BOAC operated the world’s first scheduled jet airliner service in 1952.
British Overseas Airways Corporation, usually abbreviated BOAC, began the first scheduled passenger jet service on 2 May 1952. The route connected London with Johannesburg, using the de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1. The aircraft represented a major technological change because its jet engines allowed faster and smoother long-distance travel than piston-engine airliners.
The inaugural service was historic but the Comet later suffered structural failures caused by metal fatigue around its square passenger windows. The resulting investigations led to major advances in airframe testing, pressurization design, and aircraft safety.
BOAC was Britain’s long-haul state airline before it merged with British European Airways in 1974. That merger created British Airways, so BOAC is often incorrectly named as British Airways in accounts of the 1952 service. British Airways inherited much of BOAC’s long-distance identity, but BOAC was the operator at the time.