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British Regional Airlines
Founded	1996
Ceased operations	2002
Operating bases	Manchester Airport; Belfast City Airport; Southampton Airport; Cardiff Airport; Inverness Airport; Edinburgh Airport; Glasgow Airport
Fleet size	56
Parent company	BRAL Group
Headquarters	Manchester Airport
Key people	Michael Bishop (Chairman); Terry Liddiard (MD)

British Regional Airlines was a franchise partner of British Airways based in Manchester. They operated a large network of domestic and European services from many UK regional airports.

British Regional Airlines held a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence, It was permitted to carry passengers, cargo and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.

History

British Regional Airlines can trace its history back to March 1991 when Manx Airlines created Manx Airlines Europe in order to expand and fly routes within the United Kingdom.^[1]

In 1995 Manx Airlines Europe became a franchise carrier for British Airways, operating some routes from its Manchester base under the British Airways Express brand.^[2] In September 1996, Airlines of Britain Holdings which owned British Midland along with regional carriers Manx Airlines, Manx Airlines Europe, and Loganair, announced it would split the regional airlines into a separate grouping. As a result, the three regional carriers were spun off as the British Regional Airlines Group (BRAL). The UK based British Airways Express franchise operations of Manx Airlines Europe and Loganair now operated as a combined British Regional Airlines, while Manx Airlines continued to operate services from the Isle of Man. Business Air was also acquired and absorbed in to the group that year bringing a fleet of seven Saab 340 and one additional BAe 146 aircraft.^[3]^[4]^[5] At the same time, British Airways closed down its 'Highlands' division and transferred the routes to British Regional Airlines which would operate them as a British Airways Express franchise partner.^[6]

In February 1997, BRAL announced an order for five Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft, the first of which was delivered in June that year. The aircraft replaced the BAe Jetstream 41 on services from Manchester and Southampton to Scotland. A total of 22 ERJ-145 aircraft were delivered to the airline between 1997 and 2002.^[7]^[8]^[5]

In March 1997, Loganair was subject to a management buyout led by Chairman Scott Grier. The independent Loganair continued as a British Airways Express franchise partner and operated services in the Northern Isles with a fleet of six aircraft (one de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and five Britten Norman Islanders). The main cross-border trunk routes remained with British Regional Airlines.^[9]

In 1998, the British Regional Airlines Group floated on the London Stock Exchange.^[10] In March of that year an expanded fleet of eleven Saab 340 aircraft which had operated on British Midland and former Business Air routes were used to launch a new British Midland Commuter sub-brand.^[11]^[12]

In March 2001 British Airways purchased the British Regional Airlines Group (holding company of British Regional Airlines and Manx Airlines) for £78m.^[13] The airline was merged with Brymon Airways to create British Airways CitiExpress on 28 March 2002. Sister company Manx Airlines continued to operate as a stand-alone carrier until it too was merged in September 2002.^[14]

The airline was liquidated following the merger of BA Connect with Flybe, but in October 2024 was restored by court order.

Fleet

At the time of the merger with Brymon Airways, British Regional Airlines and Manx Airlines operated a large fleet of regional aircraft including:^[5]^[15]


Aircraft	British Regional Airlines	Manx Airlines	Total
BAe 146-100	1		1
BAe 146-200	2	1	3
BAe 146-300	1		1
BAe Jetstream 41	11	1	12
BAe ATP	10	3	13
ATR 72-200	1		1
ERJ-145	19		19

Gallery

Embraer 145, G-EMBD departing Bristol Airport
BAe ATP, G-MANG at Manchester Airport
BAe 146-200, G-GNTZ departing Manchester Airport
Embraer 145 at Oslo Airport

References

^ Wings of Mann, Kniveton G N
^ 1995-02-01T00:00:00+00:00. "Pragmatic progress". Flight Global. Retrieved 7 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ 1997-03-05T00:00:00+00:00. "Regionals split from British Midland". Flight Global. Retrieved 7 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ 1996-06-01T10:11:00+01:00. "Business buy". Flight Global. Retrieved 23 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c "British Regional Airlines Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
^ 1996-09-04T00:00:00+01:00. "Manx takes over BA's 'loss-making' Scottish services". Flight Global. Retrieved 7 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ 1997-02-26T00:00:00+00:00. "Manx Airlines selects EMB-145". Flight Global. Retrieved 7 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ 1997-06-17T00:00:00+01:00. "BRA receives first Embraer jetliners". Flight Global. Retrieved 7 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "Our Heritage | Loganair". www.loganair.co.uk. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^ 1998-05-06T00:00:00+01:00. "British Regional gets ready for June flotation". Flight Global. Retrieved 7 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Edwards, Barry (2001). Manx Airlines & British Regional Airlines. B & C Publications. ISBN 0-9527756-4-6.
^ "British Midland: sweating its assets, but where next?" (PDF). Aviation Strategy (5): 17. 9 March 1998.
^ Ex-footballer makes killing from British Regional Air Lines - The Independent
^ 2002-11-05T00:00:00+00:00. "British Airways pushes ahead with UK operations reorganisation". Flight Global. Retrieved 25 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ 2001-05-15T00:00:00+01:00. "British Airways forms CitiExpress from regionals". Flight Global. Retrieved 25 May 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)