Happy Birthday British Airways

IATA	ICAO	Callsign
BA	BAW	SPEEDBIRD

British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in November 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passing of the Civil Aviation Act of 1946, European and South American services passed to two further state-owned airlines, British European Airways (BEA) and British South American Airways (BSAA). BOAC absorbed BSAA in 1949, but BEA continued to operate British domestic and European routes for the next quarter century. British Airways was created in 1974 after a British Airways Board was established by the British government to manage the two nationalised airline corporations, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways, and two regional airlines, Cambrian Airways from Cardiff, and Northeast Airlines from Newcastle upon Tyne. On the 31st March 1974, all four companies were merged to form British Airways. After almost 13 years as a state company, BA was privatised in February 1987 as part of a wider privatisation plan by the Conservative government. The carrier expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian in 1987, Dan-Air in 1992, and British Midland International in 2012. British Airways or BA is the flag carrier and the second largest airline in the United Kingdom based on fleet size and passengers carried, behind easyJet. The airline is based in Waterside near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL). In January 2011 BA merged with Iberia, creating the International Airlines Group (IAG), a holding company registered in Madrid, Spain. IAG is the world's third-largest airline group in terms of annual revenue and the second-largest in Europe.

BRITISH AIRWAYS B747-436 G-BNLW (CN 25432)     File Photo

British Airways is a founding member of the Oneworld airline alliance, along with American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and the now defunct Canadian Airlines (ceased operations 1st January 2001) . The alliance has since grown to become the third largest, after SkyTeam and Star Alliance. British Airways uses the callsign "SPEEDBIRD" after the Speedbird emblem. 

The stylised emblem of a bird in flight and it was designed in 1932 by Theyre Lee-Elliott as the corporate logo for Imperial Airways. 

BRITISH AIRWAYS B777-336 G-STBF (CN 40543)     File Photo 

British Airways has announced that four aircraft would receive retro liveries. The first of these is Boeing 747-400 G-BYGC which was repainted into a British Overseas Airways Corporation livery, which it will retain until retirement in 2023. Two more Boeing 747-400s are to be repainted with former British Airways liveries. One will wear the "Landor" livery, the other will wear the original "Union Jack" livery. An Airbus A319 is to be repainted into British European Airways livery.

Current fleet

As of 28 March 2019^[update], the British Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft:

British Airways fleet

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers					Notes
			F	J	W	Y	Total
Airbus A318-100	1	—	—	32	—	—	32	Operates specialty route between London City Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport
Airbus A319-100	42	—	—	—	—	143	143	22 older aircraft to be retired by 2023 One to be painted in British European Airways retro livery
						144	144
Airbus A320-200	67	—	—	—	—	168	168
						177	177
Airbus A320neo	10	15	—	—	—	180	180
Airbus A321-200	18	—	—	23	—	131	154
			—	—	—	199	199
Airbus A321neo	4	6	—	—	—	220	220
Airbus A350-1000	—	18	—	56	56	219	331	Entry into service in 2019
Airbus A380-800	12	—	14	97	55	303	469
Boeing 747-400	34	—	14	86	30	145	275	All to be retired by 2024 To be replaced by Boeing 777-9 One painted in BOAC retro liveryOne painted in 1990s Landor livery
			14	52	36	235	337
Boeing 777-200	3	—	17	48	24	127	216	To be replaced by 777-300ER
Boeing 777-200ER	43	—	14	48	40	124	226
			—	48	24	203	275
			—	32	52	252	336
Boeing 777-300ER	12	4	14	56	44	185	299
Boeing 777-9	—	18	8	65	46	206	325	Order includes 24 options
Boeing 787-8	12	—	—	35	25	154	214
Boeing 787-9	18	—	8	42	39	127	216
Boeing 787-10	—	12	TBA
Total	276	73

Information sourced from various sites using Wikipedia and BA website