UK flag carrier and oneworld founding member British Airways is arguably one of the most widely recognized airlines around the world, and everything from the name to its striking white, blue, and red livery is well-known. What is perhaps less well known is a short-lived subsidiary of the carrier called British Asia Airways. Let's examine the history behind British Airways' less famous little brother.

Introducing British Asia Airways

In 1993, British Airways launched a new subsidiary carrier called British Asia Airways. The airline was based in Taiwan and operated a single route. Departing from BA's existing hub at London Heathrow Airport (LHR), British Asia Airways flew to Taipei Taoyuan International (TPE) in Taiwan via Hong Kong Kai Tak.

The carrier had the IATA code BR and operated specially-painted Boeing 747-400s, such as the example pictured below. However, fast forward just under nine years, and in December 2001, British Asia Airways no longer existed.

Photo: Simon Butler via Flickr

After British Asia Airways ceased flying, its Boeing 747-400s were either scrapped, or repainted to join British Airways' main fleet. But, what happened to the short-lived subsidiary, and why did British Airways need it in the first place?

Political sensitivities

In reality, British Airways wasn't the only airline to create a subsidiary carrier to fly to Taiwan. A few years earlier, in 1990, Qantas set up Australia Asia Airways to connect Australia to Taipei, Taiwan. Even earlier than that, in 1975, Japan Airways set up Japan Asia Airways for exactly the same reasons. Other airlines, including KLM, Air France, and Swissair, also set up specific subsidiaries for flights to Taiwan.

The reason behind the new airlines was due to political tensions. At the time, the People's Republic of China saw Taiwan as a breakaway province, not a free territory. As a result, the Chinese Government created a law stating that any national carrier which operated flights to China could not operate flights into Taiwan.

Photo: Tim Rees via Wikimedia Commons

The embargo worked both ways, and, if an airline operated in Taiwan, the Chinese Government would reject any flights to China. As a result of this, airlines had to choose between serving the whole of mainland China, or just Taiwan.

A loophole

Instead, many airlines chose to create subsidiary carriers that did not carry the symbols of the national carrier's livery in order to be able to still fly to Taiwan. British Asia Airways dropped the Union flag livery for one showing Chinese symbols on the tail, and Qantas dropped the kangaroo symbol for a ribbon design.

As a result of these subtle aesthetic differences, the subsidiary airlines did not suggest that their home nations supported Taiwan's claim of independence. Instead, they were simply airlines that were operating flights to and from Taiwan.

Photo: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt via Wikimedia Commons

Meanwhile, national carriers continued flights to China carrying their home nations' symbols. However, in December 2001, British Airways ceased operations in Taiwan, and as a result, British Asia Airways was grounded.

What happened?

In the end, the airline's cessation was relatively simple. The demand for regular services between Taipei and London was simply not strong enough for British Asia Airways to be an economically sustainable proposition in the long term.

It remained weak for years, although a symbolic direct flight took place in 2017 as the first direct flight in years to mark new trade agreements between Taiwan and the UK. Today, Taiwanese carrier China Airlines operates non-stop flights from Taipei to London Heathrow Airport, directly serving the UK capital five times a week.

Photo: Adomas Daunoravicius | Shutterstock

In terms of British Asia Airways' fleet, ATDB.aero shows that the carrier operated five Boeing 747-400s on lease from its parent company over the years. Two have been scrapped, one is derelict, one is stored, and the other is preserved.

Sources: Airline History, Airliners.net, ATDB.aero, FlightRadar24.com