BA Connect

Last updated

BA Connect
Baconnect logo.svg
IATA ICAO Callsign
THBRTBRITISH
Founded30 July 1993 (1993-07-30)
Commenced operations1 February 2006 (2006-02-01)
(as BA Connect)
Ceased operations25 March 2007 (2007-03-25)
(sold to Flybe)
Operating bases
Frequent-flyer program
Alliance Oneworld (affiliate; 1999–2007)
Parent company
Headquarters Didsbury, Manchester, England
Website www.britishairways.com

BA Connect was a wholly-owned subsidiary airline of British Airways. It was headquartered in Didsbury, Manchester, England, [1] [2] it operated a network of domestic and European services from a number of airports in the United Kingdom on behalf of British Airways. The airline operated as a low-cost carrier, with food sold via a 'buy on board' programme (except for flights to London City Airport).

Contents

On 3 November 2006, British Airways announced the sale of BA Connect to Flybe. [3] It formally transferred to Flybe on 25 March 2007.

History

Dash 8-311Q in 2006 BA Connect Dash 8-311Q.jpg
Dash 8-311Q in 2006

The company was incorporated on 26 January 1970 as Brymon Aviation Limited which operated as Brymon Airways. On 30 July 1993 the company was renamed Brymon Airways Limited to reflect the operating name.

The company was purchased by British Airways in 1993 and on 28 March 2002 it was merged with British Regional Airlines and was renamed British Airways Citiexpress Ltd operating as BA CitiExpress.

British Airways Citiexpress is recognised for pioneering and attaining CAA approval for the print-at-home boarding pass, one of the first self-service tools of the digital era.

The regional operations of British Airways at Birmingham and Manchester, [4] and the operations of the former CityFlyer Express, were integrated into the new airline later in 2002.

On 1 February 2006 the airline was renamed BA Connect Limited operating as BA Connect and operations moved to a low-cost carrier model, with food sold via a 'buy on board' programme (except for flights to London City Airport). However, allocated seating and a baggage valet service were still available, while lounge access, tier points and BA Miles remained unaffected for those in the Executive Club. Operationally the new service came into effect on 26 March 2006.

BAe 146-200 departing Manchester Airport in 2007 G-gntz-mrh.jpg
BAe 146-200 departing Manchester Airport in 2007

BA Connect handled most of British Airways' domestic and European services that do not serve London’s Heathrow or Gatwick airports. It had hubs in Birmingham, Bristol, London–City, Manchester and Southampton. From these locations the carrier operated services to several northwest European destinations and also to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. A few services also operated from Gatwick. In total, BA Connect flew from 17 airports in the UK and Ireland on 63 routes to major or central regional airports.

On 3 November 2006, British Airways chief executive said that he had reached an agreement for Flybe to purchase BA Connect. BA would ensure that Flybe has sufficient funding in order to achieve its growth targets and the transition out of current BA Connect fleet. In return BA would acquire a 15% stake in the new business. The acquisition (which did not include BA Connect routes to London City or from Manchester to New York) would significantly increase the Flybe route network in both the UK and continental Europe, making Flybe the largest regional airline in Europe. Retention of the London City routes would result in BA retaining the RJ100 aircraft for these domestic and European services.

BA had to pay Flybe a sum of money to take on the company due to Flybe actually taking on a company that would cost them money rather than make profits for the foreseeable future. [5] [6]

Much concern was expressed at the shedding of routes across Scotland, but Flybe stated that BA Connect routes would be kept and expanded. [7] On 6 March 2007 Flybe stated that they would not be operating any former BA Connect services from Bristol. Consequently, the last flights on any of BA Connect's routes from Bristol was on 24 March 2007. [8]

Services

BA Connect operated from several destinations that were also served by the parent company, and were part of British Airways destinations. Those that were not served by British Airways itself, mainly UK regional destinations, are listed in British Airways franchise destinations.

