British United Airways - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

British United Airways was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporation

Government-owned corporation

A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...

s British

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...

formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport

Hunting-Clan Air Transport

Hunting-Clan Air Transport was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline that was founded in the immediate post-World War II period. It began trading on 1 January 1946 as Hunting Air Travel Ltd...

in July 1960, making it the largest wholly private airline based in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

at the time. British and Commonwealth Shipping

British and Commonwealth Holdings

British and Commonwealth Holdings plc was a financial services company which used to be a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:The Company was originally established in 1955 when Clan Line Steamers was merged with Union Castle to form The British & Commonwealth Shipping Company, a shipping...

(B&C) was the new airline's main shareholder.

At its inception, BUA assumed the aircraft and operations of its predecessors. These included a fleet of 90 assorted fixed-wing aircraft

Fixed-wing aircraft

A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...

and helicopter

Helicopter

A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

types that continued to operate mainly non-scheduled services. Gatwick

London Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...

became BUA's main operating base while Stansted

London Stansted Airport

-Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...

was the main base for trooping flights until 1964.

An order for ten BAC One-Eleven

BAC One-Eleven

The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...

jet aircraft

Jet aircraft

A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...

in May 1961 launched BUA's fleet re-equipment programme in support of its long-term policy to develop primarily as a scheduled airline. This was also the first time a private British airline had placed a launch order for a new jet

Jet aircraft

.

In January 1962, BUA merged with British Aviation Services

British Aviation Services

British Aviation Services Limited was an early post-World War II airline holding company and air transport operator that could trace its roots back to 1946. Its main activities included trooping, inclusive tour and worldwide passenger and freight charter services...

, the holding company

Holding company

A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...

of rival UK

United Kingdom

independent airlines Britavia

British Aviation Services

and Silver City Airways. This made BUA the largest unsubsidised airline outside the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Silver City's pre-merger status as the main independent provider of air ferry

Air ferry

An air ferry is a ferry service in which cars and passengers are transported by aircraft.-British services:The air ferry service was inaugurated by retired Royal Air Force officer Air Commodore Griffith J. Powell, who founded an airline company called Silver City in 1948. They used Bristol 170...

services in the UK also gave BUA a monopoly

Monopoly

A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...

among UK-based air ferry operators. The subsequent takover of Jersey Airlines

Jersey Airlines

Jersey Airlines was an early post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed in 1948. In 1952, the airline operated its first scheduled service. Four years later, British European Airways took a 25% minority stake in Jersey Airlines and...

in May 1962 resulted in further growth, giving BUA a fleet of more than 100 aircraft and 6,000 staff.

A city centre check-in facility for BUA's scheduled passengers opened in London Victoria station in late-April 1962.

A combined rail-air service linking the city centres of 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...

and Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

that enabled BUA to circumvent regulatory restrictions preventing it from flying London—Paris direct began on 26 May 1963. This was marketed as a cheaper alternative to existing direct air services.

The introduction into service of the Vickers VC10

Vickers VC10

The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...

on 1 October 1964 made BUA the first private UK carrier to begin sustained jet operations

BUA's takeover of the South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

n services of British Overseas Airways Corporation

British Overseas Airways Corporation

The British Overseas Airways Corporation was the British state airline from 1939 until 1946 and the long-haul British state airline from 1946 to 1974. The company started life with a merger between Imperial Airways Ltd. and British Airways Ltd...

(BOAC) to Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

and Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

on 5 November 1964 marked a major expansion of its long-haul scheduled network.

On 9 April 1965, a BUA BAC One-Eleven became the type's first example to enter commercial service.

The simultaneous launch of daily One-Eleven

BAC One-Eleven

The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...

jet services from Gatwick to Glasgow

Glasgow International Airport

Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...

, Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

and Belfast

Belfast International Airport

Belfast International Airport is a major airport located northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was formerly known and is still referred to as Aldergrove Airport, after the village of the same name lying immediately to the west of the airport. Belfast International shares its runways with...

on 4 January 1966 made BUA the first scheduled all-jet operator on UK domestic trunk routes.

In 1968, the BUA group of companies underwent a major reorganisation to improve its financial performance. This included adoption of a new strategy

Strategic management

Strategic management is a field that deals with the major intended and emergent initiatives taken by general managers on behalf of owners, involving utilization of resources, to enhance the performance of ﬁrms in their external environments...

for BUA that aimed to replace the dwindling number of unprofitable trooping flights with growing engagement in the more rewarding Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

an inclusive tour (IT) and transatlantic affinity group charter markets. It also resulted in relocation of the Central London

Central London

Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...

corporate headquarters at Portland House

Portland House

Portland House is a skyscraper in Westminster, London. It is tall with 29 floors and was completed in 1963.The building has two banks of lifts — the first serving the first up to the fifteenth floor, and the second the fifteenth floor upwards...

in the City of Westminster

City of Westminster

The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...

to London Gatwick Airport

London Gatwick Airport

, as well as the concentration of all engineering facilities at Gatwick. Successful implementation of these organisational and strategic changes enabled BUA to make the loss-making South American routes profitable by late-1968 and to become the UK's only profitable mainline scheduled domestic operator by 1969.

By the end of the 1960s, BUA had become the UK's leading private scheduled airline with a 44000 mi (70,811 km) network spanning three continents — Europe

Europe

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

and South America

South America

.

In November 1970, B&C sold BUA to the Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

charter airline Caledonian Airways

Caledonian Airways

Caledonian Airways was a wholly private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations Scottish charter airline formed in April 1961. It began with a single Douglas DC-7C leased from Sabena. Caledonian grew rapidly over the coming years to become the leading transatlantic "affinity...

for £

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

12 million. At that stage, it operated an all-jet fleet numbering 20 aircraft and employed a staff of 3,000.

Antecedents and inception

Airwork was formed in 1928. During the 1930s, it helped establish the predecessors of the post-World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

national airline

Flag carrier

A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...

s of India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

and Rhodesia

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

.

By the time Airwork merged with Hunting-Clan to form BUA, the former's air transport subsidiaries already included Airwork Helicopters, Air Charter

Air Charter Limited

Air Charter was an early post-World War II private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline formed in 1947. The airline conducted regular trooping flights to Cyprus as well as worldwide passenger and freight charter flights from its bases at Southend Airport and...

, Bristow Helicopters

Bristow Helicopters

Bristow Helicopters is a British helicopter airline originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, part of the Bristow Group based in Houston, Texas, USA....

, Channel Air Bridge

Channel Air Bridge

Channel Air Bridge was a private British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline specialising in cross-Channel vehicle-cum-passenger ferry services. Freddie Laker started Channel Air Bridge as a sister airline of Air Charter on a provisional basis in 1954. Operations...

, Transair

Transair (UK)

Transair Limited was an early post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed in 1947. It began as an air taxi operator at Croydon Airport. In 1953, it started inclusive tour charter flights. By 1957, Transair became part of the Airwork...

and Morton Air Services

Morton Air Services

Morton Air Services was one of the earliest post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airlines formed in 1945. It mainly operated regional short-haul scheduled services within the British Isles and between the United Kingdom and Continental Europe....

. Hunting-Clan was originally known as Hunting Air Travel. It changed its name twice. First it became Hunting Air Transport and then changed to Hunting-Clan when it was taken over

Takeover

In business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another . In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.- Friendly takeovers :Before a bidder makes an offer for another...

by the Scottish Clan Line

Clan Line

The Clan Line was a passenger and cargo shipping company that operated in one incarnation or another from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century.-Foundation and early years:...

shipping company

Shipping line

-History of shipping lines:Large-scale shipping lines became widespread in the nineteenth century, after the development of the steamship in 1783. At first, Great Britain was the centr of development; in 1819, the first steamship crossing of the Atlantic Ocean took place and by 1833, shipping lines...

, a B&C subsidiary. Following the merger that led to BUA's creation,involving the amalgamation of 37 companies (including subsidiaries and affiliates) Blue Star, Furness Withy

Furness Withy

Furness Withy was a major British transport business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange.-History:The Company was founded by Christopher Furness and Henry Withy in 1891 in Hartlepool. This was achieved by the amalgamation of the Furness Line of steamers with the business of Edward Withy and...

and B&C owned 72% of the new airline's share capital

Share capital

Share capital or issued capital or capital stock refers to the portion of a company's equity that has been obtained by trading stock to a shareholder for cash or an equivalent item of capital value...

. The remaining 28% was shared among the Clan Line (8%), Loel Guinness

Loel Guinness

Group Captain Thomas Loel Evelyn Bulkeley Guinness OBE was a British Conservative politician, Member of Parliament for Bath , business magnate and philanthropist...

