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.
British Airways in 1974 after a British Airways Board was established by the British government to manage the two nationalised airline corporations, British Overseas Airways Corporation and British European Airways, and two regional airlines, Cambrian Airways from Cardiff, and Northeast Airlines from Newcastle upon Tyne. On 31 March 1974, all four companies were merged to form British Airways. After almost 13 years as a state company, BA was privatised in February 1987 as part of a wider privatisation plan by the Conservative government. The carrier expanded with the acquisition of British Caledonian in 1987, Dan-Air in 1992, and British Midland International in