Fuel
Air bp Marks Centennial of Aircraft Refueling Service
Energy group supported flight pioneers in the 1920s
Air bp refuelling in 1927
Air bp provided fuel for a record-setting 6,000-mile flight from the UK to India in 1927, including this fuel stop by a De Havilland Moth in Baghdad.

Air bp is marking its 100th year of aircraft refueling this week. From small beginnings in 1926, the company now serves operators at 600 airports in 40 countries, delivering around 6.6 billion gallons of fuel annually, compared to just 2,582 gallons in the company’s second year of operations in 1927.

Early customers included aviation pioneers such as Neville Stack, who flew his De Havilland Moth biplane 6,000 miles from the UK to India in 1927 with multiple technical stops en route. In 1930, Winifred Brown won the King’s Cup air race with Air bp fuel in the tank of her Avro Avian.