(10%) and Whitehall Securities (10%). This ownership structure made the Cayzer

Cayzer Baronets

There have been three baronetcies created for people with the surname Cayzer, each in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom and each for members of the same family ....

family the dominant shareholders. Sir Nicholas Cayzer, the Hon. Anthony Cayzer and Clive Hunting, at the time the Hunting Group

Hunting plc

Hunting plc is a leading British-based supplier to the oil and gas industry. Some 27% of the business is owned by the Hunting family. It is headquartered in London and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

's chairman, were appointed to the main board of directors

Board of directors

A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...

that controlled the BUA group of companies.

In November 1961, the BUA group's shareholders created Air Holdings as a new holding company for the entire group.

In January 1962, British Aviation Services joined the merged entity. Britavia

British Aviation Services

and Silver City Airways were its airline subsidiaries. P&O

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...

was the largest shareholder with a 70% stake, while Eagle Star

Eagle Star Insurance

The Eagle Star Insurance Company plc was a leading British insurance business. It underwrote the full range of risks, including fire, accident, marine, motor, life, contingency and Pluvius insurance...

and Cable & Wireless

Cable & Wireless

Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...

were minority shareholders that respectively owned 20% and 10% of its share capital.

BUA began operations from its new base at Gatwick Airport

London Gatwick Airport

with a mixed fleet comprising 43 airliner

Airliner

An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...

s and 47 helicopters. The former included Douglas DC-3 Dakota

Douglas DC-3

The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

/C-47 Skytrain, 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-54 Skymaster and 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...

piston airliners as well as more modern Bristol Britannia

Bristol Britannia

The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...

and 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...

turboprop

Turboprop

A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...

planes. These continued serving the all-economy

Economy class

__FORCETOC__Economy class, also called coach class , steerage, or standard class, is the lowest class of seating in air travel, rail travel, and sometimes ferry or maritime travel....

Safari and colonial coach classBritish residents only routes to East

East Africa

East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...

, Central

Central Africa

Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....

, Southern

Southern Africa

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...

and West Africa

West Africa

West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...

pioneered by both Airwork and Hunting-Clan, as well as operating trooping flights from Stansted

London Stansted Airport

under contract to the Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....

(MoD) and assorted passenger and freight charters these airlines and their associates had provided. During its first year of operation, the BUA group's 90-strong fleet flew 17.8 million revenue mile

Revenue passenger mile

Revenue passenger miles and Revenue passenger kilometers are measures of traffic for an airline flight, bus, or train calculated by multiplying the number of revenue-paying passengers aboard the vehicle by the distance traveled...

s (28.6 million revenue kilometre

Revenue passenger mile

s), carrying 631,030 passengers, 143 million pound

Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...

s (lb) (64,867 [metric] tonne

Tonne

The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...

s (t)) of freight and 25,749 carscarried by Channel Air Bridge.

In addition to the Safari routes to Africa, BUA also established a network of scheduled services to mainly secondary destinations in Continental Europe

Continental Europe

Continental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....

, including Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, Ibiza

Ibiza

Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...

, Málaga

Málaga

Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...

, Le Touquet

Le Touquet-Paris-Plage

Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, commonly referred to as Le Touquet, is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It has a population of 5,355....

, Lourdes

Lourdes

Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...

, Palma

Palma de Mallorca

Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...

, Perpignan

Perpignan

-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...

, Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

, 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...

, and the Channel Islands

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

. BUA furthermore continued Hunting-Clan's Africargo scheduled freight operation.at the time, Africargo was the only scheduled all-freight service between Europe and Africa This had given it access to Heathrow

London Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...

, Hunting's old base, for a limited number of all-cargo services to Africa. Moreover, BUA acted as Sudan Airways

Sudan Airways

Sudan Airways is the national airline of Sudan, headquartered in Khartoum. The airline operates under the IATA airline designator SD and the ICAO airline designator SUD, while its callsign is SUDANAIR....

's technical advisers and operated that airline's Blue Nile 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...

services between Khartoum

Khartoum

Khartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...

and London Gatwick

London Gatwick Airport

.

BUAexcluding Channel Air Bridge was a full member of the International Air Transport Association

International Air Transport Association

The International Air Transport Association is an international industry trade group of airlines headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the International Civil Aviation Organization is also headquartered. The executive offices are at the Geneva Airport in SwitzerlandIATA's mission is to...

(IATA) since its inception as a result of inheriting Hunting-Clan's membership. This included membership of IATA's trade association as well as participation in tariff co-ordination with other member airlines in the organisation's annual traffic conferences. In addition, BUA also continued Airwork’s and Hunting-Clan’s participation in various pool agreements with foreign national airlines. On the East Africa

East Africa

n routes, for example, BUA participated in a tripartite pool agreement with BOAC and East African Airways

East African Airways

East African Airways Corp. was an airline jointly run by three countries in East Africa: Kenya, Tanzania; and Uganda, which were then part of an East African Community. The airline was headquartered in the Sadler House in Nairobi, Kenya...

. Participating in revenue-sharing agreements with its foreign counterparts was a prerequisite for securing overseas traffic rights, especially in Africa.

Freddie Laker

Freddie Laker

Sir Frederick Alfred Laker was a British airline entrepreneur, best known for founding Laker Airways in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982...

, BUA's first managing director (MD), used his contacts to British Rail

British Rail

British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...

(BR) to create a £100,000 city centre check-in facility in London's West End

West End of London

The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...

in a disused part of Victoria Station, which opened in late-April 1962. This enabled BUA's scheduled passengers to complete all check-in formalities, including dropping off their hold luggage, before boarding their train to Gatwick.

Expansion and fleet rationalisation

At its inception, Bristol Britannias operated most of BUA's long-distance charter flights. A large number of these were trooping flights.between 1960 and 1964, BUA had up to nine Britannia

Bristol Britannia

The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...

s stationed at Stansted to carry troops under contract to the MoD; BUA's long-haul trooping flights to the Far East

Far East

The Far East is an English term mostly describing East Asia and Southeast Asia, with South Asia sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons.The term came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century,...

ceased on 1 October 1964, when it lost the contract to British Eagle

British Eagle

British Eagle International Airlines was a major British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline that operated from 1948 to 1968....

Developing BUA primarily as a scheduled airline was one of the first major policy decisions the BUA group's main board took in the early 1960s. The Civil Aviation (Licensing) Act of 1960, which abolished the statutory monopoly

Legal monopoly

A legal monopoly, statutory monopoly, or de jure monopoly is a monopoly that is protected by law from competition. A statutory monopoly may take the form of a government monopoly where the state owns the particular means of production or government-granted monopoly where a private interest is...

British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways

British European Airways

British European Airways or British European Airways Corporation was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974. The airline operated European and North African routes from airports around the United Kingdom...

(BEA) had enjoyed on principal domestic and international scheduled routes since the beginning of the post-war

World War II

era and — theoretically — gave independent airlines equal opportunities to develop scheduled routes in their own right, formed the basis of this decision.

In early 1961, BUA applied to the Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB), a predecessor of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), for a large number of domestic and international short-, medium- and long-haul scheduled route licences to give its scheduled network the critical mass to become financially viable by 1965, and to provide sufficient work for a planned £20 million fleet of new jets comprising four long-haul Vickers VC10s and five short-/medium-haul DH 121 Tridents. BUA's applications included a request for twice-weekly all-economy/colonial coach class flights linking Gatwick with Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, Teheran, Karachi

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...

, Delhi

Delhi

Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

, Calcutta

Kolkata

Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...

, Bangkok

Bangkok

Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

and Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, with a weekly extension to Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

and Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, respectively. BUA intended to inaugurate its first-ever scheduled services to Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

with DC-6Cs or Britannias, which were to be replaced with the new VC10

Vickers VC10

s at a later stage. The airline planned to charge standard IATA fares on all sectors. In addition, it proposed to offer British residents flying to Singapore and Hong Kong in SkycoachBUA's re-branded colonial coach class an 18% discount on the equivalent economy class

Economy class

__FORCETOC__Economy class, also called coach class , steerage, or standard class, is the lowest class of seating in air travel, rail travel, and sometimes ferry or maritime travel....

fares. In May of that year, BUA became the first independent airline in the UK to launch a brand-new jet aircraft, when it placed an order for ten short-/medium-haul BAC One-Eleven 200 series. The following month, the airline placed an order for up to four Vickers VC10 long-haul jets costing £2.8 million apiece. Laker personally negotiated these orders with both manufacturers. The combined order value was £20 million. At that time, the ATLB conducted a hearing into BUA's applications for over 20 scheduled route licences to enable it to expand the European network to include a number of major trunk routes from its Gatwick base, such as Gatwick to Paris, Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Zürich

Zürich

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...

, Amsterdam and Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

, in competition with existing services of BEA from Heathrow. Although the ATLB granted BUA the requested licences for 12 of these routes, the airline was unable to use them without actual traffic rights. These needed to be negotiated on its behalf between the UK Government and its overseas counterparts. Following the ATLB's decision, BUA commenced scheduled services between Gatwick and Tenerife

Tenerife

Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...

in October 1961 using Viscounts. The same month, the airline started Viscount trooping flights from Gatwick to Germany

Germany

Germany , 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...

under contract to the MoD.

