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| Founded | June 1946 |
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| Commenced operations | September 1946 |
| Ceased operations | 1954 (Taken over by Qantas) |
| Headquarters | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines or BCPA, was an airline registered in New South Wales, Australia in June 1946 with headquarters in Sydney. It was formed by the governments of Australia (50%), New Zealand (30%) and the United Kingdom (20%) to pursue trans-Pacific flights. BCPA was later taken over by Qantas.
BCPA was formed by treaty through an "Agreement between the Governments of Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom for the Formation of British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines Limited" with an initial capital of £10,000 Australian. The initial agreement was signed on 4 August 1947, [1] with ownership restrictions between the governments removed on 27 October 1949. [2]
The original BCPA route was Sydney – Auckland – Fiji – Canton Island – Hawaii – San Francisco – Vancouver and later included Melbourne. Initially, BCPA chartered all flights to Australian National Airways, which used its Douglas DC-4s. The inaugural flight departed from Sydney on 15 September 1946.
In late 1948, BCPA took delivery of the first of four Douglas DC-6 aircraft, outfitted as Pullman-type sleepers, bundling board options with small port holes bedside. Each aircraft was named for one of the four sailing vessels of Captain Cook, Resolution, Discovery, Adventure and Endeavour.
The airline ordered six de Havilland Comet jet airliners in 1952 for delivery in 1954. [3] In 1953 it agreed to buy three Comet IIs for delivery at the end of 1956 [4] and retain two of the DC-6s for tourist-class carriage.
In October 1953 the three government owners discussed a takeover of the airline by Qantas Empire Airways. [5] In 1954 it was announced that Qantas Empire Airways would take over the BCPA services between Australia and North America and would take over the order for three Comets. [6] [7]
A Douglas DC-6 operating BCPA Flight 304 crashed on approach to San Francisco International Airport on 29 October 1953. Among the passengers killed in the crash was American concert pianist William Kapell whose estate sued BCPA, BOAC (which was alleged to have sold Kapell the ticket), and Qantas, which had taken over BCPA. [8] In 1964 Kapell's widow and two children were awarded US$924,396 damages. [9] This was later retracted and the Kapell family received only the standard $7,000 internationally agreed award.
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Sir Arthur William "A.W." Coles was a prominent Australian businessman and philanthropist, a son of St James, Victoria shopkeeper George W. Coles.
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William Kapell was an American pianist and recording artist, killed at the age of 31 in the crash of a commercial airliner returning from a concert tour in Australia.
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BCPA Flight 304/44 was a scheduled flight operated by British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines from Sydney, Australia, to Vancouver, Canada, with scheduled stops at Fiji, Canton Island, Honolulu and San Francisco. On 29 October 1953, the flight was conducted by a Douglas DC-6 named Resolution and registered in Australia as VH-BPE. The propliner crashed during its initial approach towards San Francisco International Airport, killing all 19 people on board, including the American pianist William Kapell.
Southern Cross Route is a term for passenger flights from Australasia to Europe via the Western Hemisphere. The term was coined by British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines when they began services from Sydney to Vancouver in 1949. The route was extended to Europe following the signing of an air services agreement between Australia and the United Kingdom in 1957, which saw Qantas flying from Sydney to London via Los Angeles and New York using Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations. The name is in honor of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith's historic 1928 flight in the aircraft Southern Cross. The equivalent route running through the Eastern Hemisphere is known as the Kangaroo Route.
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Media related to British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines at Wikimedia Commons
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