. British Airways' strategy and aircraft purchases are seen as an industry "benchmark" that influences other carriers' decisions.

In 2008 BA unveiled its new subsidiary OpenSkies which will take advantage of the liberalization of transatlantic traffic rights, and fly non-stop between major European cities and the United States. Operations are expected to begin with a single Boeing 757 in June 2008.

British Airways has been plagued by difficulties in recent years. The Association of European Airlines reports that BA is the worst airline for lost and delayed baggage, losing over twice as many bags as the average. They are also the worst airline for punctuality of short/medium haul flight departures and arrivals and ranked 17th out of 21 airlines for long haul delays. Many of BA's problems stem from being based at London Heathrow airport which has become crowded and subject to delays.In 2007 Heathrow was voted the world's least favourite alongside Chicago O'Hare in a TripAdvisor survey. The opening of their new terminal, Heathrow Terminal 5 was heavily criticised by politicians, unions, airlines and passengers as an operational disaster.