At the start of the 1961/2 winter timetable in November 1961, BUA's fixed-wing

Fixed-wing aircraft

fleet numbered 43 aircraft comprising Bristol Britannia and Vickers Viscount turboprops, as well as Douglas DC-6

Douglas DC-6

and 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...

operated by Channel Air Bridge piston airliners. Britannias and DC-6s operated to East, Central and Southern Africa, including non-stop Gatwick—Entebbe

Entebbe International Airport

Entebbe International Airport is the principal international airport of Uganda.-Location:It is located near the town of Entebbe, on the shores of Lake Victoria, and about from the capital, Kampala...

Britannia services, while Viscounts plied the multistop West Africa

West Africa

n coastal route. Viscounts also served the airline's scheduled routes to the Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

and Continental Europe.

In 1962, Jersey Airlines

Jersey Airlines

, a former "BEA associate", and Silver City Airways joined the BUA group of companies. The operations of these airlines were reorganised into British United (C.I.) Airways (BUA (C.I.)), British United (Manx) Airways and British United Air Ferries

British United Air Ferries

British United Air Ferries was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations car and passenger ferry airline based in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. It specialised in cross-Channel ferry flights carrying cars and their owners between its numerous bases...

.following the merger of Channel Air Bridge and Silver City Airways on 1 January 1963

During the spring of 1963, BUA commenced additional scheduled services linking Gatwick with Lourdes/Tarbes

Tarbes

Tarbes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France.It is part of the historical region of Gascony. It is the second largest metropolitan area of Midi-Pyrénées, with 110,000 inhabitants....

, Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

, Palma and Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

. At that time, the BUA group operated a fleet of 94 aircraft, which carried 1.8 million passengers, close to 200 million lb (90,000 t) of freight and 130,000 cars on an annualised basis.
On 26 May 1963, BUA began a twice-daily rail-air-rail service between the city centres of London and Paris. The service, which was marketed as Silver Arrow in the UK and as Flèche d'argent in France

France

The 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...

, was a joint operation between BR, BUA and Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer français

SNCF

The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...

(SNCF). At London's Victoria Station, where BUA check-in facilities were available, Paris-bound passengers boarded a BR train to Gatwick Airport railway station

Gatwick Airport railway station

Gatwick Airport station is the railway station at London Gatwick Airport that provides a direct rail connection to London 43 km away. The station platforms are located directly below the airport’s South Terminal, and the ticket office is adjacent to that terminal’s concourse...

. At Gatwick they transferred to a BUA Viscount, which took them to Le Touquet Airport

Le Touquet - Côte d'Opale Airport

-Flight school & clubs:*Pig Club is a helicopter piloting school.*Le Touquet Opal Coast Flying Club is a helicopter school and club, owned by leading English school heli flight....

on the other side of the English 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...

. At Le Touquet Airport an SNCF train was waiting to take them to Paris's Gare du Nord

Gare du Nord

Paris Nord is one of the six large terminus railway stations of the SNCF mainline network for Paris, France. It offers connections with several urban transportation lines, including Paris Métro and RER...

. The entire journey took five hours and the minimum return fare was £10 9s. This compared with Skyways Coach-Air's London Victoria Coach Station

Victoria Coach Station

Victoria Coach Station is the largest and most significant coach station in London. It serves long distance coach services and is also the departure point for many countryside coach tours originating from London. It should not be confused with the nearby Green Line Coach Station serving Green Line...

— Lympne Airport

Lympne Airport

Lympne Airport , , was a military and later civil airfield at Lympne, Kent, United Kingdom, which operated from 1916 to 1984. RFC Lympne was originally an acceptance point for aircraft being delivered to, and returning from, France during the First World War...

— Beauvais Airport — Paris République Coach Station £11 return coach-air-coach fare. BUA's Silver Arrow/Flèche d'argent service was an example of Laker turning an adversity into an opportunity. BUA's lack of traffic rights prevented it from running non-stop Gatwick—Paris scheduled flights although it held a licence for that route, which the ATLB had awarded it in late 1961. Faced with this restriction, Laker hit upon the idea to offer an indirect travel option between the city centres of London and Paris by combining the existing Victoria—Gatwick rail link with BUA's Gatwick — Le Touquet traffic rightsBUA inherited these traffic rights from Silver City Airways, which had pioneered Gatwick — Le Touquet DC-3 passenger services in 1953. At the time, Le Touquet Airport was not linked to the French

France

railway network. As a result, the surface journey between the airport and Paris was difficult and time-consuming as this involved an intermodal

Intermodal passenger transport

Intermodal passenger transport involves more than one mode of transport of passengers. Some modes of transportation have always been intermodal; for example, most major airports have extensive facilities for automobile parking and have good rail or bus connections to the cities nearby. Urban bus...

change between coach and train at Étaples

Étaples

Étaples or Étaples-sur-Mer is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is a fishing and leisure port on the Canche river.There is a separate commune named Staple, Nord.-History:...

. To overcome this drawback, Laker persuaded the French authorities to build a spur line

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

into Le Touquet Airport so that BUA passengers could be met on arrival by a dedicated SNCF train that took them direct to Gare du Nord train station in the centre of Paris. BUA's new London—Paris rail-air-rail service via Gatwick replaced a coach-air-coach/rail service it had operated on this route via Lydd. BUA Silver Arrow/Flèche d'argent fares were less than what BEA and Air France

Air France

Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...

charged their passengers to fly non-stop between Heathrow and Paris to compensate for longer travelling times (5 hr

Hour

The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds...

improved train timings and faster trains as well as replacing Viscount turboprops with One-Eleven jets subsequently reduced total travelling time to under 4½ hours, thereby making this service more competitive with non-stop London—Paris flights and Skyways Coach-Air's coach-air-coach London—Paris service vs. 2 hr 45 min

Minute

A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units...

).

The first of the two VC10s on firm order was handed over to BUA on 11 September 1964. Two days later, the aircraft was displayed at the Farnborough airshow, where it replaced the larger Super VC10

Vickers VC10

prototype

Prototype

A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...

on the last day of the show. After being ferried to Gatwick the same evening, it began an eight-day series of proving and demonstration flights in East and Central Africa

Central Africa

Central Africa is a core region of the African continent which includes Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rwanda....

. The payload included airline MD F.A. Laker and his 1964 model Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud

The Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud was the core model of the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars range from April 1955 until March 1966. It replaced the Silver Dawn and was, in turn, replaced by the Silver Shadow.The J. P...

.

Commercial VC10 operations commenced on 1 October 1964 with a trooping flight from Gatwick to Aden.BUA's VC10s were configured in a single-class arrangement featuring 129, rear-facing seats when used for trooping; apart from complying with the MoD's then mandatory rule requiring all aircraft used for trooping flights to be fitted with seats facing rearwards, this seating arrangement also enabled the airline to test customer reaction to aft

Aft

Aft, in naval terminology, is an adjective or adverb meaning, towards the stern of the ship, when the frame of reference is within the ship. Example: "Able Seaman Smith; lay aft!". Or; "What's happening aft?"...

-facing airplane seats This made BUA the first British independent airline to commence uninterrupted jet operations.

While negotiations with relevant authorities in the UK and destination countries for the grant of interim operating permits to enable the transfer of BOAC's loss-making routes to South America and to ensure continuity of service were still in progress, BUA's first proving flight to that continent took place on 12 October 1964. This was operated with one of the brand-new VC10s, which carried a small load of VIP

Very Important Person

A Very Important Person, or VIP is a person who is accorded special privileges due to his or her status or importance.Examples include celebrities, heads of state/heads of government, major employers, high rollers, politicians, high-level corporate officers, wealthy individuals, or any other...

s comprising of BUA MD Laker and a high-ranking British trade delegation.

On 2 November 1964, the first scheduled passenger service with the type departed Gatwick for Freetown

Freetown

Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...

in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...

, West Africa.

VC10s also replaced Britannias and DC-6s on BUA's routes to East and Southern Africa

Southern Africa

, where the newly delivered jets took over from the piston/turboprop types on scheduled services from Gatwick to Entebbe

Entebbe

Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...

, Nairobi

Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...

, Ndola

Ndola

Ndola is the third largest city in Zambia, with a population of 495,000 . It is the industrial, commercial, on the Copperbelt, Zambia's copper-mining region, and capital of Copperbelt Province. It is also the commercial capital city of Zambia and has one of the three international airports, others...

, Lusaka

Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is located in the southern part of the central plateau, at an elevation of about 1,300 metres . It has a population of about 1.7 million . It is a commercial centre as well as the centre of government, and the four main highways of Zambia head...

and Salisbury

Harare

Harare before 1982 known as Salisbury) is the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. It has an estimated population of 1,600,000, with 2,800,000 in its metropolitan area . Administratively, Harare is an independent city equivalent to a province. It is Zimbabwe's largest city and its...

.

