Britannia Airways
Encyclopedia
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
. It was headquartered on the grounds of the Britannia House in Luton
, Bedfordshire
.
s on inclusive tour holidays for Universal Sky Tours. (Rival charter airline Skyways
, one of Britain
's foremost independent airlines during the 1950s and early 1960s, had been taken over by Euravia in 1962. The Skyways takeover did not include Skyways Coach-Air, a Skyways associate, established in the early 1950s by Eric Rylands to operate low-fare coach-air services between London and several European capital cities. Following Euravia's acquisition of Skyways, Skyways Coach-Air remained independent until its successor Skyways International was taken over by Dan-Air
in 1972.)
The name Britannia Airways was adopted on 16 August 1964 to coincide with re-equipping with the Bristol Britannia
turboprop
airliner. The last Britannia 102 was withdrawn from service in December 1970, and the airline became an all-jet operator.
In 1965
Britannia became part of Thomson
, itself part of the Canadian-owned International Thomson Organisation.
Britannia began to re-equip with Boeing 737-200
in 1968
, the first European charter operator of the type. Britannia was also the first European airline to fly the Boeing 767
, which it added to its fleet in the 1980s. The Boeing 767 was the first widebodied aircraft in the Britannia fleet. In August 1988 Britannia's immediate parent company, the Thomson Travel Group, purchased Horizon Travel and its airline, Orion Airways
, which was integrated into Britannia.
In the 1990s, Britannia also began to operate services for Skytours and Portland Direct, themselves too part of the Thomsons Group.
In 1997 Britannia formed a wholly owned subsidiary, Britannia GmbH, based in Germany to operate long and short-haul flights from airports in Germany, Switzerland and Austria for German tour operators, but this was closed in March 2001.
At the start of 1998 the Thomson Travel Group acquired the Scandinavian holiday operation, Fritidsresor Group, and its airline Blue Scandinavia, now renamed Britannia Nordic
(now known as TUIfly Nordic).
In 2000 Thomson Travel Group and Britannia Airways were acquired by Preussag AG (TUI Group) of Germany. As part of a wider reorganisation of TUI's UK operations in September 2004 it was announced that Britannia would be rebranded as Thomsonfly
. This airline's aircraft carried the Thomson colours and logo, and Thomsonfly became the trading name of Britannia Airways. On 1 November 2005 the company's legal name changed from Britannia Airways Limited to Thomsonfly Limited
. This was probably done to avoid any confusion with Britannia Hotels, as a perceived association with them and their poor reputation with holidaymakers could have been potentially damaging to the airline. Thomsonfly later merged with First Choice Airways
and was renamed Thomson Airways
, retaining the previous logo and colours.
Britannia Airways was featured in the first series of the ITV
fly on the wall Docusoap Airline show and is being replayed on Sky1 and Pick TV. From the second series onwards this instead featured low-cost carrier
Easyjet
.
, Accra
, Alicante
, Barbados
, Cancún
, Faro
, Fuerteventura
, Funchal
, Geneva
, Goa
, Heraklion
, Hurghada
, Lanzarote
, Las Palmas
, Luxor
, Lyon
, Málaga
, Male
, Malta
, Mombasa
, Monastir
, Montego Bay
, Natal
, Orlando
, Palma de Mallorca
, Paphos
, Plovdiv
, Puerto Plata
, Punta Cana
, Reus
, Salzburg
, Santa Cruz de la Palma
, Sharm el Sheikh, Sofia
, St Lucia, Sydney
, Tenerife
, Toulouse
, Turin
, Varadero
and Verona
.
From the 1980s onwards Britannia operated a solely Boeing
fleet, unlike their rivals which flew Boeing aircraft alongside Airbus
and McDonnell Douglas
aircraft. Britannia however did at times lease Airbus aircraft.
, its position of market dominance being owed to the growth of Thomsons. Initially its main competitor was British Airtours
. The 1980s saw the growth of Monarch Airlines
as a credible competitor. In the 1990s Air 2000
, Airtours International Airways
, First Choice Airways
and Flying Colours
grew as competitors. Its main competitor at the time of rebranding was Thomas Cook Airlines
.
Thomsonfly
Thomsonfly was a British airline, previously known as Britannia and a business within TUI UK prior to September 2007. Following TUI UK merging with First Choice Holidays in September 2007 it became part of TUI Travel PLC...
in 2005. Its main bases were Gatwick, London Luton
London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is an international airport located east of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is north of Central London. The airport is from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway...
, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle
Newcastle Airport
Newcastle International Airport is located in Woolsington in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, north-west of the city centre. In 2010 it was the 11th busiest airport in the United Kingdom....
and 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...
. It was headquartered on the grounds of the Britannia House in Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
.
