British Airways Ltd. was a British

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd (no relation to the US carrier

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

), and Hillman's Airways. Its corporate emblem was a winged lion. DH86-2112

History

On 30 September 1935, Allied British Airways Ltd was formed for the purpose of merging the publicly quoted company Hillman's Airways with the private companies of Spartan Air Lines and United Airways Ltd, both controlled by Whitehall Securities Corporation Ltd (WSC), owned by the Hon. Bernard Clive Pearson. Its directors were W. D. L. Roberts, Harold Balfour and John DeC Ballardie from WSC, plus John R. McCrindle, Edgar L. Granville and Gerard L. D'Erlanger from Hillman's. On 29 October 1935, the name was changed to British Airways Ltd, and on 11 December 1935 it converted to a public company. Whitehall Securities was joined as investor in the merged airline by banking house Erlangers Ltd, through its Chairman, Leo d'Erlanger. The combined assets of 37 operational aircraft included Armstrong Whitworth Argosy II, Spartan Three Seater, DH.60 Moths, DH.84 Dragons, DH.89 Dragon Rapides, DH.86As and Spartan Cruisers.Doyle (2001) In early 1936, aircraft and services of Hillman's Airways were transferred from Stapleford Aerodrome to Heston Aerodrome, the principal base of Spartan Air Lines and United Airways; the single-engined types and most of the DH.84s were then sold. The London to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

services of United Airways were discontinued, and the services between Liverpool,

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

were transferred to Northern & Scottish Airways, a sister company. The ownership of DH.89s and Spartan Cruisers was progressively transferred to Northern & Scottish, and the Argosy was withdrawn from use at Stanley Park Aerodrome (Blackpool). In April 1936 the airline merged with British Continental Airways; the merged fleet continued to operate as British Airways. On 25 May 1936, the service from London to Cowes and Ryde aerodromes on the Isle of Wight, that was still jointly operated by Spartan Air Lines and Railway Air Services using DH.84s, was transferred from Heston to

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport , also known as London Gatwick Airport (), is the Airports of London, secondary international airport serving London, West Sussex and Surrey. It is located near Crawley in West Sussex, south of Central London. In 2024, Gatwic ...

. Gatwick was then undergoing renovation and redevelopment, to include a new terminal and linked railway station, completed in 1937. In 1936, services from London to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

and

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were flown using DH.89s and DH.86s. Four Fokker F.XIIs were purchased from KLM, after attempted purchase and use by Crilly Airways for a London-

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

service, and they were employed on the Paris service until sold in September 1936 for intended use in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. During 1936, and into 1937, various night mail contracts were operated, using DH.86s and additional two Fokker F.XIIs, two Fokker F.VIIIs, and three Junkers Ju 52s, to

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

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, and

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. On 7 February 1937, all services were transferred to Croydon Airport, after surfaces at Gatwick became water-logged due to heavy traffic on immature turf and drains that collapsed; some training operations remained there. In March 1937, the first four of seven Lockheed 10 Electras were delivered. On 12 August 1937, Scottish Airways Ltd was formed to merge the operations of Northern & Scottish Airlines with Highland Airways Ltd, and British Airways Ltd held a 50% stake. On 29 May 1938, most aircraft and services were transferred from Croydon to Heston, due to congestion and unpredictable fog, but night mail operations continued from Croydon. On 3 September 1938, the first of nine Lockheed 14s was delivered. On 15 September 1938, British Prime Minister

Neville Chamberlain Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from ...

flew from Heston to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

for a meeting with German leader Adolf Hitler at

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps. South of the town, the Be ...

. A Lockheed 10 Electra (G-AEPR) of British Airways Ltd was used on that first of three occasions, piloted by C. Nigel Pelly. On 22 September 1938, Chamberlain flew to

for a meeting at Bad Godesberg in Lockheed 14 G-AFGN, flown by Eric Robinson. On 29 September 1938, G-AFGN was piloted by Victor Flowerday on the final trip to Munich, that resulted in the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...

, Chamberlain's widely publicised return at Heston on 30 September 1938, and his subsequent " Peace for our time" speech.Sherwood, 1999 During 1939, new services were operated to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and

Second World War

Before the outbreak of war on 1 September 1939, the British government had already implemented the Air Navigation (Restriction in Time of War) Order 1939. That ordered military takeover of most civilian airfields in the UK, cessation of all private flying without individual flight permits, and other emergency measures. It was administered by a statutory department of the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

titled National Air Communications (NAC). By 1 September 1939, the aircraft and administrations of British Airways Ltd (BAL) and Imperial Airways were physically transferred to Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport, to be operated jointly by NAC. On 1 April 1940, British Airways Ltd and Imperial Airways Ltd were officially combined into a new company,

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned national airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II ...

(BOAC), that had already been formed on 24 November 1939 with retrospective financial arrangements.

Fleet

British Airways Ltd operated the following aircraft:

Accidents and incidents

* On 16 May 1936, a Spartan Cruiser (G-ACYL) crashed on landing at Hall Caine Airport, Ramsey, Isle of Man. The aircraft was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Glasgow (Renfrew) Airport. Despite the loss of a wing in the accident, the aircraft was repaired and returned to service.

Notes

* Doyle, Neville. 2001. The Triple Alliance: The Predecessors of the first British Airways. Air-Britain. * Moss, Peter W. 1962. Impressments Log (Vol I-IV). Air-Britain. * Moss, Peter W. October 1974. British Airways. Aeroplane Monthly. * * Sherwood, Tim. 1999. Coming in to Land: A Short History of Hounslow, Hanworth and Heston Aerodromes 1911–1946. Heritage Publications (Hounslow Library)

References

External links

Photo of Spartan Cruisers
of British Airways Ltd at Hall Caine Aerodrome IoM, 1936
Photo of Dragon Rapide
(G-ADAG) of Hillmans Airways
Photo of De Havilland Dragon
(G-ADCT) 'Orcadian' of Highland Airways

(G-AEPR) at Heston, 15 September 1938
Polish National Archives photo of Lockheed 14
(G-AFGN) with Chamberlain at Heston, 24 September 1938
Polish National Archives photo of Lockheed 14
with pilot Giles Guthrie
Polish national Archives photo of Lockheed 14
(G-AFKE) at Warsaw, 1939 * {{DEFAULTSORT:British Airways Ltd (1935-39) Airlines established in 1935 Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom British companies established in 1935 1935 establishments in England Airlines disestablished in 1939 1939 disestablishments in the United Kingdom 1940 mergers and acquisitions 1935 mergers and acquisitions