British United Air Ferries Officer Lesley Hardy became Britain's first airliner flown by an all-female crew. On 1 January 1979, BAF transferred its entire scheduled operation including associated aircraft and staff to British Island Airways (BIA). Following British Airways's decision to withdraw from its loss-making regional routes and to retire its Vickers Viscount turboprop fleet, BAF acquired the entire 18-strong fleet along with the spares inventory during the early 1980s. This acquisition made it the world's largest Viscount operator at the time. As a result of the changes the airline underwent in the late 1970s and early 1980s, BAF mainly concentrated on leasing, charter
Vickers Type 170 Vanguard Vickers Type 170 Vanguard The Vickers Vanguard was a 1920s British airliner developed by Vickers Limited from the Victoria. Developed from the earlier Victoria with the introduction of a wider fuselage, the Vanguard was a 22-passenger twin-engined biplane. Originally built for the Air Ministry as the Type 62 the aircraft powered by two 450 hp Napier Lion engines first flew on 18 July 1923. It was re-engined in 1925 with two 650 hp Rolls-Royce Condor IIIs and re-designated the Type 103. When it was handed over to Imperial Airways in 1925 it was described as the "World's largest passenger aeroplane".