British Airtours
British Airtours (stylised as British aırtours) was a British charter airline with flight operations out of London Gatwick and Manchester Airports.
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| Founded | 24 April 1969 (as BEA Airtours) | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 14 April 1988 (renamed Caledonian Airways) | ||||||
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| Fleet size | 10 | ||||||
| Destinations | Worldwide | ||||||
| Parent company | British European Airways (1969-1974) British Airways (1974-1988) | ||||||
| Headquarters | Gatwick Airport (administrative HQ, 1970–1988) Ruislip (corporate HQ, 1969–1973) Heathrow Airport (corporate HQ, 1974–1988) Lowfield Heath, Crawley, (combined HQ, 1988–1999) | ||||||
| Key people | P.C.F. Lawton, Eamonn Mullaney, Capt. W. Baillie, George Blundell-Pound, E.L. Killip, J.R. Wood, Capt. P.J. McKeown, R.A. Thorburn, W.A. Thompson, J. Marshall | ||||||
Established as BEA Airtours in 1969, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways (BA) following the merger between British European Airways (BEA) and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in the early 1970s. British Airtours adopted the Caledonian Airways name when the newly British Airways completed the acquisition of the rival British Caledonian in April 1988. Caledonian Airways was eventually sold to tour operator Inspirations in 1995, marking BA's exit from the mainstream inclusive tour market. In 1999, Thomas Cook acquired Inspirations and merged Caledonian Airways with Flying Colours to form JMC Air Services, a forerunner of the UK arm of the later Thomas Cook Airlines. On 23 September 2019, Thomas Cook Airlines ceased operations, thus ending the legacy of British Airtours.