Contemporary bilateral arrangements

Bilateral Air Transport Agreement

A bilateral air transport agreement is an agreement which two nations sign to allow international commercial air transport services between their territories....

prevented BUA from offering a first class

First class (aviation)

First class is a luxury travel class on some airliners that exceeds business class, premium economy, and economy class. On a passenger jetliner, first class refers to a limited number of seats or cabins located in the front of the aircraft which are notable for their comfort, service, and privacy...

on its East African routes. To compensate for this loss of competitiveness, Freddie Laker came up with the novel idea of designing a cargo door to be installed on the left-hand side of the forward fuselage

Fuselage

The fuselage is an aircraft's main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. In single-engine aircraft it will usually contain an engine, although in some amphibious aircraft the single engine is mounted on a pylon attached to the fuselage which in turn is used as a floating hull...

of the airline's VC10s, where the first class cabin was normally located. This modification permitted the carriage of additional freight instead of first class passengers on the East African routes. BUA's VC10s also had extended wingtips that were slightly bent downwards to reduce the aircraft's cruise drag as well as to help it overcome the instability encountered when entering a stall

Stall (flight)

In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases. This occurs when the critical angle of attack of the foil is exceeded...

.

On 5 November 1964, BUA inaugurated regular scheduled services from Gatwick to Rio

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...

, Montevideo

Montevideo

Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...

, Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

and Santiago.the subsequent award to BUA of a 15-year, unrestricted licence and similtaneous revocation of BOAC's existing licences by the ATLB on 1 December 1964 enabled the British independent to officially replace the corporation

Government-owned corporation

as UK flag carrier

Flag carrier

to Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay BUA's new South American flights initially operated twice-weekly with alternate stops in Madrid

Madrid

Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

and Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, and a refuelling stop in Las Palmas

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria commonly known as Las Palmas is the political capital, jointly with Santa Cruz, the most populous city in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands and the ninth largest city in Spain, with a population of 383,308 in 2010. Nearly half of the people of the island...

. São Paulo

São Paulo

São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...

and a third weekly frequency, which routed through Freetown to/from Buenos Aires, were added subsequently. The third frequency permitted BUA to alter its South American route pattern. As a result, one flight terminated in Brazil and end-to-end travelling times on the new Gatwick — Freetown — Buenos Aires — Santiago service reduced by over two hours compared with the previous routeing. The consequent overall capacity increase, including a greater choice of flights and shorter journey times between the UK, Argentina and Chile, made BUA's schedules more competitive with rivals.

In late 1964, Air Ferry

Air Ferry Limited

Air Ferry Limited was a private, independent British airline operating charter, scheduled and all-cargo flights from 1963 to 1968.-History:Wg Cdr 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...

joined the BUA group of companies as a consequence of Air Holdings' acquisition of Leroy Tours, Air Ferry's owners, thereby restoring the cross-Channel vehicle ferry

Air ferry

services monopoly of British United Air Ferries.

In early April 1965, BUA welcomed the first of the short-haul BAC One-Elevens, for which it had placed the launch order back in 1961, into its fleet. BUA operated the world's first commercial One-Eleven flight on 9 April 1965 from London Gatwick to Genoa.

The expansion of BUA's long-haul flying programme — both scheduled and non-scheduled — resulted in an order for a third VC10 in early May 1965. Technically, BUA took over an order Ghana Airways

Ghana Airways

Ghana Airways Limited was the national airline of the Republic of Ghana with its main base of operation, and hub, at Kotoka International Airport in Accra....

had cancelled. Practically, this meant that the aircraft was built to BUA's specifications featuring the same cargo door on the left side of the forward fuselage as its sister aircraft, thereby ensuring fleet interchangeability. This aircraft was delivered on 31 July 1965. It entered service in a single-class configuration featuring 127, rear-facing seats to be primarily used for long-haul trooping flights.

On 4 January 1966, BUA commenced domestic scheduled services with the new One-Elevens from Gatwick to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast.BUA's domestic route launch was delayed by British Eagle's appeal against the ATLB's original decision in early 1964 to award BUA licences to operate domestic feeder services to Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

, 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...

and Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

to connect with international scheduled and non-scheduled flights from Gatwick within a 24-hour period These services were branded as InterJet. This made BUA the first UK domestic operator plying trunk routes exclusively with jet equipment

Jet aircraft

. BUA also became the only airline in the world to operate One-Elevens on an intercontinental, long-haul scheduled route, when it introduced the 200 series on its multistop West African service linking Gatwick with Lagos

Lagos

Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...

via Lisbon, Las Palmas,involving a night stop for aircraft, crew and passengers Bathurst

Banjul

-Transport:Ferries sail from Banjul to Barra. The city is served by the Banjul International Airport. Banjul is on the Trans–West African Coastal Highway connecting it to Dakar and Bissau, and will eventually provide a paved highway link to 11 other nations of ECOWAS.Banjul International Airport...

, Freetown and Accra

Accra

Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...

.

During August 1966, BUA also introduced a new two-tone, sandstone and blue colour scheme. VC10 G-ASIX was first to appear in the new livery

Aircraft livery

Aircraft livery is a paint scheme applied to an aircraft, generally to fuselage, wings, empennage , or jet engines. Most airlines have a standard paint scheme for their aircraft fleet, usually prominently displaying the airline logo or name. From time to time special liveries are introduced, for...

.

BUA followed up its initial order for ten 200 series One-Elevens with an additional order for five stretched One-Eleven 500s. These were larger capacity aircraft with a higher takeoff weight that were primarily intended for use on the airline's European IT routes. These aircraft joined BUA's fleet from May 1969.

Reorganisation

At the end of 1965, Laker decided to relinquish his post as BUA MD and leave the company to set up his own airline.allegedly due to a disagreement with BUA chairman Myles Wyatt

Following Laker's departure from BUA, Max Stuart-Shaw was appointed BUA's new MD. Stuart-Shaw was a former senior manager

Senior management

Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...

at Central African Airways

Central African Airways

Central African Airways was formed in 1946 from the wartime Southern Rhodesian Air Services , which was in turn formed from the pre-war Rhodesia And Nyasaland Airways and Southern Rhodesia Air Force communications squadron...

. His brief was to oversee the successful implementation of the board's original policy decision taken in the early 1960s to transform BUA into a scheduled airline. Although Laker had largely succeeded in welding the various constituent airlines that made up BUA into a single, integrated enterprise towards the end of his tenure while ensuring the business remained profitable, it lacked the quality of a frontline scheduled carrier. Despite the growth in scheduled activities during that period, the airline was still perceived as mainly a charter and freight operator. When Stuart-Shaw took over from Laker, he strengthened BUA's management organisation by developing the personnel department, expanding the planning unit, as well as reorganising operations and engineering. He also improved the quality of the airline's marketing. As a result, BUA witnessed a major improvement in the quality of its promotional material and in the number of flights departing on time, making its punctuality record one of the UK airline industry's best.

Alan Bristow

Alan Bristow

Alan Edgar Bristow, OBE, FRAeS founded one of the world's largest helicopter service companies, Bristow Helicopters Ltd, which prospered primarily in the international oil and mineral exploration and extraction industries but also spread into search and rescue, peacekeeping and other fields.Born...

, the founder of Bristow Helicopters, succeeded Stuart-Shaw as BUA MD in December 1967 following the latter's decision to relinquish the chief executive

Chief executive officer

A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

role only two years after his appointment.Stuart-Shaw eventually retired early from the group due to poor health By the time Bristow took over, BUA was losing money.

BUA had recorded its first-ever loss in 1965, mainly as a result of the high depreciation

Depreciation

Depreciation refers to two very different but related concepts:# the decrease in value of assets , and# the allocation of the cost of assets to periods in which the assets are used ....

charges its newly acquired jet fleet incurred and substantial losses the ex-BOAC South American routes generatedthe South American routes lost a cumulative total of over £800,000 during their first four years of operation. Over the following two years, the airline's financial situation rapidly deteriorated. In 1966, the loss amounted to £250,000. The following year it almost doubled. Preliminary loss projections released during summer 1967 had shown that a continuation of this trend would produce a negative result of more than £1 million in 1968 and an even higher deficit the year after. This scenario undermined the board's case for additional shareholder funds to finance the purchase of new long-haul jet equipment to replace the remaining Britannias and caused growing anxiety among shareholders, who threatened to withdraw their support unless there was a marked improvement in the airline's long-term prospects.

A detailed analysis of BUA's financial results had shown that raising the airline's profile and quality during Max Stuart-Shaw's tenure meant that costs were growing faster than revenues. Other factors contributing to BUA's rapid cost escalation included high launch costs of several, initially unprofitable scheduled services, as well as an unexpected falloff in traffic as a result of a credit squeeze

Credit crunch

A credit crunch is a reduction in the general availability of loans or a sudden tightening of the conditions required to obtain a loan from the banks. A credit crunch generally involves a reduction in the availability of credit independent of a rise in official interest rates...

combined with new overseas travel restrictions due to a tightening of existing exchange controls

Foreign exchange controls

Foreign exchange controls are various forms of controls imposed by a government on the purchase/sale of foreign currencies by residents or on the purchase/sale of local currency by nonresidents.Common foreign exchange controls include:...

