Aircraft Transport and Travel
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "about". Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Script error: No such module "infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for clobbered parameters".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, also known as AT&T, was the first British airline. Formed during the First World War as a subsidiary of Airco, an aircraft manufacturer, it was the first airline in the world to operate a regular scheduled commercial aviation service, an international flight between London and Paris. It is the oldest predecessor of British Airways.
History
On 5 October 1916, Aircraft Transport and Travel (AT&T) was formed by George Holt Thomas. Using a fleet of former military Airco DH.4A biplanes, it operated relief flights between Folkestone and Ghent.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". On 15 July 1919, the company flew a proving flight across the English Channel, despite a lack of support from the British government. Flown by Lt. H. Shaw in an Airco DH.9 between RAF Hendon and Paris–Le Bourget Airport, the flight took 2 hours and 30 minutes, and cost £21 per passenger.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
On 25 August 1919, the company used DH.16s to start a regular service from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome to Le Bourget, the first regular (daily) international flight service in the world.[1][2] The airline soon gained a reputation for reliability, despite problems with bad weather. In November 1919, it won the first British civil airmail contract.[3] Six Royal Air Force Airco DH.9A aircraft, modified with Napier Lion engines were lent to the company from October 1919, to operate the airmail service between Hawkinge and Cologne, which Aircraft Transport and Travel took over from the RAF on 15 August 1919.[4] In 1920, they were returned to the Royal Air Force.[5]
In February 1920, with its parent Airco, AT&T, also known as Airco Air Express, was acquired by part of the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA). It continued operations, under the control of Frank Searle of Daimler Hire.
As well as the London (Hounslow) to Paris service, AT&T also operated a Croydon Airport to Amsterdam service on behalf of KLM. On 17 May 1920, a DH.16 (G-EALU) of AT&T operated the first KLM service between London and Amsterdam.[6][7]
AT&T continued to operate, but was overburdened with debt. In November 1920, BSA placed Airco in liquidation, and on 17 December 1920, AT&T ran its last service.[8] Early in 1921, its assets were purchased by BSA subsidiary Daimler and rolled with Daimler Air Hire Limited into a new company called Daimler Airway Limited which continued the services.[9][10]
By 1921, six companies operated a London to Paris service, three French and three British. The French airlines were receiving subsidies from the French government, and in protest the three British airlines stopped services on 28 February 1921.[11]
Legacy
Through a series of takeovers and mergers, the modern-day British Airways traces part of its legacy back to Aircraft Transport and Travel, its earliest corporate ancestor.[12][13][14][15] BA celebrated 1919 as the centenary of its operational passenger flights.[16][17][18]
Aircraft
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See also
- Aviation in the United Kingdom
- History of British Airways
- List of defunct airlines of the United Kingdom
References
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- ↑ The Putnam Aeronautical Review edited by John Motum, p170 Volume one 1990 Naval Institute Press
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- ↑ Ray Bonds, The Story of Aviation: A Concise History of Flight (Greenhill Books, 1997) p. 37
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External links
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