page_title: British Airways
section_title: Other facts about British Airways
hierarchical_section_title: British Airways / Other facts about British Airways
caption_attribution_description: Tails of British Airways Jumbos lined up near terminal 5 at Heathrow
context_page_description: British Airways is the United Kingdom's largest airline, and is the UK's flag carrier. It was formed in 1974 when the UK's two government owned airlines, the British Oversea Airways Corporation and British European Airways were joined together. It is now owned by a company called International Airlines Group, which also owns Iberia Airlines, and is one of the largest companies in the United Kingdom. It operates domestic flights within the UK as well as international flights to Europe and the rest of the world.
  British Airways has a large fleet of aircraft, including planes built by Boeing, Airbus and Embraer. They are now operating the Airbus A380, the largest passenger plane ever built.
  For a while during the 1990s British Airways' planes had tails each painted in a design to symbolise a country of the world. This was called the World Tails scheme, and it wasn't very popular. However, they now have tails that are based on the Union Jack.
  British Airways also flew the Concorde, one of only two aircraft types that could fly faster than the speed of sound. However, this plane was taken out of the fleet in 2003 after the crash of Air France flight 4590, after being used for 27 years.
context_section_description: It was the first airline to introduce flat beds in Business Class, although many airlines now have this feature
  It is shown in the James Bond movie series.
  The airline was awarded 'Airline of the Year 2015'
  It still operates more Boeing 747s than any other airline (however with the introduction of the B777 and the A380 that number is predicted to drop)
caption: British Airways Boeing 747-400s at London Heathrow Airport.
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