British Airways is currently marking 85 years since the launch of its first flight from England to Israel.
“The State of Israel has been one of the most important destinations in British Airways’ history", said Alex Cruz, British Airways global chairman and CEO, "We are currently marking 85 years since the launch of the ISR-UK route. In 1932 flights by Imperial Airways, which later became British Airways, were operated by Scipio S17, which landed on the waters of the Sea of Galilee, and passengers were taken ashore by boats”.
British Airways is a veteran in the Israeli market. The international airline operates 14 weekly flights on the Tel Aviv-London route. All flights to and from Israel are operated in a "long-haul" form, the customary form for international flights from London. Following closely in British Airways’ footsteps, Iberia, British Airways’ sister airline, will upgrade all its flights on the Tel Aviv-Madrid route by turning them into long-haul flights as of April 2018.
British Airways in Israel - a little piece of history:
• Initially, in the 1930s the route from Britain to Israel was a section on a larger route to the Far East, operated by Imperial Airlines. The flights were executed on board the Scipio S17 “flying boats” and the Sea of Galilee was the company's main landing ground. As part of this route, the planes passed also through Alexandria and Limassol.
• In the 1940s, the company decided to change its fleet and acquired more advanced aircraft such as Vickers Viking and Douglas DC-3.
• In 1960, the company began operating a direct London-Tel Aviv route and offered the passengers first class services.
• In 1984, two British Airways Concorde supersonic aircraft arrived in Israel.
• In the last two decades, the fleet operating on the London-Tel Aviv route is consists of the newest aircraft, for example the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which is considered one of the best aircraft in the world.