British Airline History
The British airline industry blossomed in the post-World War I era, but severe competition between fledgling companies made the carriers financially weak. Government-recommended mergers in the early 1920s, and later nationalization and privatization of airlines, reduced the number of carriers to allow greater profitability.
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Samuel Instone
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Sir Samuel Instone was an early pioneer in British aviation. He established a shipping company, S. Instone & Company Ltd., in 1919 to provide service between Cardiff and Paris via London. As Instone Air Line, it began ferrying passengers to Paris in 1920. The company is believed to be the first to require its pilots and cabin crew to wear uniforms.
Handley Page Transport
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Competing against Instone's company was Handley Page Transport Ltd., created in 1919 by Frederick Handley Page. Using converted Handley Page Type O/400 bombers, he operated a London-Paris route and later built the Handley Page Type W8 passenger aircraft for an additional route to Brussels.
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Daimler Airway
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War veteran Lt. Col. Frank Searle, who operated the BSA Motorcycle Company, established Daimler Air Hire in 1919 and two years later purchased Aircraft Transport & Travel to create Daimler Airway. Using six new de Havilland DH.34 biplanes, Daimler established routes from London to Paris and daily flights between Manchester and London. The domestic routes were timed to allow connections to Paris. By 1923, it had routes between Manchester, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and Hanover, Germany.
British Marine Air
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British Marine Air Navigation Company Ltd. came later than the initial flock of private companies, organizing in 1923 to establish a flying boat service in an agreement with Supermarine and Southern Railway, owners of the Southhamptom Docks. The British Marine Air also had its own customs offices to allow regular flights from the UK to Cherbourg, the Channel Islands and Le Havre.
Imperial Airways
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While the new airlines proved to be a boon to the British traveler, they did little to increase profitability. There were too many small airlines competing in a small market. In 1923, the British government recommended that Instone, Daimler, British Marine and Handley Page merge into one airline to create Imperial Airways and become a financially healthier company. The mergers occurred in 1924.
Postwar Era
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By 1935, United Airways and Spartan Air Lines merged to create British Airways Ltd. In 1939, Imperial Airways and British Airways merged to form the British Overseas Airways Corporation. The new company operated a South America route and began using de Havilland Comet 1 jetliners from London to Johannesburg in 1952. British European Airways was a division of BOAC, and operated North African and European routes from 1946 to 1974.
Today
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In 1974, the British government nationalized the airline industry and recommend that BOAC, BEA and two smaller airlines form to create British Airways. Thirteen years later, British Airways was privatized. In 1984, British Airways faced stiff competition from Virgin Atlantic, which was founded by Richard Branson. In 2008, the new no-frills British carrier EasyJet joined British Airways, British Midlands and Virgin.
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Resources
- Photo Credit British Airways Museum
