Notes: British European Airways

CALLSIGN: Bealine, from 1946 - 1974

British European Airways began (as BEAC - British European Airways Corporation) on 1st August 1946 as the European division of the British state airline, BOAC. BEA had actually been flying European routes since February 1946 as part of BOAC and taking over from the 110 Wing RAF Transport Command.

By August 1946 - the formal beginning of BEA - the airline had 21 Dakotas and had repainted these RAF transports in the new BEA liver

In September of 1946 BEA introduced its first civilian airliner, the Vickers Viking 1 (seen below) which was BEA's first British airliner purchase. BEA staff nicknamed the Viking the 'Pregnant Dakota' and it was painted with the Flying Key on the fin. The Viking's introduction into airline service was problematic as the aircraft suffered icing problems, not a good characteristic of a European airliner.


In February 1947 the British Government introduced a bill to nationalise the independent domestic airline industry and 14 British independent airlines became part of BEA's domestic network. While these airlines had been the backbone of the pre-war years within Britain they had stopped normal services during the war and most were still not up and running again at the time of the nationalisation. These airlines mostly used fleets of De Havilland Dragon Rapide biplanes and so BEA's domestic fleet became the DH.89, which it renamed the Dominie.

Nationalised airlines included: Allied Airways, Channel Islands Airways, Great Western & Southern Airlines,
Highland Airways, Isle of Man Air Services, North Eastern Airways, Railway Air Services, West Coast Air
Services, Scottish Airlines and Western Isles Airways.



DeHavilland DH.89 'Dominie' flew domestic routes after the war

Also at this time BEA gained several aircraft types as war reparations and the aircraft in this category that
were actually used for passenger services included the Avro 19 which only lasted in service for 12 months...








BEA-Regional Channel Islands G-AOHK and Scottish Airways G-AOJF - 1971 - Caz Caswell

A rare photo of all the main types that flew the BEA-Scottish Airways Division routes shows the DC-3 Pionair,
Heron, Herald, Viscount and Vanguard.



Renfrew airport with five of the early 1960s Scottish Airways Division fleet types

In the early 1950s BEA had helped associate airlines Alitalia and Aer Lingus. By 1970 these had broken
away and were now competitors. But 1970 saw further associate airlines being helped by BEA. Cyprus
Airways was formed and flew on a regional service with a Dakota until 1970 when it was loaned a BEA
Viscount. Malta Airways began with the complete help of BEA - BEA loaned the airline aircraft and crew!

As BEA entered the 1970s it had finally become a profit making concern. It was flying a dense domestic and
European network with a large fleet of Vanguards and Viscounts, Tridents and One-Elevens. Some routes
demanded larger aircraft due to the passenger loads that were now being generated. BEA looked again
toward the USA for an airliner to fit this high-density/medium-haul need. Lockheed Aircraft Corporation were
about to launch their new medium- or long-haul widebody 'jumbo' jet - the Tristar.

BEA liked what it saw and placed an order for the high density/medium-haul variant L1011-100 jet in 1972.
Lockheed was flying the world with the Eastern Airlines demonstrator Tristar and it was due to appear at the
1972 Farnborough Air Show. BEA took advantage of this and so the Tristar landed at Heathrow and went into
the BEA maintenance area where BEA repainted it in partial BEA livery. It kept the Eastern Airlines
cheatline. The order for Tristar 100s went through this time and BEA had ordered its first non-British airliner.
(The DC-3s it used in the early days were not purchased by BEAand so BEA proudly claimed it had never
bought a foreign aircraft.

There were rumours that the government were to merge the two state airlines, BEA and BOAC into a single
state carrier. It was dismissed at the time as unworkable. No-one believed the two airlines could benefit by
such a merger. The Tristars were not to be delivered to BEA as the experts were wrong.