‘Like aid given by a mother to her young’: The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and the marketing of economic development 1948–1965

Abstract

This paper locates Britain’s nationalised airline, the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), in the political discourse of colonial development. Between 1939 and 1974 BOAC connected Britain to destinations across the globe for business and leisure. However, the vast majority of people in Britain could scarcely afford the luxury of flight: BOAC had the task of convincing its shareholders, of whom were paying for a product they did not use, that it served an important national purpose. This paper explores BOAC not as an airline, but as a marketer: at the heart of BOAC’s communications was a vision of Britain and its place in the world. It sought to promote its services by using the language of economic development to encourage and justify increased business abroad. In so doing, it shows how BOAC used marketing to justify its operations using political, rather than economic, messages.