History: The Merger That Formed Today’s British Airways

On March 31st, 1974, four British airlines merged to form British Airways (BA). Although the airline celebrates its anniversary in August (tracing its origins to its predecessor company’s founding in 1919), the historic 1974 merger is responsible for creating the airline empire we are familiar with today. The merger combined two nationalized airlines, British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways, with two regional airlines, Cambrian Airways and Northeast Airlines.