Defunct charter airline of the United Kingdom (1969–1988)
Not to be confused with Airtours, a travel agency.
British Airtours
IATA
ICAO
Callsign
KT
BKT
BEATOURS
Founded
24 April 1969 (1969-04-24) (as BEA Airtours)
Ceased operations
14 April 1988 (1988-04-14) (rebranded as Caledonian Airways)
Operating bases
London–Gatwick
Manchester
Parent company
British European Airways (1969–1974)
British Airways (1974–1988)
Headquarters
Administrative HQ: Gatwick Airport (1970–1988)
Corporate HQ: Ruislip (1969–1973)
Corporate HQ: Heathrow Airport (1974–1988)
Combined HQ: Lowfield Heath, Crawley (1988–1999)
Key people
P.C.F. Lawton
Eamonn Mullaney
Capt. W. Baillie
George Blundell-Pound
E.L. Killip
J.R. Wood
Capt. P.J. McKeown
R.A. Thorburn
W.A. Thompson
J. Marshall
British Airtours (stylised as British aırtours) was a charter airline in the United Kingdom with flight operations out of London Gatwick and Manchester Airports.
Established as BEA Airtours in 1969, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways (BA) following the merger between British European Airways (BEA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in the early 1970s. British Airtours adopted the Caledonian Airways name when the newly British Airways completed the acquisition of the rival British Caledonian in April 1988. Caledonian Airways was eventually sold to tour operator Inspirations in 1995, marking BA's exit from the mainstream inclusive tour market. In 1999, Thomas Cook acquired Inspirations and merged Caledonian Airways with Flying Colours to form JMC Air Services, a forerunner of the UK arm of the later Thomas Cook Airlines. On 23 September 2019, Thomas Cook Airlines ceased operations, thus ending the legacy of British Airtours.
Cook Airlines ceased operations, thus ending the legacy of BritishAirtours. BEA Airtours was formed on 24 April 1969 as a division of BEA to provide...
The 1985 Manchester Airport disaster occurred when BritishAirtours Flight 28M (officially known as Flight 328), an international passenger flight, was...
Gatwick-based subsidiary BritishAirtours as Caledonian Airways. On St. Andrew's Day (30 November) in 1970, Caledonian Airways acquired British United Airways (BUA)...
fleet Lufthansa fleet Inherited from British Airways Regional Division Inherited from BEA Inherited from BritishAirtours Inherited from BOAC Only 7 in service...
and Cargo divisions, as well as BritishAirtours, continued to exist alongside a British Airways Overseas, a British Airways Regional and four other divisions...
£299. In 1994, Airtours purchased Scandinavian Leisure Group and in 1996 it bought Simon Spies Holding, a Danish rival. In 2002, Airtours Group plc, rebranded...
Airtours BOAC BOAC-Cunard Britannia Airways BritishAirtoursBritish Airways British Caledonian Airways British Cargo Airlines British Eagle British Midland...
an agreement with Air France and British Airways came to an end, a Boeing 707-400 wet-leased from BritishAirtours helped the airline to start long-haul...
tours to China, UAE, India, Singapore and Malaysia.[citation needed] Iran Airtours flight activity as an independent airline started in 1992 in Mashhad, which...
British Midland Airways Viscount aircraft, and both showing evidence of hydroplaning. On 27 May 1985, a Lockheed Tristar operated by BritishAirtours...
be released to the public.[needs update] British Airways Flight 2276 Korean Air Flight 2708 BritishAirtours Flight 28M American Airlines Flight 383 "ASN...
required on Part 121 aircraft operations. Studies, some done in light of BritishAirtours Flight 28M, have concluded that assertive cabin crew are essential...
707-420s and six Boeing 707-320s were leased in (respectively from BritishAirtours and British Midland Airways) at various times between 1974 and 1976 and were...
but a flashover fire during evacuation killed 23 of 41 passengers. BritishAirtours Flight 28M had to abort a takeoff from Manchester due to an engine...
had a failure of a Pratt & Whitney JT8D-15 engine. Two people died. BritishAirtours Flight 28M: a Boeing 737 flying from Manchester to Corfu in 1985 suffered...
163, the worst aircraft fire on the ground, in terms of fatalities. BritishAirtours Flight 28M, another aircraft fire on the ground China Airlines Flight...
The airline was founded in 1990 as Airtours International Airways and was to be the in-house airline for Airtours Holidays, (Going Places Travel Agent)...
September 1989. Retrieved 28 May 2013. "ASN Accident Description (BritishAirtours-328M)". Aviation Safety Network. 22 August 1985. Retrieved 28 May 2013...
aircraft was stormed and the hijacker arrested. August 22, 1985 – BritishAirtours Flight 28M, a 737-200, aborted its takeoff at Manchester Airport in...
22 August 1985, an engine of a Boeing 737–236 Advanced, operated by BritishAirtours, failed during take-off from runway 24, the fire spreading into the...
competitor was BritishAirtours. The 1980s saw the growth of Monarch Airlines as a credible competitor. In the 1990s Air 2000, Airtours International,...
of terrible accidents speak, with Sylvia Chapell of the August 1985 BritishAirtours Flight 28M; Paul Barney of the September 1994 Sinking of the MS Estonia;...
refer to: American Airlines Flight 28, crashed on 23 October 1942 BritishAirtours Flight 28M, fire on the ground on 22 August 1985 This disambiguation...
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