. This was further compounded by the large number of overhead

Overhead

Overhead may be:* Overhead , the ongoing operating costs of running a business* Engineering overhead, ancillary design features required by a component of a device...

s resulting from the group's complex organisation in which many functions were duplicated and the limited opportunities for independent airlines to operate scheduled services on domestic and international trunk routes in competition with the corporationsdespite the 1960 Licensing Act being the official aviation policy of successive UK governments during the 1960s, Sir Alec Douglas-Home

Alec Douglas-Home

Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...

's Conservative Government's support for the independents in their endeavour to mount an effective challenge to the corporations as alternative British scheduled air transport providers was unenthusiastic, while Harold Wilson

Harold Wilson

James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, FSS, PC was a British Labour Member of Parliament, Leader of the Labour Party. He was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the 1960s and 1970s, winning four general elections, including a minority government after the...

's Labour Government of that era opposed opening the corporations' routes to additional competition from UK independent airlines.

BUA's basic dilemma could be summed up as follows: It had built up a high cost base of a major scheduled airline while low-yield charter traffic, a substantial amount of which was fluctuating, low-margin short-haul trooping between the UK and Germany, constituted a large part of its business. Scheduled services on the other hand generated inadequate revenues, which were insufficient to support the airline. Simultaneous development of new scheduled services and integration of existing regional operations in the Channel Islands and on the Isle of Man

Isle of Man

The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

with the vehicle ferry network proved a costly distraction for overburdened senior sales and commercial managers, taking up a disproportionate amount of their time. Although revenues and the workforce had doubled between 1962 and 1968, total output had risen by less than half over the same period. This translated into a substantial fall in output per employee within that time span and resulted in a weak trading position.

To return BUA to profitability

Profit (accounting)

In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...

and to secure its long-term future as a viable business, Bristow simplified the unwieldy organisational structure of the BUA group of companies and implemented a new growth strategy.

This entailed splitting Air Holdings into two organisationally independent entities under the control of B&C.

BUA (Holdings) became the new holding company for BUA and British United Island Airways

British United Island Airways

British United Island Airways was formed in November 1968 as part of a reorganisation of the BUA group of companies. It was a regional sister airline of British United Airways , Britain's largest wholly private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline of the 1960s...

(BUIA), which combined the "second-level" scheduled operations of BUA (C.I.) and British United (Manx) Airways under the new name of Channel Islands and Manx Air Services (CIMAS) and "third-level" charter activities of Morton Air Services, as well as the BUA group's stakes in Bristow Helicopters, Gambia Airways, Sierra Leone Airways and Uganda Aviation Services.

Air Holdings, the old parent company of the unreconstructed BUA group, became a separate holding company for British Air Ferries (BAF)the new name adopted by British United Air Ferries in 1967 and Aviation Traders

Aviation Traders

was a war-surplus aircraft and spares trader formed in 1947. In 1949, it began maintaining aircraft used by some of Britain's contemporary independent airlines on the Berlin Airlift. In the early 1950s, it branched out into aircraft conversions and manufacturing. During that period it also became a...

, Freddie Laker's old company. It also assumed ownership of Air Ferry, Airwork Services, the BUA group's tour operator

Tour operator

A tour operator typically combines tour and travel components to create a holiday. The most common example of a tour operator's product would be a flight on a charter airline plus a transfer from the airport to a hotel and the services of a local representative, all for one price. Niche tour...

sLeroy Tours, Lyons Tours and Whitehall Travel and the new L-1011

Lockheed L-1011

The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, commonly referred to as the L-1011 or TriStar, is a medium-to-long range, widebody passenger trijet airliner. It was the third widebody airliner to enter commercial operations, following the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. Between 1968 and 1984, Lockheed...

franchise

Franchising

Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....

for sales outside the US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

B&C reportedly paid Air Holdings £6 million for the transfer of BUA's ownership to BUA (Holdings).

The BUA group's reorganisation also entailed B&C buying out all of BUA's co-owners other than Eagle Star for £17 million in May 1968.BUA's change of ownership had come about as a result of the original Air Holdings board finding itself divided over the merits of backing a reorganisation of the group's aviation interests; while B&C, the controlling shareholder and original backer of Hunting-Clan Air Transport, remained committed to its air transport subsidiaries, minority shareholders P&O and Furness Withy, whose involvement in aviation dated back to their early support of Silver City Airways and Airwork respectively, wanted to back out This gave it a 90.8% stake and left Eagle Star with the remaining 9.2%.

Specific steps Alan Bristow took to reorganise and revitalise the BUA group included

appointment of four special (executive) director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...

s from BUA to strengthen the BUA (Holdings) board

formation of a top management team comprising Bristow and the four newly appointed directors

reorganisation into four main divisions,engineering, finance, sales and operations each headed by one of the four new directors

closure of expensive Central London offices and Southend
London Southend Airport
London Southend Airport or Southend Airport is a regional airport in the district of Rochford within Essex, England.During the 1960s, Southend was the third-busiest airport in the United Kingdom. It remained London's third-busiest airport in terms of passengers handled until the end of the 1970s,...

engineering base to concentrate all head office and engineering functions at Gatwick

putting in place concrete, long-term development plans for BUA's Gatwick base

expansion of non-scheduled operations by concentrating on lucrative European IT and transatlantic
Transatlantic flight
Transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...

closed group chartersthrough non-IATA subsidiary BUA (Services) at the expense of low-margin trooping

introduction of incentive schemes to help achieve above-target sales and reward cost-cutting ideas

implementation of urgent economies in all non-essential areas.

holding regular staff meetings and making senior managers more accessible to improve internal communications.

These measures were primarily intended to help BUA break even

Break-even

Break-even is a point where any difference between plus or minus or equivalent changes side.-In economics:A technique for which identifying the point where the total revenue is just sufficient to cover the total cost...

in 1968 and return to profit by 1969. To meet the longer term objective of transforming BUA into a viable business with a stable future, the airline's top management team got several, more forward-looking developments started. These focused on

giving planning and a newly created special projects department direct access to the chief executive and

putting greater emphasis on fleet modernisation to enhance BUA's competitiveness, including an urgent re-evaluation of the airline's future long-haul requirements.

An order for five 500 series One-Elevens to meet the airline's future short-/medium haul requirements started the fleet modernisation process. It was followed by the retirement of the remaining turboprops in BUA's mainline fleetBritannias by end-1968, Viscounts by end-1969 and an evaluation of the Boeing 707

Boeing 707

The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...

and Super VC10 for its future long-haul requirements, as well as the HS 125

British Aerospace BAe 125

The British Aerospace 125 is a twin-engined mid-size corporate jet, with newer variants now marketed as the Hawker 800. It was known as the Hawker Siddeley HS.125 until 1977...

and HP Jetstream as potential replacements for its "third-level" fleet. An important factor in each case was the airline's new strategy to capture a greater share of the non-scheduled market.

Using a more logical approach to regroup the wide spread of airline activities into four discrete units concluded the BUA group's reorganisation and revitalisation. As a result, BUA became the group's frontline all-jet operator based at Gatwick; BUIA's CIMAS division provided all "second-level" scheduled services from several regional bases and standardised its fleet on the Herald

Handley Page Dart Herald

The Handley Page Dart Herald was a 1950s British turboprop passenger aircraft.-Design and development:In the mid 1950s the Handley Page Aircraft Company developed a new fast short-range regional airliner, intended to replace the venerable Douglas DC-3, particularly in third-world countries...

turboprop, while its Morton Air Services division offered "third-level" air taxi

Air taxi

An air taxi is an air charter passenger or cargo aircraft which operates on an on-demand basis.-Regulation:In the United States, air taxi and air charter operations are governed by Part 135 of the Federal Aviation Regulations , unlike the larger scheduled air carriers which are governed by more...

, charter and feeder services; and Bristow Helicopters assumed sole responsibility for all helicopter operations.

A concept called the "two-market philosophy" was the centrepiece of all these developments. This was based on the idea that BUA could only become economically viable and realise its full potential if it took maximum advantage of opportunities to develop its business profitably in both the scheduled and non-scheduled markets. Practically, this entailed increasing frequencies on existing scheduled services with particular emphasis on South American and UK domestic trunk routes, starting up scheduled routes to new destinations,including in West Africa securing a bigger share of the fast-growing short-/medium-haul IT market, establishing a presence in the long-haul closed group charter businessincluding the opening of an office in New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

and doing more contract work for overseas airlinesprimarily on a wet-lease basis.