History
The airline was established on 1 December 1961 by Ted Langton and started operations on 5 May 1962 as Euravia (London) flying Lockheed ConstellationLockheed Constellation
The Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a...
s on inclusive tour holidays for Universal Sky Tours. (Rival charter airline Skyways
Skyways (British airline)
Skyways Limited was an early post-World War II British airline formed in 1946 that soon became established as the largest operator of non-scheduled air services in Europe....
, one of Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's foremost independent airlines during the 1950s and early 1960s, had been taken over by Euravia in 1962. The Skyways takeover did not include Skyways Coach-Air, a Skyways associate, established in the early 1950s by Eric Rylands to operate low-fare coach-air services between London and several European capital cities. Following Euravia's acquisition of Skyways, Skyways Coach-Air remained independent until its successor Skyways International was taken over by Dan-Air
Dan-Air
Dan-Air was a leading private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline based in the United Kingdom....
in 1972.)
The name Britannia Airways was adopted on 16 August 1964 to coincide with re-equipping with the 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...
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...
airliner. The last Britannia 102 was withdrawn from service in December 1970, and the airline became an all-jet operator.
In 1965
1965 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1965:-January:* January 2 - Denis Healey, the United Kingdoms Secretary of Defence, cancels the nation's fighter and military transport programmes and orders the purchase of the US-built F-4 Phantom and C-130 Hercules in their place.* January 26 -...
Britannia became part of Thomson
Thomson Holidays
Thomson Holidays is a UK based travel operator and part of TUI Travel PLC. The company was founded as part of the Thomson Travel Group in 1965 following the acquisition of three package holiday travel agencies and the airline Britannia Airways by Roy Thomson...
, itself part of the Canadian-owned International Thomson Organisation.
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
in 1968
1968 in aviation
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1968:- Events :* In the 1968 White Paper on Defence, the British Labour government announces that the Royal Navys aircraft carrier force will be phased out as soon as the United Kingdom has completed its withdrawal from Malaysia, Singapore, and the...
, the first European charter operator of the type. Britannia was also the first European airline to fly the Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...
, which it added to its fleet in the 1980s. The Boeing 767 was the first widebodied aircraft in the Britannia fleet. In August 1988 Britannia's immediate parent company, the Thomson Travel Group, purchased Horizon Travel and its airline, Orion Airways
Orion Airways
Orion Airways was an airline based in the United Kingdom with its head office on the grounds of East Midlands Airport in Castle Donington, North West Leicestershire. It was created as the charter airline of Horizon Travel and went on to successfully develop scheduled services...
, which was integrated into Britannia.
In the 1990s, Britannia also began to operate services for Skytours and Portland Direct, themselves too part of the Thomsons Group.
In 1997 Britannia formed a wholly owned subsidiary, Britannia GmbH, based in Germany to operate long and short-haul flights from airports in Germany, Switzerland and Austria for German tour operators, but this was closed in March 2001.
At the start of 1998 the Thomson Travel Group acquired the Scandinavian holiday operation, Fritidsresor Group, and its airline Blue Scandinavia, now renamed Britannia Nordic
TUIfly Nordic
TUIfly Nordic AB, formerly known as Britannia Nordic, is a charter airline based in Stockholm, Sweden. The name changed on 1 May 2006. It operates holiday charter flights from airports in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden to fly vacation travelers for the tour operators Star Tour , Fritidsresor ...
(now known as TUIfly Nordic).
Thomsonfly
Thomsonfly was a British airline, previously known as Britannia and a business within TUI UK prior to September 2007. Following TUI UK merging with First Choice Holidays in September 2007 it became part of TUI Travel PLC...
. This airline's aircraft carried the Thomson colours and logo, and Thomsonfly became the trading name of Britannia Airways. On 1 November 2005 the company's legal name changed from Britannia Airways Limited to Thomsonfly Limited
Thomsonfly
Thomsonfly was a British airline, previously known as Britannia and a business within TUI UK prior to September 2007. Following TUI UK merging with First Choice Holidays in September 2007 it became part of TUI Travel PLC...
. This was probably done to avoid any confusion with Britannia Hotels, as a perceived association with them and their poor reputation with holidaymakers could have been potentially damaging to the airline. Thomsonfly later merged with First Choice Airways
First Choice Airways
First Choice Airways was a British charter airline of European tour operator TUI Travel PLC, based in Crawley, England. It flew to more than 60 destinations worldwide from 14 UK and Irish airports. 70% of the airline's services were operated for its parent company, rising to 85% in the summer...
and was renamed Thomson Airways
Thomson Airways
Thomson Airways is the world's largest charter airline, offering scheduled and charter flights from the UK to destinations across Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The company commenced operations on 1 November 2008, following the merger and subsequent re-branding of Thomsonfly and First...
