Air Ferry Limited
Encyclopedia
Air Ferry Limited was a private, independent British
airline
operating charter, scheduled and all-cargo flights from 1963
to 1968
.
Hugh Kennard
, the Air Kruise founder and a former Silver City Airways director, and Leroy Tours founder Lewis Leroy formed Air Ferry Ltd in 1961
as a subsidiary of Leroy Tours to operate general charter and inclusive tour (IT) flights.
Air Ferry started operations on 1 April 1963, providing IT charters from Manston Airport
near Ramsgate
, Kent
, Southeast England. It initially operated two 40-seat Vickers Viking
and two 80-seat Douglas DC-4
/C-54s piston airliners. Prior to the commencement of operations, the Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB) had awarded Air Ferry three A-type licences to operate scheduled services from Manston to Le Touquet, Ostend
and Verona
. Services to Le Touquet and Ostend were due to begin in mid-April 1963 and to Verona on 1 April 1964. (Scheduled vehicle ferry and all-cargo services did eventually start in 1965. These operated between Manston and Le Touquet, Calais
, Ostend as well as Rotterdam
.)
Air Ferry added a third DC-4
, more Viking
s, a Bristol Freighter
, and a pair of Douglas DC-6
As to its fleet over the coming years. The latter were the airline's first pressurise
d aircraft.
In October 1964
Air Ferry's ownership passed to Air Holdings as a consequence of the latter's acquisition of Leroy Tours. At the time, Air Holdings was the parent company
of British United Airways
(BUA), Britain
's largest contemporary independent airline and leading private sector scheduled carrier. This made Air Ferry an associate of BUA. Air Holdings' takeover of Air Ferry restored the cross-Channel
vehicle ferry services monopoly
of British United Air Ferries, a sister airline of BUA.
In 1968 Air Ferry leased a pair of Vickers Viscount
800s. By that time, it operated scheduled and non-scheduled services carrying passengers and their cars as well as cargo from Manchester
, Bristol
and London
in addition to Manston. Summer 1968 was Air Ferry's last season of operations, and the airline ceased trading on 31 October 1968.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
operating charter, scheduled and all-cargo flights from 1963
1963 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1963:- Events :* Violating a 1959 requirement that all aircraft operating from the aircraft carrier Minas Gerais - which never has operated aircraft - belong to the Brazilian Air Force, the Brazilian Navy establishes an air group of its own for the...
to 1968
1968 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1968:- Events :* In the 1968 White Paper on Defence, the British Labour government announces that the Royal Navys aircraft carrier force will be phased out as soon as the United Kingdom has completed its withdrawal from Malaysia, Singapore, and the...
.
History
Wg CdrWing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
Hugh Kennard
Hugh Kennard
Wing Commander Hugh Charles Kennard, DFC was a Royal Air Force pilot during World War II and later an entrepreneur in civil aviation.-Personal life:...
, the Air Kruise founder and a former Silver City Airways director, and Leroy Tours founder Lewis Leroy formed Air Ferry Ltd in 1961
1961 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1961:-January:* January 3 – Aero Flight 311, a Douglas DC-3C, crashes near Kvevlax, Finland, killing all 25 people on board. An investigation finds that the captain and first officer both were exhausted for lack of sleep and drunk at the time of...
as a subsidiary of Leroy Tours to operate general charter and inclusive tour (IT) flights.
Air Ferry started operations on 1 April 1963, providing IT charters from Manston Airport
RAF Manston
RAF Manston was an RAF station in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site is now split between a commercial airport Kent International Airport and a continuing military use by the Defence Fire Training and Development Centre , following on from a long...
near Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, Southeast England. It initially operated two 40-seat Vickers Viking
Vickers VC.1 Viking
The Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines...
and two 80-seat Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
/C-54s piston airliners. Prior to the commencement of operations, the Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB) had awarded Air Ferry three A-type licences to operate scheduled services from Manston to Le Touquet, Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
and Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
. Services to Le Touquet and Ostend were due to begin in mid-April 1963 and to Verona on 1 April 1964. (Scheduled vehicle ferry and all-cargo services did eventually start in 1965. These operated between Manston and Le Touquet, Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
, Ostend as well as Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
.)
Air Ferry added a third DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
, more Viking
Vickers VC.1 Viking
The Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines...
s, a Bristol Freighter
Bristol Freighter
The Bristol Type 170 Freighter was a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner, although its best known use is as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances.-Design and development:The...