These organisational changes led to a series of strike

Industrial action

Industrial action or job action refers collectively to any measure taken by trade unions or other organised labour meant to reduce productivity in a workplace. Quite often it is used and interpreted as a euphemism for strike, but the scope is much wider...

s. Despite its troubled industrial relations, BUA's financial performance gradually improved and it became profitable again. The improved financial performance was reflected in BUA's ability to turn BOAC's annual £1¼ million loss on the South American routes into a profit by the end of its fourth year of operation and to run the UK's only genuinely profitable domestic scheduled services.

In 1969, BUA purchased the VC10 prototype from Laker Airways

Laker Airways

Laker Airways was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline founded by Sir Freddie Laker in 1966. It originally was a charter airline flying passengers and cargo worldwide...

.in February 1968, Laker Airways had acquired this aircraft from the manufacturer following its conversion into a 1109 series passenger aircraft; Laker immediately leased out the aircraft to Middle East Airlines

Middle East Airlines

Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. , more commonly known as Middle East Airlines , is the national flag-carrier airline of Lebanon, with its head office in Beirut, near Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport...

(MEA) before selling it to BUA, with handover occurring at the conclusion of the MEA leasing contract on 1 April 1969 The acquisition of the VC10 prototype increased BUA's long-haul fleet to four aircraft.

By the end of the decade, BUA voluntarily withdrew from its two-year MoD contract for trooping flights between Britain

United Kingdom

and Germany, marking the end of the airline's trooping activities.the contract was taken over by Britannia Airways

Britannia Airways

Britannia Airways was the largest charter airline in the United Kingdom, rebranded as Thomsonfly in 2005. Its main bases were Gatwick, London Luton, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle and Glasgow...

By that time, BUA's fleet consisted of 21 aircraft, 18 of which were state-of-the art jet aircraft comprising four VC10s and 14 One-Elevensnine series 200 and five series 500, as well as three Viscount 800 turboprops. Scheduled services accounted for 42% of its business, IT charters for 56% and trooping flights for the remaining 2%.

At the beginning of the new decade, BUA boasted an all-jet fleet, which gave it a competitive edge over its contemporary independent rivals.

"Second Force"

In the late 1960s, a parliamentary

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

committee of inquiry headed by Professor Sir Ronald Edwards, at the time the chairman of the Electricity Council

Electricity Council

The Electricity Council was a governmental body set up in 1957 to oversee the electricity supply industry in England and Wales. The Council's responsibilities included:...

and a professor at the London School of Economics

London School of Economics

The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...

, inquired into the UK's air transport

Commercial aviation

Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for hire to transport passengers or cargo...

industry and its prospects in the coming decade. At the conclusion of its inquiry, on 2 May 1969, the Edwards committee published a 394-page report entitled British Air Transport in the Seventies.

Concept

One of the Edwards report's recommendations was the creation of a financially and managerially sound, so-called Second Force private sector airline to operate a viable network of short- and long-haul scheduled and non-scheduled services. This "Second Force" airline was to be licensed to compete with state-owned BEA and BOAC on selected short-/long-haul routes, in accordance with the relevant bilateral air transport agreement

Bilateral Air Transport Agreement

A bilateral air transport agreement is an agreement which two nations sign to allow international commercial air transport services between their territories....

s. Wherever bilateral agreement

Bilateral Air Transport Agreement

A bilateral air transport agreement is an agreement which two nations sign to allow international commercial air transport services between their territories....

s permitted a second British carrier, the "Second Force" was to assume this role. The "Second Force" was to be assisted in attaining critical mass by way of a limited route transfer from the corporations, both of which accounted for more than 90% of all UK scheduled air transport capacity in the late 1960s. In return, the "National Air Holdings Board" that was to assume control of the corporations was to be given a minority stake in the "Second Force" and at least one seat on its board

Board of directors

. To enable the "Second Force" to become viable by 1980, its minimum size was to be at least 4 billion long-haul scheduled service seat miles

Available seat miles

An available seat mile is the fundamental unit of production for a passenger-carrying airline. A unit in this case is one seat, available for sale, flown one mile. For example, an aircraft with 300 seats available for sale flying 1,000 statute miles would generate 300,000 ASMs for that particular...

(6.4 billion seat kilometres) per annum by 1975, and its fleet was to consist of at least 14 state-of-the-art long-haul aircraft, including three supersonic transport

Supersonic transport

A supersonic transport is a civilian supersonic aircraft designed to transport passengers at speeds greater than the speed of sound. The only SSTs to see regular service to date have been Concorde and the Tupolev Tu-144. The last passenger flight of the Tu-144 was in June 1978 with its last ever...

s (SSTs), three widebodied

Wide-body aircraft

A wide-body aircraft is a large airliner with two passenger aisles, also known as a widebody aircraft or twin-aisle aircraft. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabin, passengers are seated seven to ten abreast, allowing a total capacity of 200 to 850 passengers...

trijet

Trijet

A Trijet is an aircraft powered by three jet engines. Early twin-jet designs were limited by the FAA's "60-minute rule", whereby the flight path of twin-engined jetliners was restricted to within 60 minutes' flying time from a suitable airport, in case of engine failure. In 1964 this rule was...

s and eight conventional narrowbodied

Narrow-body aircraft

A narrow-body aircraft is an airliner with a fuselage aircraft cabin width typically of 3 to 4 metres , and airline seat arranged 2 to 6 abreast along a single aisle...

jets.

The Edwards committee considered BUA and Caledonian the two main constituents of the envisaged "Second Force" among Britain's numerous contemporary independent airlines.

Creation

Following publication of the Edwards report, BUA pitched for the role of the "Second Force" airline. Its bid to become the new "Second Force" centred on a six-year expansion planformulated in 1969 in response to Edwards for the period 1970-1975 that envisaged the progressive transfer of all of BOAC's African routes to itself to complement existing African services from the airline's Gatwick base, and unlimited frequencies between Gatwick and New York's John F. Kennedy Airport. This route transfer was to be accomplished by 1975beginning with the transfer of East African routes in 1971, to be followed by Central, West

West Africa

and South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

n routes in 1972, 73 and 75 respectively while widebodied services to New York were to begin in 1974by which time BUA reckoned to be big enough to launch commercially viable transatlantic scheduled services with Lockheed L-1011s, McDonnell-Douglas DC-10s or an aircraft based on a late-1960s "sub-jumbo" design proposal Boeing

Boeing

The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...

had jointly developed with Aeritalia

Aeritalia

Aeritalia was an aerospace engineering corporation based in Italy, originally Fiat Aviazione before merging with Aerfer, and now part of Alenia Aeronautica....

under the working title "Boeing 767". The plan also hinted at a subsequent transfer of the corporation's Caribbean

Caribbean

The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

and South American routes to strengthen BUA's role as the new British North-South long-haul airline while leaving BOAC to concentrate on becoming the UK's East-West long-haul carrier. BUA reckoned that this would give it the critical mass and rational route network to meet the Edwards committee's minimum requirement of 4 billion annual scheduled long-haul seat miles (6.4 billion seat kilometres) to become an economically viable "Second Force". BUA estimated that it needed to invest £60 million in new aircraft, including the then latest generation widebodied and SST aircraft, as well as an additional £25 million for associated ground facilities and working capital

Working capital

Working capital is a financial metric which represents operating liquidity available to a business, organization or other entity, including governmental entity. Along with fixed assets such as plant and equipment, working capital is considered a part of operating capital. Net working capital is...

.

BUA's advocacy of large-scale route transfers from the corporations was opposed by Caledonian. Rather than creating spheres of influence between the corporations and the independents, that airline advocated organic development through new licensing opportunities that would permit it to compete with the corporations on an equal footing, especially on North Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

routes, and security of tenure upon which to build a sound economic future.

Meanwhile, BUA became a growing burden on the Cayzers' as a result of its disappointing financial performance, a situation made worse by the unexpected loss of one of its most important IT customers to the newly formed BEA Airtours

British Airtours

British Airtours was a UK charter airline with flight operations out of London Gatwick and Manchester Airport.Originally established as BEA Airtours in 1969, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of then state-owned British Airways following the British European Airways — British Overseas Airways...

. This led to an approach to both corporations, with the intention of selling BUA to one of them. BEA, which was approached first, refused because it considered the price Sir Nicholas was asking for BUA — £9 million — too high. A subsequent approach to BOAC proved to be more successful. Sir Keith Granville, BOAC's then MD, agreed to purchase BUA from B&C for £7.9 million. Roy Mason, at the time the President of the Board of Trade, gave the Government's preliminary approval to BOAC's proposed takeover of BUA, on the understanding that there were no realistic prospects of a merger with another independent airline as recommended in the Edwards report. When the details of this supposedly confidential agreement were leaked to the press

Mass media

Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

, Caledonian, which had expressed its interest in acquiring BUA itself and had already begun negotiations with BUA's senior management

Senior management

to make an offer to take over the airline to create the "Second Force" as envisaged in the Edwards report, immediately applied to the ATLB for the revocation of all of BUA's scheduled route licences, requesting them to be transferred to itself. It also leaked its own version of this story to The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...

