Airline: | British Asia Airways |
Iata: | BR |
Icao: | BAW |
Callsign: | SPEEDBIRD |
Ceased: | |
Fleet Size: | 3 |
Parent: | British Airways |
Headquarters: | Taipei, Taiwan |
British Asia Airways Limited was a subsidiary of British Airways formed on 20 January 1993, based in Taiwan, to operate between London and Taipei via Hong Kong.[1]
Due to political sensitivities, 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, KLM, and Qantas.[3]
It used the Boeing 747-400 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").[4] The airline 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]
The airline ceased operations after British Airways ceased flights to Taipei in December 2001.[6]
British Asia Airways used to serve the following destinations:
During its eight-year existence, British Asia Airways operated the following aircraft:[7]
Airlines created for political reasons: