British Asia Airways Limited was a subsidiary of

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

founded due to the

legal status Legal status describes the legal rights, duties and obligations of a person or Legal person, entity, or a subset of those rights and obligations. (defining "status") The term may be used to describe a person's legal condition with respect to perso ...

of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

) and territory disputes with the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in order to allow British Airways to continue flying to Taiwan from the United Kingdom.

History

Due to political sensitivities, national airlines operating flights to the

were not permitted to fly to Taiwan. Similar arrangements were made by other airlines, such as

Japan Airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) is the flag carrier airline of Japan. JAL is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport, Narita and Haneda Airport, Haneda airports, as well as secondary hubs in Osaka's Kansai ...

KLM KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, or simply KLM (an abbreviation for their official name Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V. , ),

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

., Swissair and Air France. Lufthansa provided service to Taipei under the name of its former subsidiary, Condor. It used the

Boeing 747-400 The Boeing 747-400 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an advanced variant of the initial Boeing 747. The ''Advanced Series 300'' was announced at the September 1984 Farnborough Airshow, target ...

repainted in a special livery, with the

Union Flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

tailfin being replaced by the

Chinese character Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...

s 英亞 (

Hanyu Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin, or simply pinyin, officially the Chinese Phonetic Alphabet, is the most common romanization system for Standard Chinese. ''Hanyu'' () literally means ' Han language'—that is, the Chinese language—while ''pinyin'' literally ...

: ''Yīng Yà''; literally "British Asia"). The airline flew between

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

using the code ''BR'', which BA had inherited from

British Caledonian British Caledonian (BCal) was a private independent airline in the United Kingdom that operated from 1970 until it merged with British Airways in 1988. It operated primarily from London Gatwick Airport in south-east England. BCal was formed ...

, while the flight from

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

used ''BA''. The airline ceased operations after British Airways ceased flights to Taipei in December 2001.

Destinations

British Asia Airways used to serve the following destinations: * **

–

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...

(Focus city) * / **

Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was an international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply K ...

(Stop-over; 1993–1998) **

Chek Lap Kok Airport Hong Kong International Airport is an international airport on the island of Chek Lap Kok in western Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or Chek Lap Kok Airport, to distinguish it from its predec ...

(Stop-over; 1998–2001) * **

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

–

Chiang Kai-shek International Airport Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (Traditional Chinese: 臺灣桃園國際機場) is the main international airport serving Taiwan, particularly the northern region and Taipei. Located in Dayuan District, Dayuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Taoyuan, ...

(Focus city)

Fleet

During its eight-year existence, British Asia Airways operated the following aircraft:

References

External links

{{Navboxes , list = {{International Airlines Group {{Oneworld {{Airlines of Taiwan {{Airlines of the United Kingdom British Airways British companies established in 1993 British companies disestablished in 2002 Taiwanese companies established in 1993 Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom Defunct airlines of Taiwan Airlines established in 1993 Airlines disestablished in 2002 Former Oneworld affiliate members

History

Destinations

Fleet

See also

References

External links