Caledonian Airways - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Caledonian Airways was a wholly 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 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 formed in April 1961. It began with a single Douglas DC-7

Douglas DC-7

The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. It was the last major piston engine powered transport made by Douglas, coming just a few years before the advent of jet aircraft such as the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8.-Design and...

C leased from Sabena

Sabena

SABENA was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001, with its base at Brussels National Airport. After its bankruptcy in 2001, the newly formed SN Brussels Airlines took over part of SABENA's assets in February 2002, which then became Brussels Airlines...

. Caledonian grew rapidly over the coming years to become the leading 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...

"affinity

Affinity (sociology)

Affinity in terms of sociology, refers to "kinship of spirit", interest and other interpersonal commonalities. Affinity is characterized by high levels of intimacy and sharing, usually in close groups, also known as affinity groups. It differs from affinity in law and canon law which generally...

group" charter operator by the end of the decade. During that period, passenger numbers grew from just 8,000 in 1961 to 800,000 in 1970. The latter represented 22.7% of all 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...

non-scheduled passengers. It also became Britain

United Kingdom

's most consistently profitable and financially most secure independent airline of its era, never failing to make a profit in all its ten years of existence. By the end of 1970, Caledonian operated an all-jet

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...

fleet consisting of eleven aircraft and provided employment for over 1,000 workers. At that time, its principal activities included group charters between North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

, 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...

and 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,...

using 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...

s, and general charter and inclusive tour (IT) activities in Europe utilising 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...

s. This was also the time Caledonian merged with British United Airways

British United Airways

British United Airways was a private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline formed as a result of the merger of Airwork Services and Hunting-Clan Air Transport in July 1960, making it the largest wholly private airline based in the United Kingdom at the time...

(BUA), the largest contemporary independent airline and leading private sector scheduled carrier in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

Inception

Caledonian Airways was the brainchild of Adam Thomson, a former 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) 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...

pilot and ex-Britavia

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...

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...

, and John de la Haye, a former BEA flight steward

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 Cunard Eagle's erstwhile 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...

office manager.

Thomson, de la Haye and three associates started Caledonian Airways from scratch with an initial investment of £

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...

54,000 raised from institutional investors on both sides of the 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...

, many of which had a "Scottish connection".

Caledonian Airways (Prestwick) was incorporated in Prestwick, Scotland

Scotland

, in April 1961 to conduct worldwide IT and group charter operations, with de la Haye and Thomson being appointed managing and deputy managing director respectively.

Caledonian operated its inaugural flight on 29 November 1961 from 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...

, the newly formed airline's main operating base, to Barbados

Grantley Adams International Airport

Grantley Adams International Airport , is found in Seawell, Christ Church on the island of Barbados. The former name of the airport was Seawell Airport before being dedicated in honour of the first Premier of Barbados, Sir Grantley Herbert Adams in 1976. The airport's timezone is GMT –4, and is...

. The first revenue service, an immigrant

Immigration

Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...

charter under contract to London Transport Executive

London Transport Executive

The London Transport Executive was the organisation responsible for public transport in the Greater London area, UK, between 1948-1962. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operational brand of the organisation was London Transport.-Creation:On 1...

, operated the following day in the opposite direction.

The first fare-paying passengers to New York departed Prestwick on 21 December 1961. They had paid £40 for the return trip.

Other destinations served during the first year of operations included Lourenço Marques

Maputo

Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its...

.

The initial aircraft type operated was the Douglas DC-7C, the first of which was leased from Sabena

Sabena

in November 1961. This aircraft was lost in a fatal accident in Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

in March 1962. It was replaced the following month with another aircraft of the same type leased from the same source.

Caledonian's first two DC-7

Douglas DC-7

Cs operated Europe

Europe

an and long-distance charter flights, carrying mainly tour groups, inclusive tour holidaymakers and members of the British Armed Forces

British Armed Forces

The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...

. 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....

approved Caledonian as a carrier for trooping flights in early 1962. IT flights to European holiday resort

Resort

A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....

s began during summer 1962.

The DC-7C continued to be the main type flown during the early years. The last example was sold in September 1966.

The airline was emphasising its Scottish roots for marketing purposes by adding the tagline

Tagline

A tagline is a variant of a branding slogan typically used in marketing materials and advertising. The idea behind the concept is to create a memorable phrase that will sum up the tone and premise of a brand or product , or to reinforce the audience's memory of a product...

"The Scottish International Airline" immediately behind the Caledonian name on both sides of the aircraft's 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...

, and by making its female flight attendant

Flight attendant

s wear tartan

Tartan

Tartan is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Scotland. Scottish kilts almost always have tartan patterns...

uniforms. The company also sought to attract customers by providing an inflight service that was superior to what most other contemporary charter airlines offered, including complimentary meals, drinks and free overnight bags.

Max Wilson, the chairman of the Overseas Visitors' Club, one of the airline's main group charterers, became Caledonian's first majority shareholder.

In late 1963, the Donaldson Line, a Scottish 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...

, took a 25% minority stake in Caledonian by subscribing to new shares worth £32,000. This provided the resources to expand the airline's freighting activities and to add a pair of 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...

Bs to its fleet in time for the following year's European summer charter season.

Attaining market leadership in transatlantic affinity group charters

On 20 May 1963, the US

United States

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

Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) granted Caledonian a foreign air carrier permit for a three-year period under Section 402 of the US Federal Aviation Act

Federal Aviation Act of 1958

The Federal Aviation Act of 1958 was an act of the United States Congress, , that created the Federal Aviation Agency and abolished its predecessor, the Civil Aeronautics Administration...