, and a pair of Douglas DC-6
Douglas DC-6
The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
As to its fleet over the coming years. The latter were the airline's first pressurise
Cabin pressurization
Cabin pressurization is the pumping of compressed air into an aircraft cabin to maintain a safe and comfortable environment for crew and passengers when flying at altitude.-Need for cabin pressurization:...
d aircraft.
In October 1964
1964 in aviation
For the year see 1964This is a list of aviation-related events from 1964:- Events :* Chilean President Jorge Alessandri grants the Chilean Navy the authority to operate all types of aircraft without restriction...
Air Ferry's ownership passed to Air Holdings as a consequence of the latter's acquisition of Leroy Tours. At the time, Air Holdings was the parent company
Parent company
A parent company is a company that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control management and operations by influencing or electing its board of directors; the second company being deemed as a subsidiary of the parent company...
of British United Airways
British United Airways
British United Airways was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport in July 1960, making it the largest wholly private airline based in the United Kingdom at the time...
(BUA), Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's largest contemporary independent airline and leading private sector scheduled carrier. This made Air Ferry an associate of BUA. Air Holdings' takeover of Air Ferry restored the cross-Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
vehicle ferry services monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
of British United Air Ferries, a sister airline of BUA.
In 1968 Air Ferry leased a pair of Vickers Viscount
Vickers Viscount
The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
800s. By that time, it operated scheduled and non-scheduled services carrying passengers and their cars as well as cargo from Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
and London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in addition to Manston. Summer 1968 was Air Ferry's last season of operations, and the airline ceased trading on 31 October 1968.
Aircraft operated
Air Ferry operated the following aircraft types:- Bristol 170 Freighter
- Douglas DC-4Douglas DC-4The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
/Douglas C-54 SkymasterC-54 SkymasterThe Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of government, and military staff... - Douglas DC-6Douglas DC-6The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range...
- Vickers VikingVickers VC.1 VikingThe Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines...
- Vickers ViscountVickers ViscountThe Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
Fleet in 1965
In April 1965 the Air Ferry fleet comprised 9 aircraft.| Aircraft | Total |
|---|---|
| Douglas DC-4 Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role... |
3 |
| Vickers Viking Vickers VC.1 Viking The Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines... |
5 |
| Bristol 170 Freighter Bristol Freighter The Bristol Type 170 Freighter was a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner, although its best known use is as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances.-Design and development:The... |
1 |
| Total | 9 |
Fleet in 1968
In April 1968 the Air Ferry fleet comprised 9 aircraft.| Aircraft | Total |
|---|---|
| Vickers Viscount Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world... 812 |
2 |
| Douglas DC-6 Douglas DC-6 The Douglas DC-6 is a piston-powered airliner and transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1946 to 1958. Originally intended as a military transport near the end of World War II, it was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed Constellation in the long-range... A |
2 |
| Douglas DC-4 Douglas DC-4 The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role... |
2 |
| Total | 6 |
Accidents and incidents
- On 21 January 1967 a Douglas C-54 SkymasterC-54 SkymasterThe Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of government, and military staff...
registered G-ASOG operating a cargo flight from Manchester to FrankfurtFrankfurt AirportFrankfurt Airport may refer to:Airports of Frankfurt, Germany:*Frankfurt Airport , the largest airport in Germany*Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport, a general aviation airport*Frankfurt-Hahn Airport , a converted U.S...
in GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
struck trees while executing a night-time approachFinal approach (aviation)A final approach is the last leg in an aircraft's approach to landing. In aviation radio terminology, it is often shortened to "final".In a standard airport landing pattern, which is usually used under visual meteorological conditions , aircraft turn from base leg to final within one to two miles...
, resulting in the death of both crew members.
- On 3 June 1967 a Douglas C-54A SkymasterC-54 SkymasterThe Douglas C-54 Skymaster was a four-engined transport aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces and British forces in World War II and the Korean War. Besides transport of cargo, it also carried presidents, British heads of government, and military staff...
registered G-APYK operating a non-scheduled passenger flight from Manston to Perpignan in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
struck the CanigouCanigouThe Canigou is a mountain located in the Catalan Pyrenees of southern France.Due to its sharp flanks and its dramatic location close to the coast, until the 18th century the Canigou was believed to be the highest mountain in the Pyrenees.-Trekking and sightseeing:Spectacular jeep tracks on the...
mountain at 4,000 feet while in the descent, killing all 88 occupants (five crew and 83 passengers).