Fleet

Embraer ERJ-145 Embraer ERJ-145EU, BA Connect JP5674486.jpg
Embraer ERJ-145

The BA Connect fleet included the following aircraft, before the sale to Flybe (March 2007)

See also

Related Research Articles

Maersk Air A/S was a Danish airline which operated between 1969 and 2005. Owned by the A. P. Møller–Mærsk Group, it operated a mix of scheduled and chartered passenger and cargo services. Headquartered at Dragør, its main operating bases were Copenhagen Airport, Billund Airport and Esbjerg Airport. The airline had offshore helicopter operations from 1975 to 1999 and had three airline subsidiaries: Maersk Air UK, Maersk Commuter, and Star Air.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flybe (1979–2020)</span> Defunct regional airline of the United Kingdom

Flybe, styled as flybe, was a British airline based in Exeter, England. Until its sale to Connect Airways in 2019, it was the largest independent regional airline in Europe. Flybe once provided more than half of UK domestic flights outside London.

Loganair is a Scottish airline based at Glasgow Airport near Paisley, Scotland. Branded as Scotland's Airline, it is the largest regional airline in the UK by passenger numbers and fleet size.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan-Air</span> Defunct airline of the United Kingdom (1953–1992)

Dan-Air was an airline based in the United Kingdom and a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based shipbroking firm Davies and Newman. It was started in 1953 with a single aircraft. Initially, it operated cargo and passenger charter flights from Southend (1953–1955) and Blackbushe airports (1955–1960) using a variety of piston-engined aircraft before moving to a new base at Gatwick Airport in 1960, followed by expansion into inclusive tour (IT) charter flights and all-year round scheduled services. The introduction of two de Havilland Comet series 4 jet aircraft in 1966 made Dan-Air the second British independent airline after British United Airways to begin sustained jet operations.

Jet2.com Limited is a British low-cost leisure airline offering scheduled and charter flights from the United Kingdom. As of 2022, it is the third-largest scheduled airline in the UK, behind easyJet and British Airways. Jet2 is also officially the largest tour operator in the UK after overtaking TUI in 2023. Its headquarters are located at Leeds Bradford Airport. Further bases are at Belfast–International, Birmingham, Bristol, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London–Stansted, Manchester and Newcastle airports, with a base at Bournemouth starting in April 2025. The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats. Jet2 also offers a charter service through its Jet2charters brand.

CityFlyer Express was a short-haul regional airline with its head office in the Iain Stewart Centre next to London Gatwick Airport in England.

AirUK was a wholly privately owned, independent regional British airline formed in 1980 as a result of a merger involving four rival UK-based regional airlines. British and Commonwealth (B&C)-owned British Island Airways (BIA) and Air Anglia were the two dominant merger partners. The merged entity's corporate headquarters were originally located at Redhill, Surrey, the location of the old BIA head office. It subsequently relocated to Crawley, West Sussex. In addition to the main maintenance base at Norwich Airport, there also used to be a second major maintenance base at Blackpool Airport. This was closed down following Air UK's major retrenchment during Britain's severe recession of the early 1980s. In 1987, Air UK established Air UK Leisure as a charter subsidiary. The following year, Air UK shifted its headquarters to London Stansted Airport. When Stansted's new Norman Foster-designed terminal opened in 1991, the airline became its first and subsequently main tenant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Airways</span> British airline

Eastern Airways, legally incorporated as Air Kilroe Limited, is a British regional airline headquarted at Humberside Airport near the village of Kirmington, North Lincolnshire, England. The airline operates domestic, international and private charter flights and around 800,000 passengers fly with the airline per year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XL Airways UK</span> British airline

XL Airways was a British low-cost charter and scheduled airline, which ceased operations when it went into administration on 12 September 2008. Its headquarters were in Crawley, West Sussex, near London Gatwick Airport. It was part of the XL Leisure Group. From its three bases at London Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow, the airline provided short-haul and long-haul charter services, predominantly to leisure destinations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titan Airways</span> British charter airline

Titan Airways Limited, incorporated in England and Wales under company registration number 02212225 on 20 January 1988, is a private limited company in the United Kingdom (UK), which operates a British charter airline known as Titan Airways, based at London Stansted Airport (STN). The carrier specialises in short-notice ACMI and wet lease operations, as well as ad-hoc passenger and cargo charter services to tour operators, corporations, governments, and the sports and entertainment sectors. The company holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, permitting it to carry passengers, cargo and mail, on aircraft with 20 or more seats. Its headquarters and registered office is at Enterprise House, Bassingbourn Road, Stansted Airport, Stansted, Essex, CM24 1RN.