. Following this revelation, Roy Mason made a statement to the House of Commons affirming that B&C had misled him about the prospects of forming a "Second Force" airline through a merger with another independent, and that he was therefore going to withhold his final approval of the BOAC-BUA merger. This opened the way for Caledonian to make a successful counter bid for BUA.

On 30 November 1970, Caledonian Airways acquired BUA together with three new BAC One-Eleven 500 series aircraft the latter had leased from B&C for £12 million, thereby enabling it to transform itself into a scheduled airline and to become the "Second Force" as per the recommendations of the Edwards report. The merged entity would be known for an interim period as Caledonian//BUA before eventually adopting the British Caledonian

British Caledonian

British Caledonian was a private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline, operating out of Gatwick Airport in the 1970s and 1980s...

name.

Aircraft fleet details

BUA and its associates operated the following aircraft types during BUA's ten-year history:

Aviation Traders ATL 98 Carvair

BAC One-Eleven
BAC One-Eleven
The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...

200/400/500 series

Beechcraft Twin Bonanza
Beechcraft Twin Bonanza
|-See also:-References:Twin Bonanza Association http://twinbonanza.com...

Bristol 170
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...

Mark 31 Freighter/Mark 32 Super Freighter

Bristol 175 Britannia
Bristol Britannia
The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...

300 series

Cessna 310
Cessna 310
The Cessna 310 is an American six-seat, low-wing, twin-engined monoplane that was produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engined aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II.-Development:...

Cessna 320A Skynight

de Havilland DH 89 Dragon Rapide
De Havilland Dragon Rapide
The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...

de Havilland DH 104 Dove
De Havilland Dove
The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British monoplane short-haul airliner from de Havilland, the successor to the biplane de Havilland Dragon Rapide and was one of Britain's most successful post-war civil designs...

de Havilland DH 114 Heron
De Havilland Heron
The de Havilland DH.114 Heron was a small, propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle...

de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...

Douglas DC-3 Dakota
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

/C-47 Skytrain

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-54 Skymaster

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...

Handley Page HPR 7 Dart Herald
Handley Page Dart Herald
The Handley Page Dart Herald was a 1950s British turboprop passenger aircraft.-Design and development:In the mid 1950s the Handley Page Aircraft Company developed a new fast short-range regional airliner, intended to replace the venerable Douglas DC-3, particularly in third-world countries...

Handley Page Hermes
Handley Page Hermes
The Handley Page HP 81 Hermes was a British civilian airliner built by Handley Page in the 1940s and 50s. Closely related to Handley Page's Hastings military transport, the Hermes was a low-wing monoplane powered by four piston engines...

Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer
Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Green, William. Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London. Macdonald & Co. Ltd., 1964.*Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X....

Vickers VC10
Vickers VC10
The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...

series 1103/1109

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...

700/800 series

In addition to the fixed-wing aircraft

Fixed-wing aircraft

types listed above, BUA group companies also operated various helicopter types.

Fleet in 1961

In April 1961, the combined fleet of all BUA group companies comprised 109 aircraft, 57 of which were fixed-wing aircraft. Various helicopter types accounted for the balance.

**BUA air transport division fleet in April 1961**
Aircraft	Number
Bristol 175 Britannia 300 Bristol Britannia The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...	4
Vickers Viscount 700/800 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...	11
Douglas DC-6A 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...	2
Bristol 170 Mark 31/32 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...	14
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-54	5
Douglas DC-3 Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made... /C-47	6
de Havilland DH 114 Heron De Havilland Heron The de Havilland DH.114 Heron was a small, propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle...	2
de Havilland DH 104 Dove De Havilland Dove The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British monoplane short-haul airliner from de Havilland, the successor to the biplane de Havilland Dragon Rapide and was one of Britain's most successful post-war civil designs...	6
de Havilland DH 89 Dragon Rapide De Havilland Dragon Rapide The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...	1
Cessna 310 Cessna 310 The Cessna 310 is an American six-seat, low-wing, twin-engined monoplane that was produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engined aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II.-Development:...	1
Total	52

**BUA helicopter division fleet in April 1961**
Aircraft	Number
Westland Whirlwind	15
Westland Widgeon	4
various smaller machines	33
Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer \|-See also:-Bibliography:Green, William. Macdonald Aircraft Handbook. London. Macdonald & Co. Ltd., 1964.Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. London: Aerospace Publishing, 1997. ISBN 1-85605-375-X....	2
de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined, high-wing, propeller-driven, STOL aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada, primarily known as a bush plane. It is used for cargo and passenger hauling, aerial application , and has been widely adopted by armed forces as a utility aircraft...	1
Beechcraft Twin Bonanza Beechcraft Twin Bonanza \|-See also:-References:Twin Bonanza Association http://twinbonanza.com...	2
Total	57

Fleet in 1965

In April 1965, the BUA mainline fleet comprised 21 aircraft (2 jets, 16 turboprops, 3 piston airliners).

**BUA mainline fleet in April 1965**
Aircraft	Number
Vickers VC10 1103 Vickers VC10 The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...	2
Bristol 175 Britannia 300 Bristol Britannia The Bristol Type 175 Britannia was a British medium-to-long-range airliner built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1952 to fly across the British Empire...	5
Vickers Viscount 800 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...	6
Vickers Viscount 700 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...	4
Douglas DC-6A 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...	2
Handley Page HPR 7 Dart Herald 204 Handley Page Dart Herald The Handley Page Dart Herald was a 1950s British turboprop passenger aircraft.-Design and development:In the mid 1950s the Handley Page Aircraft Company developed a new fast short-range regional airliner, intended to replace the venerable Douglas DC-3, particularly in third-world countries...	1
Cessna 320A Skynight	1
Total	21

The first of 10 new BAC One-Eleven 201AC

BAC One-Eleven

The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...

s that were on order was handed over to the airline on 4 April 1965.

BUA (mainline) employed 2,000 people at this time.

Fleet in 1969

In April 1969, the BUA mainline fleet comprised 16 aircraft (13 jets + 3 turboprops).

**BUA mainline fleet in April 1969**
Aircraft	Number
Vickers VC10 1103/1109 Vickers VC10 The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...	4
BAC One-Eleven 201AC BAC One-Eleven The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...	9
Vickers Viscount 800 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...	3
Total	16

The first of 8 new BAC One-Eleven 500

BAC One-Eleven

The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...

s that were on order was handed over to the airline later that year.

BUA (mainline) employed 3,200 people at this time.

Accidents and incidents

During its ten-year existence, BUA suffered one fatal accident and three non-fatal incidents.

The fatal accident occurred on 14 April 1965. It involved a BUA (C.I.)

Jersey Airlines

Douglas C-47B-20-DK (registration: G-ANTB) operating flight 1030X

British United Airways Flight 1030X

British United Airways Flight 1030X crashed on 14 April 1965 in Jersey in the Channel Islands. Poor visibility and low cloud cover led to an aborted landing attempt, leading to a second attempt which resulted in the Douglas C-47B hitting an outermost pole before crashing into a field and catching...

, a scheduled international passenger flight from Paris Orly

Orly Airport

Paris-Orly Airport is an airport located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris, France. It has flights to cities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, North America and Southeast Asia. Prior to the construction of Charles de Gaulle Airport, Orly was...

to Jersey

Jersey

Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...

. Despite the deteriorating weather conditions at Jersey's States Airport

Jersey Airport

-Busiest routes:Some airlines offer services between Jersey and other destinations with an intermediate stop at Guernsey. There are also periodic charter flights to European holiday destinations, Madeira and ski destinations operated by airlines such as Aurigny Air Services, Europe Airpost, Palmair...

, the crew decided to continue its approach

Final 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...

to runway 27. This approach was abandoned because runway visual range

Runway visual range

Runway Visual Range is a term used in aviation meteorology to define the distance over which a pilot of an aircraft on the centreline of the runway can see the runway surface markings delineating the runway or identifying its centre line...

fell below minima. When the aircraft made its second approach, it first hit a tree before striking the outermost pole of the approach light system

Approach Lighting System

An approach lighting system, or ALS, is a lighting system installed on the approach end of an airport runway and consisting of a series of lightbars, strobe lights, or a combination of the two that extends outward from the runway end...

at a height of 58 ft (17.7 m), 3000 ft (914.4 m) short of the runway threshold. This caused the aircraft to crash into the approach lights and catch fire, which killed 25 of the 26 occupants (three out of four crew members and all 22 passengers).

The first non-fatal incident occurred on 30 October 1961. It involved a BUA mainline Vickers Viscount 736

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...

(registration: G-AODH) operating an internal German

Germany

charter flight under contract to BEA from Berlin Tempelhof Airport to Frankfurt Rhein-Main Airport

Frankfurt International Airport

Frankfurt am Main Airport , or simply Frankfurt Airport, known in German as Flughafen Frankfurt am Main or Rhein-Main-Flughafen, is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, Germany, southwest of the city centre....