, retaining the previous logo and colours.
Britannia Airways was featured in the first series of the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
fly on the wall Docusoap Airline show and is being replayed on Sky1 and Pick TV. From the second series onwards this instead featured low-cost carrier
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
Easyjet
EasyJet
EasyJet Airline Company Limited is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It carries more passengers than any other United Kingdom-based airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports...
.
Services
Britannia Airways operated services to the following international scheduled destinations (at January 2005): AcapulcoAcapulco
Acapulco is a city, municipality and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, southwest from Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay and has been a port since the early colonial period of Mexico’s history...
, 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...
, Alicante
Alicante
Alicante or Alacant is a city in Spain, the capital of the province of Alicante and of the comarca of Alacantí, in the south of the Valencian Community. It is also a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city of Alicante proper was 334,418, estimated , ranking as the second-largest...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, Cancún
Cancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
, Faro
Faro, Portugal
Faro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...
, Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura
Fuerteventura , a Spanish island, is one of the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. It is situated at 28°20' north, 14°00' west. At 1,660 km² it is the second largest of the Canary Islands, after Tenerife...
, Funchal
Funchal
Funchal is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira. The city has a population of 112,015 and has been the capital of Madeira for more than five centuries.-Etymology:...
, Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
, Heraklion
Heraklion
Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....
, Hurghada
Hurghada
Hurghada is a city in the Red Sea Governorate of Egypt. It is a main tourist center and second largest city in Egypt located on the Red Sea coast.- Overview :...
, Lanzarote
Lanzarote
Lanzarote , a Spanish island, is the easternmost of the autonomous Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 125 km off the coast of Africa and 1,000 km from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.9 km2, it stands as the fourth largest of the islands...
, 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...
, Luxor
Luxor
Luxor is a city in Upper Egypt and the capital of Luxor Governorate. The population numbers 487,896 , with an area of approximately . As the site of the Ancient Egyptian city of Thebes, Luxor has frequently been characterized as the "world's greatest open air museum", as the ruins of the temple...
, Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, 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...
, Male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, Mombasa
Mombasa
Mombasa is the second-largest city in Kenya. Lying next to the Indian Ocean, it has a major port and an international airport. The city also serves as the centre of the coastal tourism industry....
, Monastir
Monastir, Tunisia
-Areas within Monastir:Monastir's north-eastern territories lead into a place called Route de la Falaise, through which you will reach its most notable suburb, Skanes, which is 6 miles from Monastir's town centre...
, Montego Bay
Montego Bay
Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the fourth by population .It is a tourist destination with duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the beaches...
, Natal
Natal, Rio Grande do Norte
-History:The northeastern tip of South America, Cabo São Roque, to the north of Natal and the closest point to Europe from Latin America, was first visited by European navigators in 1501, in the 1501–1502 Portuguese expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci, who named the spot after the saint of the day...
, Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Palma de Mallorca
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...
, Paphos
Paphos
Paphos , sometimes referred to as Pafos, is a coastal city in the southwest of Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos and New Paphos. The currently inhabited city is New Paphos. It lies on the Mediterranean coast, about west of the...
, Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
, Puerto Plata
San Felipe de Puerto Plata
San Felipe de Puerto Plata, often referred to as simply Puerto Plata, is the capital of the Dominican province Puerto Plata.The city is famous for resorts such as Playa Dorada and Costa Dorada, located east of San Felipe de Puerto Plata. There are a total of 100,000 hotel beds in the city.The only...
, Punta Cana
Punta Cana
Punta Cana is part of the newly created Punta Cana-Bávaro-Veron-Macao municipal district in La Altagracia, the easternmost province of the Dominican Republic. The area is best known for its beaches and balnearios, which face both the Caribbean and Atlantic, and it has been a popular tourist...
, Reus
Reus
Reus is the capital of the comarca of Baix Camp, in the province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. The area has always been an important producer of wines and spirits, and gained continental importance at the time of the Phylloxera plague...
, Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Santa Cruz de la Palma
Santa Cruz de La Palma
Santa Cruz de la Palma is located on the eastern part of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz de la Palma is the second largest city and is the capital of the island...
, Sharm el Sheikh, Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
, St Lucia, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, 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...
, Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
, Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, Varadero
Varadero
Varadero is a resort town in the province of Matanzas, Cuba, and one of the largest resort areas in the Caribbean. Varadero is also called Playa Azul, which means "blue beach" in Spanish.-Geography:...
and Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
.
