British Airways and The History of Avios

In 1935 four pioneering independent airlines merged to form British Airways Limited. Five years later, this was nationalised and combined with Imperial Airways to create British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC). BOAC operated throughout World War II and beyond, alongside two other new state airlines. 

Fast forward to 1974, when air travel had progressed to wide-bodied jets, and the British Airways name resurfaced, this time for good, when BOAC and the other remaining state airline merged. A decade later, British Airways became a private company once more. 

Some major milestones since

1976: First supersonic Concorde flights.

1987: Privatisation of British Airways is completed. It takes over rival British Caledonian the same year. 

1986: BA’s long-haul services move from Heathrow Terminal 3 to newly built Terminal 4. 

1999: Oneworld airline alliance is launched, with BA as a founding member.

2003: Concorde is retired.

2007 - BA CityFlyer launched. 

2011: British Airways and Iberia merge under parent company International Airlines Group (IAG). 

2021: New budget subsidiary BA EuroFlyer is announced, to operate British Airways’ Gatwick services. 

The first loyalty points 

The first airline reward schemes began in the US in the 1970s using paper coupons. 

BA launched its own loyalty programme called BA Club in 1982 (Recently changed to The Club or BA Club) but didn’t introduce a currency until the 1990s, first called AirMiles then BA Miles. 

Enter Avios

In 2011, with the formation of BA’s new parent company IAG, the British Airways Executive Club (Now called The Club/ BA Club) was relaunched. All the IAG group currencies: BA Miles, UK Airmiles and Club Iberia Plus points were renamed Avios. 

Ways to earn points have also changed. You were once rewarded purely based on how much and how far you’d flown. Nowadays, you can also gather Avios from everyday purchases with numerous partner brands. You could earn a reward flight without having flown at all.

Avios fun facts

Avios collectors span 200 countries around the world. 

Around 3,000 Avios are collected globally per second. 

People using the Avios eStore and Reward app accrue three times more than the average collector. 

During the Covid pandemic, Avios collectors donated 95 million points as a thank you to the NHS. 

The highest number of Avios ever gifted by one member was 2.7 million. 

The most popular destination for an Avios flight redemption is New York. 

In the decade since Avios launched, 15 million reward flight seats have been booked and members have collectively saved £0.5bn on flights.

How do I book a reward flight with Avios?

A Reward Flight is an airline ticket bought entirely with loyalty points rather than part cash, though you still have to pay tax on your booking. A limited number of seats per flight can be booked this way (whereas most seats can be booked by combining BA Avios and cash). 

Avios flight redemptions can be made with any members of the international Oneworld alliance. 

To redeem your Avios flight, first, go to the British Airways website and use its own BA redemption finder to find out how many points you need for the route, cabin class and date you want. Or, to see more clearly the availability for the coming 12 months all at once, use Reward Flight Finder (RFF). 

A minimum of four business class, two premium economy and eight economy seats are made available for Avios bookings as soon as flights enter BA’s booking system. Others are usually released over the next 355 days, however, to avoid missing out, 

Join RFF for free today and set up an alert to book seats before anyone else.