British Continental Airways

British Continental Airways was a British airline that operated between 1935 and 1936, when it merged into British Airways.^[1]

British Continental Airways Limited was formed on 15 April 1935 to operate airline services from Croydon Airport to the continent.^[1] The first services were to Belgium; as well as Brussels, other Belgian destinations were added over the first year, including Ostend and Antwerp. Services were also run to Lille in France and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.^[1] In partnership with KLM the airline operated a service between Amsterdam and Liverpool with a stop at Doncaster.

Originally formed as a private company, it became a public company on 31 October 1935 with a share capital of £50,000.^[1] The airline became part of a dispute at the start of 1936 when it started a Scandinavian service as an extension of the Amsterdam route in competition with British Airways, as a government subsidy and a mail contract had already been given to British Airways. The government suggested that the two airlines should merge.^[2] From 1 August 1936 BCA and the Scandinavian routes were absorbed into British Airways, although the Belgian routes continued to be operated under the BCA name for a further two months.^[1]

At the time of the merger with British Airways, British Continental Airways had the following:

• 1 × De Havilland Dragon named "St Christopher", originally owned by one of the founders of the airline, Graham Mackinnon.^[3]
• 1 × De Havilland DH.86 named "St George", delivered in August 1935.^[3]
• 3 × De Havilland DH.86A. A further aircraft was on order and subsequently delivered to British Airways.^[3]
• 3 × De Havilland Dragon Rapides named "St Andrew", "St Patrick", and "St David".^[3]

• List of defunct airlines of the United Kingdom

• Doyle, Neville (2001). The Triple Alliance - The predecessors of the first British Airways. Air-Britain. ISBN 0-85130-286-6.