British Asia Airways

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British Asia Airways
Boeing 747-436, British Asia Airways AN1097820.jpg
IATA ICAO Callsign
BR BAW SPEEDBIRD
FoundedMarch 1993
Ceased operationsDecember 2001
Operating bases
AllianceOneworld (affiliate; 1999-2001)
Destinations3
Parent companyBritish Airways
HeadquartersTaipei, Taiwan
British Asia Airways Boeing 747-400 in Landor livery variant at Narita International Airport in the 1990s

British Asia Airways (IATA: BR, ICAO: BAW, Call sign: Speedbird) was a subsidiary of British Airways formed in March 1993, based in Taiwan, to operate between London and Taipei via Hong Kong.[1]

This was due to political sensitivities, as national airlines operating flights to the People's Republic of China were not permitted to fly to Taiwan.[2] Similar arrangements were made by other airlines, such as Japan Airlines and Qantas.[3]

It used the Boeing 747-436.[4] repainted in a special livery, with the Union Flag tailfin being replaced by the Chinese characters 英亞 (Hanyu Pinyin: Yīng Yà; literally "British Asia").

It flew between Taipei and Hong Kong using the code BR, which BA had inherited from British Caledonian, while the flight from London used BA.[5]

It ceased operations after BA suspended flights to Taipei in December 2001.[6]

See also[]

Airlines created for political reasons:

References[]

  1. ^ Calder, Simon (23 April 1993). "Special Report on Long-Haul Air Travel: 'Air Asia' goes from strength to strength: Simon Calder looks at the growing success of the Eastern travel industry". The Independent. London.
  2. ^ "Why Taiwan is still an unique escape". The Independent. London. 16 June 2007. Archived from the original on 19 May 2008.
  3. ^ Robert Storey (1998). Taiwan. Lonely Planet. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-86442-634-5.
  4. ^ "Explore our past: 1990 - 1999". British Airways.
  5. ^ "Something to declare: A likely story". The Independent. London. 14 September 1996.
  6. ^ "Explore our past: 2000- Present". British Airways.
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