It’s been a bumpy ride for British Airways as it celebrates 90 years flying through the skies. Its chief executive, Willie Walsh recently warned BA is in "a fight for survival", after the airline posted a record loss of £401m last year. But BA can look back and take comfort from its 90 year history, surviving both the Great Depression and the Second World War. The airline can trace its origins back to August 25 1919 when Air Transport Travel Ltd embarked on its first international flight from London to Paris.

The aircraft powered by a single Rolls-Royce engine, flew from Hounslow Heath in west London to Le Bourget in Paris in two hours 30 minutes. The modern British Airways was formed in 1974 with the merger of the British Overseas Airways Corporation and the British European Airways. In 1974, BOAC and BEA merged to form BA which was privatised by Margaret Thatcher in February 1987. The airline’s most famous plane was Concorde which carried more than 2.5m passengers during its 27 years of service from 1976 to 2003. Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the airline: "British Airways has never lost the pioneering spirit and vision that saw it take to the skies with the world’s first daily international flight from London to Paris on this day in 1919.

"90 years on, the world’s most iconic airline is still proudly flying the flag and remains a great British brand." BA chairman Martin Broughton said: "Over the past nine decades, British Airways has played its part in many historic episodes. "We provided the first air links to far-flung capitals in the days of empire, flew Winston Churchill across the Atlantic during wartime, brought Queen Elizabeth II back to Britain after the passing of George VI

"We have a rich history supporting Britain and will carry this forward to our centenary and beyond." The BA of 2019 may look very different to the airline we know today, as it looks to make cost savings across the business. BA has axed 1,450 jobs since March and is in talks with union leaders about cutting 4,000 more cabin crew posts, after they rejected costcutting plans and threatened to strike. It will have to navigate through more turbulent times ahead, with a £575m loss expected for this year, following a dramatic fall in passenger numbers.

Source: Sky News