Maersk Air Ltd, trading as Maersk Air UK, was a British airline which operated between 1993 and 2003. It flew out of Birmingham Airport to domestic and European destinations under a British Airways franchise agreement. The company was owed by the eponymous A. P. Møller–Mærsk Group through its Danish subsidiary airline Maersk Air and was based at the grounds of Birmingham Airport. At its peak it operated twelve aircraft and had 490 employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brymon Airways</span>

Brymon Airways is a British former airline with its head office in the Brymon House on the property of Plymouth City Airport in Plymouth, Devon. It was co-founded in 1972 by journalist Bill Bryce and racing driver Chris Amon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Presidential Airways (scheduled)</span> American scheduled airline from 1985 to 1989

Presidential Airways was an airline with its headquarters on the grounds of Washington Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia. It was founded in 1985 by Harold J. (Hap) Pareti, formerly an officer at People Express Airlines, known as PEOPLExpress a low-cost carrier, with Boeing 737-200 service from Washington Dulles to Boston Logan in Massachusetts commencing October 10 of that year. A small fleet of B737-200 jetliners were initially operated by the airline.

Blue Islands Limited is a regional airline of the Channel Islands. Its head office is in Forest, Guernsey, and its registered office is in Saint Anne, Alderney. It operates scheduled services from and within the Channel Islands to the United Kingdom and Europe. Its main bases of operation are Guernsey Airport and Jersey Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AB Airlines</span>

AB Airlines was an airline with its head office in the Enterprise House, Stansted Airport in Uttlesford, Essex. AB was one of the first low-cost airlines in England, preceding others such as EasyJet, Ryanair and Go Fly. It was established in 1993 by former Brymon Airways executives. AB Airlines was formerly known as Air Bristol. Initially the airline marketed itself as Air Belfast, reflecting its then principal route between Belfast International Airport and London Stansted. Aircraft and crew were based at Belfast International Airport, Stansted Airport and Bristol Filton Airport. A base was opened in 1994 at Shannon Airport to operate flights to London Gatwick. This operation was marketed as AB Shannon.

Manx Airlines was an English-owned, Isle of Man-based airline that existed between 1982 and 2002. Its head office was located on the grounds of Ronaldsway Airport in Ballasalla, Malew. An airline of the same name existed between 1947 and 1958.

British Airways CityFlyer is a British regional airline, and a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways with its head office based in Didsbury, Manchester, England. It operates a network of domestic and European services from its base at London City Airport. All services operate with BA's full colours, titles and flight numbers. BA Cityflyer Limited holds a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, meaning that it is permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.

British Regional Airlines was a franchise partner of British Airways based in Manchester. They operated a large network of domestic and European services from many UK regional airports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Quine</span> Manx politician and pilot

Stephen Paul Quine, is a Manx-born commercial pilot and former politician who, on August 31, 2002, was pilot in command of the final Manx Airlines flight. On 27 August 2020 he was elected as a Member of the House of Keys for the constituency of Douglas South in a by-election, before narrowly losing his seat at the subsequent General Election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flybe</span> Defunct regional airline of the United Kingdom (2022–2023)

Flybe, styled as flybe, was a British regional airline based at Birmingham Airport, England. It commenced operations using the name of a former airline in 2022, but ceased operations and entered administration on 28 January 2023.

References

  1. "Regional2.pdf." Aviation Week . Retrieved on 28 September 2009.
  2. "Flybe to seek IPO after integration of BA Connect, plans 200 job cuts." Forbes . 5 March 2007. Retrieved on 22 January 2010.
  3. Milmo, Dan (4 November 2006). "BA sells off regional business as it takes £100m hit from terror scare". The Guardian . Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  4. The regional operations of British Airways subdivided into Scotland, Birmingham and Manchester. Aircraft were titled British Airways Scotland; British Airways Birmingham; and British Airways Manchester respectively. The service previous operated by BR Scotland were incorporated with the Loganair franchise services into the British Regional Airlines operation. Flagship aircraft of the BA Birmingham operation was Boeing 737 G-XBHX, and of the BA Manchester operation was Boeing 737 G-XMAN. Several other Boeing 737 aircraft based at these airports were given registrations appropriate to the destinations served - G-OMUC and G-OFRA
  5. ATW: August terrorist scare, BA Connect charge weigh on BA profit
  6. "Q&A: Sale of BA Connect to Flybe". BBC News. 5 March 2007.
  7. http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/73626.html [ permanent dead link ]
  8. "Flybe to shut down Bristol routes". 6 March 2007 via news.bbc.co.uk.