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]