That same year, Gibraltar Airways commenced its relationship with the newly created British European Airways (BEA). BEA began flying between London and Gibraltar, connecting with Gibraltar Airways' own flights to Morocco. Soon after, BEA acquired a 49% stake in the airline, which began trading as GibAir. In 1961, an agreement between BEA and GibAir was signed for the joint planning and promotion of air services from Gibraltar to London and Madrid. GB Airways has its headquarters at Cloister Building, Irish Town, Gibraltar. Although BEA merged with BOAC to form British Airways in 1974, the financial and operational relationship with GibAir continued. Meanwhile, GibAir continued to operate its own services from Gibraltar, primarily to Morocco, and also began charter flights to Portugal and France. During 1957, expanded facilities at Gibraltar Airport, built with the backing of the Gibraltar tourist department, were opened, facilitating the airline's further growth. At this time, the airline operated a fleet of Douglas DC-3s on these services. In 1960, GibAir was headquartered in the Cloister Building in Gibraltar. Relocation to Britain and later years In 1985, the airline, which was by then known as GB Airways, was headquartered in Gibraltar. In 1989, the company moved its operational HQ to the United Kingdom in order to increase the scope for expansion. A base was established at The Beehive in London Gatwick Airport and the company became GB Airways Ltd on 3 January 1989. The livery on the airline's fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft at this time was mainly white, with red and blue twin stripes down the centre of the fuselage, sweeping down to form a 'chin strap' under the nose cone. The twin stripe was repeated on the tailfin, with a speeding red arrow creating a diamond-shaped centrepiece, which was repeated on the forward fuselage. A stylised version of this diamond logo was used until the airline was bought by EasyJet in 2008. For a number of years prior to October 1997, GB Airways operated services on behalf of newly launched budget carrier EasyJet; these were flown on its own air operator's certificate as EasyJet had not secured such certification. The relationship with British Airways was firmly entrenched in 1995 when it became a full British Airways franchise operator, with BA relinquishing its financial holding in the airline. The franchise agreement with British Airways was due to continue until 2010 and under the terms, GB Airways traded