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| Founded | 24 November 1939 (amalgamation of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd) | ||||||
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| Commenced operations | 1 April 1940 | ||||||
| Ceased operations | 31 March 1974 (merged with BEA, Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines to form British Airways) | ||||||
| Hubs | Heathrow Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | ≈ 200 (at its peak) | ||||||
| Destinations | 200 | ||||||
| Parent company | Government of the United Kingdom | ||||||
| Headquarters | Speedbird House, Heathrow Airport, Hillingdon, England | ||||||
| Key people | |||||||
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 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 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. The Civil Aviation Act 1971 merged BOAC and BEA, effective 31 March 1974, forming today's British Airways.[1]
- ^ "World Airline Directory", Flight International, p. 530, 28 September 1967, archived from the original on 11 March 2012, retrieved 14 December 2009