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British Airways can trace its origins back to the pioneering days of civil aviation following World War I. In 1919, Aircraft Transport & Travel Ltd (AT&T) launched the world's first international schedule air service a daily flight between London and Paris which operated from Hounslow Heath, near to the current Heathrow base. Air travel was certainly for the adventurous in these times with one pilot taking 2 days to make the two-hour flight to Paris, making 33 forced landings enroute!

In 1924 the four main British airlines merged to form Imperial Airways, by the following year they were operating services to several main European cities. During the 1920's and 1930's, Imperial Airways were operating from an airport based in Croydon and international flights had expanded to include destinations in the Middle East, West Africa, South Africa, India and Singapore. In 1935 and in conjunction with Qantas Empire Airways Ltd who operated flights between Singapore and Australia, a service between the UK and Australia commenced.

In the meantime several smaller UK air transport companies had joined forces to form the privately owned British Airways Ltd, operating out of Gatwick they became Imperial Airways main competitor on European routes. In 1939 Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd were nationalised to form British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC).

Post World War II, BOAC continued long-haul flight operations and European and UK domestic flights were operated by a new airline, British European Airlines (BEA). In 1946, BOAC began flights to New York followed by flights to the west coast of the USA and Japan.

In the 1950s, BOAC led the world into the passenger jet era with the Comet 1 flying to Johannesburg in half the time it had taken previously and in 1958 BOAC operating the first transatlantic jet service from London to New York.

In 1974 BOAC and BEA were merged to become British Airways (BA) under the newly formed British Airways Board. In 1976 the world's first supersonic flights on Concorde were launched simultaneously with Air France.

In the early 1980's the British Government announced plans to privatise BA in order to re-establish the company as the world's leading airline. With a deficit of £544 million a survival plan was drawn up which included the axing of unprofitable routes, staff cutbacks and the disposal of surplus assets. BA was repositioned as the "World's Favourite Airline" and in February 1987 privatisation took place with over one million applications for shares.

The 1990s saw new challenges for BA with a significant drop in business after the Gulf War. BA "World Offer" fares were launched which offered fares discounted by a third of their usual price in order to sell seats which would otherwise have remained unsold.

Many changes were introduced in this decade including new brands in the Economy Cabin - World Traveller for intercontinental flights and Euro Traveller on short-haul routes. This heralded a new approach to service with more comfortable seats, improved catering and a wide range of in-flight entertainment. BA revolutionised Business Class travel with the relaunch of Club World which became known as the "Lounge in the Sky" with fully flat beds, state of the art entertainment, in-seat laptop power and telephones. Electronic ticketing (e-ticketing) was also trialled and gradually introduced across BA's network.

In partnership with Qantas, BA began codesharing flights on the Kangaroo Route between London, Singapore, Bangkok and Australia. BA also formed alliances with other airlines and began operating codeshare services with airlines such as American Airlines, Iberia, Finnair and LOT Polish Airlines and in 1999 the Oneworld global alliance was born.

In 2001, British Airways introduced their new "World Traveller Plus" cabin, an enhanced economy cabin with fewer and wider seats, more legroom and a priority meal service. Also in this year BA developed their online check-in facility and restructured operations from Gatwick with the suspension of some routes and some long-haul services moved to Heathrow.

Following the tragic events of September 11th, new security measures were introduced and staff cuts were announced due to a downturn in the number of people flying. In order to get people travelling again, BA launched a promotion with over five million cut-price tickets on sale, free travel for children and special Club class offers for Executive Club members.

Today British Airways flies to over 300 destinations worldwide with an extensive short, medium and long-haul network of flights. In conjunction with their Oneworld alliance partners, BA offers a network of over 600 destinations including Europe, North America, South America, Caribbean, Middle East, Africa, Asia, the Far East and Australasia. In March 2008, British Airways will move to their own terminal at Heathrow (Terminal 5) where they plan to operate more than 90 per cent of their flights.

Business Class @ New Club World

British Airways are currently rolling out their New Club World cabin and aim to have it onboard the majority of aircraft by the end of 2008. Some routes will continue to offer the original Club World service with fully flat beds.

New Club World has been designed to allow passengers the flexibility to sleep, work or relax whenever they please. Prior to boarding, passengers can relax or work in the Terraces Lounge or enjoy some complimentary pampering at the Molton Brown Spa located at Heathrow and New York JFK.

Onboard the New Club World seat extends to a 6 foot 6 inch fully flat bed and is 25% wider than the original seat with a new softer mattress and plush cotton quilt ensuring a comfortable nights sleep. There are 4 preset seat positions which can be fine tuned to your own requirements using the adjustment buttons, a personal laptop locker, adjustable privacy screen and private reading light.

A 10.4 inch flat screen entertainment system offers over 200 entertainment options with a choice of over 100 movies and television programmes, music CD's, audio books and games.

British Airways' in-flight dining service caters for a wide range of tastes and cultures with menus designed by a board of top chefs, restaurateurs and food critics. An expertly sourced wine cellar accompanies the choice of meals served and an onboard "Club Kitchen" allows passengers to help themselves to a selection of hot or cold snacks and beverages whenever they please.