British Continental Airways was a British airline that operated between 1935 and 1936, when it merged into
British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
.
History
British Continental Airways Limited was formed on 15 April 1935 to operate airline services from
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main air ...
to the continent.
The first services were to Belgium; as well as Brussels, other Belgian destinations were added over the first year, including Ostend and Antwerp. Services were also run to Lille in France and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
In partnership with
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
the airline operated a service between Amsterdam and Liverpool with a stop at Doncaster.
Originally formed as a private company, it became a public company on 31 October 1935 with a share capital of £50,000.
The airline became part of a dispute at the start of 1936 when it started a Scandinavian service as an extension of the Amsterdam route in competition with British Airways, as a government subsidy and a mail contract had already been given to British Airways. The government suggested that the two airlines should merge.
From 1 August 1936 BCA and the Scandinavian routes were absorbed into British Airways, although the Belgian routes continued to be operated under the BCA name for a further two months.
Fleet
At the time of the merger with British Airways, British Continental Airways had the following:
* 1 ×
De Havilland Dragon
The de Havilland DH.84 Dragon is a successful small commercial aircraft that was designed and built by the de Havilland company.
Design and construction
Following the commercial success of its single-engined de Havilland Fox Moth that had fir ...
named "St Christopher", originally owned by one of the founders of the airline, Graham Mackinnon.
* 1 ×
De Havilland DH.86 named "St George", delivered in August 1935.
* 3 ×
De Havilland DH.86A. A further aircraft was on order and subsequently delivered to British Airways.
* 3 ×
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its rela ...
s named "St Andrew", "St Patrick", and "St David".
See also
*
List of defunct airlines of the United Kingdom
This is a list of defunct airlines of the United Kingdom.
See also
* List of airlines of the United Kingdom
* List of airports in the United Kingdom and the British Crown Dependencies
References
*
*
{{List of defunct airlines ...
References
Bibliography
*
{{Airlines of the United Kingdom
Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom