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
Airliner submissions they had made during the war for a "100 ton bomber". This evolved into the creation of the Bristol Brabazon. The Type II process was complicated by the proposition of Vickers that a move to the newly developed turboprop power should be made. The specification was, therefore ,split in two, with the conventional piston design going to the eventual de Havilland Dove and Airspeed Ambassador. The revolutionary VC.2 Viceroy, first flown in 1948, was the first turboprop design anywhere. The Type III requirement was developed as the Avro Tudor. The Type IV for the jet-powered aircraft went to de