British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association The British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association (BASSA) is a branch of the British trade union Unite. It was originally formed exclusively for British Airways (BA) cabin crew, but other small branches exist representing air stewards and stewardesses at other airlines. BASSA Is headquartered at the Unite offices in Harlington, London, and also has a support office at Heathrow Airport. It provides year-round support, a secure website service for its members and an emergency number for operational issues. Originally part of the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU), BASSA is now part of Unite.
Union Airways Fokker Super Universal crashed at Kayser's Beach near East London on 31 December 1931 (no injuries). Imperial Airways began operating a scheduled service from England to South Africa on 20 February 1932. At first only airmail was carried, passengers were later carried and the trip took 11 days. Union Airways was not profitable during its operations. Junkers South Africa Pty (Ltd) who owned and operated South West African Airways, bought a substantial share in Union Airways. An all-metal Junkers F13 was chartered from SWA Airways and was soon operating in place of the wrecked Fokker. More Junkers aircraft followed in