British South American Airways
BSAA Tudor 4B "Star Olivia" in 1949
|
|
| Founded | 25 January 1944 |
|---|---|
| Commenced operations | 1 January 1946 |
| Ceased operations | 1 January 1950 |
| Operating bases | |
| Subsidiaries | British West Indian Airways |
| Fleet size | See List of aircraft below |
| Parent company | Government owned after 1 August 1946 |
| Key people |
|
British South American Airways (BSAA) was a state-run airline in the United Kingdom in the late 1940s responsible for services to the Caribbean and South America. Originally named British Latin American Air Lines it was renamed before services started in 1946. BSAA operated mostly Avro aircraft: Yorks, Lancastrians and Tudors and flew to Bermuda, the West Indies, Mexico and the western coast of South America. After two high-profile aircraft disappearances it was merged into the British Overseas Airways Corporation at the end of 1949.
Most of BSAA's aircraft were given individual aircraft names beginning with "Star", the heavenly bodies used in long-range celestial navigation.
1945
British Latin American Air Lines (BLAIR) was formed on 25 January 1944 by shipping interests (Royal Mail Lines, Pacific Steam Navigation Company, Lamport & Holt Line, Booth Steamship Company and Blue Star Line) to complement the shipping services to South America, at the end of 1945 the company was renamed British South American Airways. Chairman of the new company was W J Booth. The initial aircraft - until the Avro Tudor II was available - would be Avro Lancasters converted by Avro into the same configuration as Lancastrians and the crews were being sought from former Pathfinder Force members: the general manager Don Bennett had been the force commander during the war. The single route to be flown was Hurn- Lisbon-Bathurst-Natal-Rio de Janeiro-Montevideo-Buenos Aires.
1946
On 1 January 1946 the airlines first Avro Lancastrian Star Light flown by Don Bennett and R. Clifford Alabaster undertook the first flight from the newly opened Heathrow Airport, it was on a proving flight to South America. The first commercial flight followed ten weeks later.
...
Wikipedia