sentences:  To further extend the network's reach and improve its connectivity, BCal agreed to host Dan-Air's new, twice daily Gatwick—Newcastle flights, which began on 20 April 1974, in its computer reservation system (CRS) as part of a combined marketing effort.June 1974 saw the launch of BCal's non-stop Gatwick—Brussels scheduled route, the third European trunk route on which the airline operated scheduled services in competition with the incumbent flag carriers' established services from Heathrow.The creation of British Airways (BA) as a result of the 1974 BEA-BOAC merger came against the background of the first global oil crisis in the wake of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, which led to the quadrupling of the price of a barrel of oil as a consequence of the decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to boycott the West in retaliation for its support of Israel during that war.