british Airways PLC, British air-transport company formed in April 1974 in the fusion of British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC, formed in 1939), British European Airways (BEA, formed in 1946), and their associated companies. The company, state-owned from its inception, was privatized in 1987. Its major subsidiaries include British Airways Associated Companies, which administers local and regional airlines and hotels, and British Airways World Cargo, which supplies various mail, courier, and freight services. Headquarters are at Harmondsworth in the London borough of Hillingdon, near Heathrow Airport.