[1] BEA Airtours' formation was in line with one of the recommendations of the Edwards Report on the future of British air industry – that the corporations should enter the inclusive tour and charter market.

[2][3][4] The independent charter airlines were suspicious of BEA's motive to enter the IT market and some feared that the operator held a hidden agenda to destabilise this market by undercutting the independent carriers, none of which could match the corporation's financial resources and access to capital at the time.

The independents moreover thought that BEA Airtours was meant to take on the corporations' excess staff as well as to absorb aircraft that were surplus to their requirements.

[6] During 1970, the airline commenced commercial operations out of Gatwick, initially using a fleet of seven second-hand ex-BEA de Havilland Comet series 4B aircraft which seated 109 passengers in a single-class configuration.

[9][10] During 1971, BEA Airtours had decided to replace the entire fleet with a similar number of larger capacity, longer range and more fuel-efficient ex-American Airlines Boeing 707-123Bs[11][12] to enable it to commence non-stop, long-haul charter flights, including affinity group charters to North America.

[13][14] Despite having obtained permission from the Department of Trade and Industry to import second-hand 707-120Bs and the non-availability of internally sourced alternatives (BOAC's 707-436s) within the envisaged timeframe,[11] both corporations opposed this decision.

[14][19][20] In 1975, British Airtours commenced transatlantic Advance Booking Charter (ABC) flights to the United States.

In June 1982, British Airtours launched twice-weekly scheduled services between Gatwick and Newark using Boeing 707s in an all-economy configuration.

[23] These aircraft, which were delivered to British Airtours' Gatwick base during the early 1980s,[24] allowed it to replace all of its old, second-hand narrow-bodied planes with brand-new equipment, thereby considerably enhancing its competitiveness vis-à-vis its independent rivals.

During 1995, British Airways decided to exit the short- to medium-haul package holiday market; accordingly, the airline sold Caledonian Airways to British-based tour operator Inspirations, which was then a part of the American-owned Carlson group, along with the firm's core fleet of five Tristars.

[35] Boeing 707-436 G-APFJ was initially preserved at Royal Air Force Museum Cosford as the only surviving B707 with Rolls-Royce Conway engines.