. While executing a missed approach

Missed approach

Missed approach is an instrument flight rules procedure which is a standard component segment of an instrument approach. Generally, if the pilot flying or the pilot in command determines by the time the aircraft is at the decision height or missed approach point , that the runway or its...

during an ILS approach

Instrument approach

For aircraft operating under instrument flight rules , an instrument approach or instrument approach procedure is a series of predetermined maneuvers for the orderly transfer of an aircraft under instrument flight conditions from the beginning of the initial approach to a landing, or to a point...

to Rhein-Main Airport

Frankfurt International Airport

in poor visibility, the aircraft crash-land

Emergency landing

An emergency landing is a landing made by an aircraft in response to a crisis which either interferes with the operation of the aircraft or involves sudden medical emergencies necessitating diversion to the nearest airport.-Types of emergency landings:...

ed. It struck the ground alongside Rhein-Main's runway 25 and rolled to a stop. Although this damaged the aircraft beyond repair, there were no fatalities among the 16 occupants (four crew and 12 passengers). However, a flight attendant

Flight attendant

Flight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar...

and a passenger sustained injuries as a result of the accident. Accident investigators concluded that the crash-landing was caused by the captain

Pilot in command

The pilot in command of an aircraft is the person aboard the aircraft who is ultimately responsible for its operation and safety during flight. This would be the "captain" in a typical two- or three-pilot flight crew, or "pilot" if there is only one certified and qualified pilot at the controls of...

flying below the critical height in inadequate surface visibility. They furthermore concluded that the assistance the captain received from his co-pilot at the critical moment was erroneous and misleading, and therefore constituted an important contributing factor.

The second non-fatal incident occurred on 14 January 1969. It involved a BUA mainline BAC One-Eleven 201AC

BAC One-Eleven

The British Aircraft Corporation One-Eleven, also known as the BAC-111, BAC-1-11 or BAC 1-11, was a British short-range jet airliner of the 1960s and 1970s...

(registration: G-ASJJ) operating a scheduled international passenger flight from Milan's Linate Airport

Linate Airport

Linate Airport is one of the three major airports of Milan, Italy, along with Malpensa Airport and Orio al Serio Airport. Due to its closer proximity to Milan—it is east southeast of the city, compared with Malpensa, which is northwest of the city—it is mainly used for domestic and short-haul...

to London Gatwick. The aircraft had been diverted to Linate on the outbound flight because of fog at Genoa's Cristoforo Colombo Airport

Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport

Genoa Cristoforo Colombo Airport is built on an artificial peninsula, west of Genoa, Italy. The airport serves the Port of Genoa, and is currently operated by Aeroporto di Genova S.P.A., which has recently upgraded the airport complex. In 2010, 1,287,524 passengers travelled through the...

. The crew's uneventful take-off run from Linate's runway 18 — including normal acceleration — was followed by a bang immediately after the aircraft had become airborne. The captain in the jumpseat who was supervising the co-pilot at the time thought that there was a problem with the no. 1 engine. He advised the pilot in command

Pilot in command

to close the throttle

Throttle

A throttle is the mechanism by which the flow of a fluid is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases , but usually decreased. The term throttle has come to refer, informally and incorrectly, to any mechanism by which...

a short while later. The pilot in command followed his colleague's advice and lowered the nose pitch from 12 to six degree

Degree (angle)

A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...

s. The engine shutdown

Turbine engine failure

A turbine engine failure refers to an incident wherein a turbine engine in an aircraft unexpectedly stops producing power because of a part malfunction, in the absence of circumstances such as fuel exhaustion.-Nature of failures:...

was accompanied by an airspeed

Airspeed

Airspeed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the air. Among the common conventions for qualifying airspeed are: indicated airspeed , calibrated airspeed , true airspeed , equivalent airspeed and density airspeed....

decrease from 140 knots (kn) (161 miles per hour

Miles per hour

Miles per hour is an imperial unit of speed expressing the number of statute miles covered in one hour. It is currently the standard unit used for speed limits, and to express speeds generally, on roads in the United Kingdom and the United States. It is also often used to express the speed of...

(mph) / 259 kilometres per hour

Kilometres per hour

The kilometre per hour is a unit of speed, expressing the number of kilometres traveled in one hour. The unit symbol is km/h or km·h−1....

(kph)) to 115 kn (132 mph / 212 kph). Although the aircraft was damaged beyond repairsustaining extensive damage to its port wing, fuselage and undercarriage

Undercarriage

The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...

, and the detachment of its starboard engine in the resulting forced landing

Forced landing

A forced landing is a landing by an aircraft made under factors outside the pilot's control, such as the failure of engines, systems, components or weather which makes continued flight impossible. For a full description of these, see article on Emergency landing...

on snow-covered sand about two miles from the end of runway 18, there were no fatalities among the 33 occupants (seven crew and 26 passengersincluding seven injuries, two of which were serious). The accident investigators concluded that this crash was caused by the crew failing to recognise their mistake, which had resulted in shutting down the wrong engine (no. 1) in error following a compressor bang/surge in the no. 2 engine. In addition, they were unaware that an inadvertent displacement of the relevant throttle lever

Thrust lever

Thrust levers are found in the cockpit of aircraft, and are used by the pilot, copilot, or autopilot to control the power output of the aircraft's engines....

had partially reduced the no. 2 engine's thrust

Thrust

Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newton's second and third laws. When a system expels or accelerates mass in one direction the accelerated mass will cause a force of equal magnitude but opposite direction on that system....

.

The third non-fatal incident is undated. It most probably occurred during the second half of the 1960s. It involved a BUA mainline Vickers VC10 1103

Vickers VC10

(registration: G-ASIX) operating the Santiago de Chile — Buenos Aires sector of the weekly Santiago—Gatwick schedule. While the aircraft was cruising above the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

, it encountered clear air turbulence

Clear-Air Turbulence

Clear air turbulence is the turbulent movement of air masses in the absence of any visual cues such as clouds, and is caused when bodies of air moving at widely different speeds meet....

above the mountain peak

Mountain peak

A mountain peak is the highest part of a mountain; a mountaintop; the summit.Mountain Peak may also refer to:* Blue Mountain Peak, Jamaica* Hole in the Mountain Peak, Nevada, USA...

s. This resulted in the aircraft being thrown up on to its side at a greater-than-90-degrees angle, and then tossed, headlong, nose down, towards the up to 27000 ft (8,229.6 m) high peaks just a few thousand feet (several hundred metre

Metre

The metre , symbol m, is the base unit of length in the International System of Units . Originally intended to be one ten-millionth of the distance from the Earth's equator to the North Pole , its definition has been periodically refined to reflect growing knowledge of metrology...

s) below. The severity of this incident knocked out the power control units (PCUs) of almost every flight control surface leaving the aircraft to plummet downwards at a speed approaching Mach

Mach number

Mach number is the speed of an object moving through air, or any other fluid substance, divided by the speed of sound as it is in that substance for its particular physical conditions, including those of temperature and pressure...

1. Having almost lost control of their aircraft and against all the odds, the crew managed a successful recovery during which they also managed to reset the aircraft's PCUs, thereby saving their passengers' as well as their own lives. Following the aircraft's safe landing at Buenos Aires

Ministro Pistarini International Airport

Ministro Pistarini International Airport , more commonly known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location within the Ezeiza Partido in the Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport located south-southwest of Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina...

, a thorough ground check was performed before the aircraft was allowed to resume its flight to Gatwick. A detailed inspection of the aircraft at Gatwick revealed a fracture in one of the tail fin

Fin

A fin is a surface used for stability and/or to produce lift and thrust or to steer while traveling in water, air, or other fluid media, . The first use of the word was for the limbs of fish, but has been extended to include other animal limbs and man-made devices...

support spar

Spar

In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a pole of wood, metal or lightweight materials such as carbon fiber used on a sailing vessel. Spars of all types In sailing, a spar is a...

s necessitating a lengthy repair. Subsequently, this incident was cited as evidence of the VC10 airframe

Airframe

The airframe of an aircraft is its mechanical structure. It is typically considered to include fuselage, wings and undercarriage and exclude the propulsion system...

's strength compared with other aircraft — especially airliners with wing-mounted engines, where in similar situations the engine mounting pins would almost certainly have snapped while the aircraft was spun around and resulted in a crash killing everyone on board due to a loss of structural integrity

Structural engineering

Structural engineering is a field of engineering dealing with the analysis and design of structures that support or resist loads. Structural engineering is usually considered a specialty within civil engineering, but it can also be studied in its own right....

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Antecedents and inception

Expansion and fleet rationalisation

Reorganisation

"Second Force"

Concept

Creation

Aircraft fleet details

Fleet in 1961

Fleet in 1965

Fleet in 1969

Accidents and incidents

Further reading

External links