Fleet
At the time of rebranding, the Britannia Airways fleet consisted of the following aircraft:From the 1980s onwards Britannia operated a solely 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...
fleet, unlike their rivals which flew Boeing aircraft alongside Airbus
Airbus
Airbus SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Blagnac, France, surburb of Toulouse, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners....
and McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
aircraft. Britannia however did at times lease Airbus aircraft.
Competitors
At the time of rebranding, Britannia was the largest charter airline in the United KingdomUnited 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...
, its position of market dominance being owed to the growth of Thomsons. Initially its main competitor was British 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...
. The 1980s saw the growth of Monarch Airlines
Monarch Airlines
Monarch Airlines, often shortened to and trading as Monarch, is a British charter and scheduled airline based at London Luton Airport in Luton. It is one of the United Kingdom's largest charter airlines, operating to Europe, the United States, the Caribbean, India and Africa, serving mainly leisure...
as a credible competitor. In the 1990s Air 2000
Air 2000
Air 2000 was a British charter airline that operated for 17 years between 1987 and 2004. The airline was renamed as First Choice Airways in 2004 which lasted until TUI Travel PLC merged with First Choice Holidays PLC in 2008 and as a result First Choice Airways was merged with Thomsonfly to create...
, Airtours International Airways
Airtours International Airways
Airtours International Airways was a charter airline based in the United Kingdom with its head office in Parkway Three in the Parkway Business Centre in Manchester.-History:...
, First Choice Airways
First Choice Airways
First Choice Airways was a British charter airline of European tour operator TUI Travel PLC, based in Crawley, England. It flew to more than 60 destinations worldwide from 14 UK and Irish airports. 70% of the airline's services were operated for its parent company, rising to 85% in the summer...
and Flying Colours
Flying Colours
Flying Colours is a Horatio Hornblower novel by C.S. Forester, originally published 1938 as the third in the series, but now eighth by internal chronology...
grew as competitors. Its main competitor at the time of rebranding was Thomas Cook Airlines
Thomas Cook Airlines
Thomas Cook Airlines is a British charter airline based in Manchester, England. It serves main holiday resorts worldwide, from its main bases at Manchester and Gatwick.The airline also operates services from nine other bases in the United Kingdom....
.
Incidents and accidents
Britannia Airways suffered 3 accidents during their operations (1961–2005):- On 1 September 1966, Britannia Airways Flight 105, a Bristol 175 BritanniaBristol BritanniaThe 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...
, crashed on landing at LjubljanaLjubljanaLjubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
, SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
due to pilot errorPilot errorPilot error is a term used to describe the cause of an accident involving an airworthy aircraft where the pilot is considered to be principally or partially responsible...
after a flight from LutonLondon Luton AirportLondon Luton Airport is an international airport located east of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is north of Central London. The airport is from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway...
, England. Of the 117 onboard 98 died. - On 14 September 1999, Britannia Airways Flight 226A, a Boeing 757-200Boeing 757The Boeing 757 is a mid-size, narrow-body twin-engine jet airliner manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Passenger versions of the twinjet have a capacity of 186 to 289 persons and a maximum range of , depending on variant and cabin configuration...
from CardiffCardiff International AirportCardiff Airport is an international airport serving Cardiff, and the rest of South, Mid and West Wales. Around 1.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010....
, crashed on approach to Girona AirportGirona-Costa Brava AirportGirona-Costa Brava Airport is an airport located southwest of the city of Girona, next to the small village of Vilobí d'Onyar, in the north-east of Catalonia, Spain...
, Spain whilst landing in poor weather conditions. Torrential rain, and the extinguishing of runway lights hindered the landing of the aeroplane, which bounced and then landed with its nose pointing down on its second attempt. Fifty five people were injured out of 245 passengers and crew.
Read more
- ThomsonflyThomsonflyThomsonfly was a British airline, previously known as Britannia and a business within TUI UK prior to September 2007. Following TUI UK merging with First Choice Holidays in September 2007 it became part of TUI Travel PLC...
- Thomson AirwaysThomson AirwaysThomson Airways is the world's largest charter airline, offering scheduled and charter flights from the UK to destinations across Europe, Africa, Asia and North America. The company commenced operations on 1 November 2008, following the merger and subsequent re-branding of Thomsonfly and First...
- TUIfly NordicTUIfly NordicTUIfly Nordic AB, formerly known as Britannia Nordic, is a charter airline based in Stockholm, Sweden. The name changed on 1 May 2006. It operates holiday charter flights from airports in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden to fly vacation travelers for the tour operators Star Tour , Fritidsresor ...
(formerly Britannia Airways AB) - TUI AirlinesTUI AirlinesTUI Airline Management is the fifth largest European air carrier and with 155 aircraft has the largest leisure fleet of aircraft in Europe. Its parent company TUI Travel PLC is the largest tourism group in Europe...