British Airways Helicopters

IATA ICAO Call sign BA BAB —
Founded	March 1974
Ceased operations	September 1986
Headquarters	Aberdeen Airport

British Airways Helicopters, previously operating asBritish European Airways Helicopters Ltd, was anairline operatinghelicopters in the United Kingdom from 1964 to 1986. It was mainly known for providing a passenger service connectingPenzance to theIsles of Scilly, and for flights servicingNorth Sea oil and gasplatforms.

In 1986, British Airways sold this helicopter division toRobert Maxwell, and it was renamedBritish International Helicopters.

Starting in 1947,British European Airways (BEA) had operated a Helicopter Experiment Unit. It initially operated a fleet of five helicopters sourced from the United States - threeSikorsky S-51s and twoBell 47s.^{[citation needed]}

The unit operated timetabled mail services inEast Anglia during 1948 using theirWestland-Sikorsky S51s. A scheduled passenger service was operated during 1950 betweenCardiff (Pengam Moors),Wrexham andLiverpool (Speke), also utilising the S-51s. In June 1951, BEA introduced helicopter services betweenNortholt Aerodrome,Hay Mills Rotor Station inBirmingham andLondon Heathrow, operated by a pair of S51s.^[1][2] These services were followed in 1954 by a passenger service betweenSouthampton Eastleigh Airport, Heathrow and Northolt, operated byWestland Whirlwind helicopters.^[3] The 1955 passenger service was flown between Birmingham, Heathrow andGatwick Airport, with leased Bristol 171s.^{[citation needed]}

A separate company was formed in 1964 as BEA Helicopters Limited and operated the first service betweenPenzance and theScilly Islands on 1 May 1964 with aSikorsky S-61. The airline expanded into offshore oil & gas support flights from July 1965, from an operating base atBeccles Airfield, in Suffolk.^[4] Operations fromAberdeen Airport started in July 1967 and in 1971 fromSumburgh Airport.

The company was involved in setting up theAirlink high-frequency helicopter shuttle service between Gatwick and Heathrow airports in 1978. It was responsible for engineering and maintenance of theBAA-owned helicopter and for providing the flight crew. Cabin crew were from British Caledonian as was passenger handling at Gatwick. Heathrow handling was by British Airways.^[5]

With the change of name of the parent on 31 March 1974 the airline was renamed British Airways Helicopters. In 1981, the airline bought sixBoeing Vertol BV-234 Chinooks for use on the offshore oil support flights.

In 1986, the airline was sold by British Airways toRobert Maxwell's Maxwell Aviation and renamedBritish International Helicopters. The successor company still operated the Penzance to Isles of Scilly route forty years after it was first scheduled, until it was cancelled in 2012.

• 1964–86Sikorsky S-61
• 1968–84Agusta-Bell 206 JetRanger
• 1974–81Sikorsky S-58T
• 1978–83Bell 212
• 1980–86Boeing Vertol BV-234

  

• 1979–86Sikorsky S-76
• 1982–86Westland 30
• 1983–86Aerospatiale AS.332L Super Puma

• Bell 47
• Bristol 171
• Sikorsky S-51
• Sikorsky S-61
• Westland Sikorsky WS-55

• On 11 March 1983 a Sikorsky S-61N (G-ASNL) crashed in theNorth Sea, 75 nautical miles (139 km) north east of Aberdeen. All crew and passengers were rescued but the helicopter sank and had to be recovered from the sea bed.^[6]
• On 16 July 1983 a Sikorsky S-61N (G-BEON)crashed on approach toSt Mary's Airport, Isles of Scilly with the loss of 19 passengers and one crew member.^[7]
• On 2 May 1984 a Boeing 234 (G-BISO) crashed in the East Shetland Basin of the North Sea, 8 miles (13 km) north west of the Cormorant Alpha platform. All crew and passengers were rescued by other helicopters and boats. Although not damaged in the accident the helicopter sank after 85 minutes.^[8] The aircraft was recovered for post accident investigation and later refurbished to fly again.

Inthe Beatles first film,A Hard Day's Night, the group is seen flying away from the concert venue at the end of the film in the BEA Westland Whirlwind, G-ANFH. The same aircraft appeared in the 1960 film,The Murderers and the 1963Oliver Reed film,The Damned.^[3]

• List of defunct airlines of the United Kingdom

Notes

Bibliography

External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related toBritish Airways Helicopters.

• Competition Commission Report^[usurped]
• Jackson, A.J. (1974).British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 1. London: Putnam.ISBN 0-370-10006-9.
• Jackson, A.J. (1974).British Civil Aircraft since 1919 Volume 3. London: Putnam.ISBN 0-370-10014-X.

• Airlines established in 1964
• Airlines disestablished in 1986
• British International Helicopters
• British European Airways
• Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom
• Defunct helicopter airlines
• 1964 establishments in England
• 1986 disestablishments in England

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• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from September 2019
• Use British English from December 2016
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