It is a simple country chair used by British officers in the 19th century, the « Tripolina Chair » which inspired the creators of AA, Argentine designers Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy associated with their Catalan counterpart Antoine Bonet. In 1938, they created the Butterfly armchair (also sometimes called BKF).

The story continues in 1951 when Charles Bernard creates Airborne, a company specializing in headquarters. He decides to edit the chair with the help of a friend, director of Architecture d’Aujourd’hui newspaper. The title of the magazine is important because it is his initials that will become the official name of the chair: AA by Airborne.