This year sees a raft of travel sector companies celebrating landmark anniversaries, including several UK firms.
Here’s our round-up of some of the significant birthdays in 2024 – please do let us know in the comments section if we have forgotten any.
Of course the big one is still to come – Business Traveller was founded in 1976 and will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2026 (as will, ahem, this writer…).
Aberdeen International was officially opened by Lord Arbuthnott in July 1934, and founded by Eric Gander Dower – dubbed the ‘Father of Aberdeen Airport’ in press cuttings.
There will be several celebrations throughout the year to mark the airport’s ‘Granite Anniversary’ – which just so happens to also nod to Aberdeen’s moniker as the Granite City.
A special 90th logo has also been commissioned for use throughout the year, and stories shared by the public will be used for a project later in the year.
Hang on a minute I hear you say – didn’t British Airways celebrate its centenary not so long ago?
Well, kind of – the carrier traces its history back to August 25, 1919, when Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited launched the world’s first daily international scheduled air service, between London and Paris.
But the British Airways brand was established much later on 31 March, 1974, following the merger of the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA).
This year the carrier unveiled a raft of initiatives including cabin and lounge upgrades, route resumptions and free onboard messaging, as part of its £7 billion transformation plan.
Dallas Fort Worth International celebrated 50 years of operation earlier this year – an American Airlines flight was the first commercial service to land at the airport on 13 January, 1974.
The airport was the largest in the world when it opened as DFW Regional Airport, initially serving nine airlines across four terminals, three runways and 66 gates.
Fast forward half a century and the airport welcomed an estimated 80 million passengers in 2023, with flights operating to 256 destinations worldwide. It remains the world’s third largest airport by land area, and now has a total of seven runways and 171 gates, and a sixth terminal is set to break ground later this year.
There’s really two birthdays to celebrate here, as the Eurostar service would not have been possible without the Channel Tunnel, which was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II and then French President François Mitterrand on 6 May, 1994.
The first Eurostar passenger service was subsequently launched on 14 November, 1994 between London’s Waterloo station and Paris, Brussels and Lille.
The image above is of Eurostar employees sporting new uniform accessories, following the group’s recent merger with Thalys.
The oneworld alliance celebrated its 25th anniversary earlier this year, having been formed on 1 February, 1999 by founding members American Airlines, British Airways, Canadian Airlines (which merged into Star Alliance member Air Canada in 2001), Cathay Pacific and Qantas.
Oneworld was the second of the three major airline alliances to be established, following Star Alliance in 1997 (SkyTeam was formed in 2000).
This year the alliance has opened its first fully branded airport lounges, located within Seoul’s Incheon International airport’s Terminal 1 and the non-Schengen area of Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin’s celebrates its Bicentennial anniversary this year, having opened within three adjoining townhouses overlooking St Stephen’s Green in 1824.
The hotel is named after William, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1782-83, who once owned a house on the same site.
In 2019 the 265-room property – which has hosted famous guests including Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Laurel and Hardy, James Cagney, Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Robert Redford – joined Marriott’s Autograph Collection.
Virgin Atlantic’s inaugural flight took place on 22 June, 1984 between London and New York, and the carrier is planning a series of celebrations to mark the milestone.
This week the airline unveiled its latest A330neo aircraft, which has been named ‘Ruby Rebel’ in honour of the carrier’s founder Sir Richard Branson.
The aircraft also sports a new icon which appears towards the front of the aircraft “inspired by Sir Richard and the rebellious spirit that’s always driven Virgin Atlantic to do things differently”.