. It became effective on 17 June 1963 when it was signed by President John F. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....

, making Caledonian the first overseas charter carrier to obtain this permit. The so-called Caledonian Case established a precedent

Precedent

In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...

and constituted the legal basis for all airlines that had always wanted to operate charters to and from the US and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, but had been unable to overcome the objections of the established airlines, such as Pan Am

Pan American World Airways

Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...

and 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), prior to the enactment of this law. Caledonian's US breakthrough led to it being granted Canadian

Canada

affinity group charter permission as well. The UK Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB) licensed Caledonian to begin 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...

IT charters in September 1964.

Caledonian's transatlantic growth strategy focused on taking advantage of strong ethnic ties of overseas Scottish communities in North America to the land of their ancestors and an obscure 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) resolution dating from 1953. Under this resolution, airlines were permitted to offer cut-price charter tariffs if these were negotiated with an individual representing a distinct group that shared a common affinity among its members prior to the application for charter transportation.modelled on a similar, 1930s scheme for coach

Coach (vehicle)

A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...

and bus operators The way independent charter operators like Caledonian, who were not IATA members, interpreted that resolution was that it applied to closed groups only whose primary purpose of travel was their common interest, rather than securing cheap air fares for its members. IATA imposed further restrictions on airlines seeking to exploit this loophole by insisting that any agent booking these flights had their commission capped at 5%, that the affinity group's membership could not exceed 20,000 and that those seeking to avail themselves of these offers must have been members for at least six months prior to the commencement of travel. These restrictions were designed to protect IATA members' transatlantic scheduled traffic by preventing non-members from undercutting them.

To comply with IATA's arbitrary transatlantic charter rules, Caledonian and other independent charter operators insisted that anyone who wanted a cheap transatlantic charter flight needed to be a bona fide
Good faith
In philosophy, the concept of Good faith—Latin bona fides “good faith”, bona fide “in good faith”—denotes sincere, honest intention or belief, regardless of the outcome of an action; the opposed concepts are bad faith, mala fides and perfidy...

member of an affinity group, and that the prospective traveller needed to be a member of such an organisation for a minimum period of six months. As a result, clubs and associations with names like Friends of Clan Albion, Anglo-Scottish-American Group, Anglo-American Families Association, Rose and Maple Amity Club, Paisley Buddies, British American Club, Canadian US Pacific Association etc. sprang up on both sides of the Atlantic.

As the charterer was responsible for paying for the aircraft's entire capacity regardless of whether all seats were filled, there was a great temptation to let people, who were not eligible to travel under the affinity group rules, take the seats of other, eligible travellers who had cancelled their bookings. As a result, there were numerous occasions on which the airlines got into trouble with the authorities on both sides of the Atlantic. This made the system increasingly unworkable.

In 1967, Caledonian gained Presidential approval

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

to carry passengers from 19 European countries to the US and to operate IT charters from the US to the UK

United Kingdom

, following authorisation by the CAB. Confirmation by the White House

Executive Office of the President of the United States

The Executive Office of the President consists of the immediate staff of the President of the United States, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President. The EOP is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, currently William M. Daley...

of the CAB's decision to let Caledonian fly US-originating charter passengers to Britain made it at the time the only airline permitted to cater to the IT market on both sides of the Atlantic.

In 1968, the CAB agreed to expand Caledonian's US IT charter authority to enable it to operate circle-tour charters between 19 European points and the US, with flights commencing the following year.

By 1969, more charter passengers were crossing the Atlantic with Caledonian than those flying on the transatlantic scheduled services of Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus Group Plc is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair...

, El Al

El Al

El Al Israel Airlines Ltd , trading as El Al , is the flag carrier of Israel. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and cargo flights to Europe, North America, Africa and the Far East from its main base in Ben Gurion International Airport...

, Sabena or Swissair

Swissair

Swissair AG was the former national airline of Switzerland.It was formed from a merger between Balair and Ad Astra Aero , in 1931...

.

By 1970, Caledonian was carrying the majority of the approximately 1.4 millionout of a total of eight million passengers flying as members of affinity groups across the Atlantic each year.

Caledonian sought to differentiate itself from the other UK independent airlines and US supplemental carriersnon-scheduled US airlines as classified by the United States Congress

United States Congress

The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

in 1963 with which it competed in the transatlantic closed group charter market by providing a personalised, high quality full-scheduled-service style inflight service that exceeded most contemporary scheduled transatlantic operators' 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....

service standards by a wide margin. On a typical transatlantic 707

Boeing 707

charter, there were individually printed menus. The inflight service began with tartan-clad cabin staff serving each passenger free cocktail

Cocktail

A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...

s from the drinks trolley at each seat row as soon as the seat belt signs were turned off. This was followed by the main meal, starting with a separately served hors d'œuvre before serving a main course of fillet of beef

Beef tenderloin

A beef tenderloin, known as an eye fillet in New Zealand and Australia, filet in France and Germany and fillet in the United Kingdom, is cut from the loin of beef. As with all quadrupeds, the tenderloin refers to the psoas major muscle ventral to the transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae,...

, Tournedos

Tournedos

Tournedos can mean:* The central portion of the beef tenderloin, sometimes referred to in the US as filet mignon which correctly applies to the smallest end of the tenderloin only. *Tournedos Rossini, a dish, using this cut....

, lamb or a chicken dish, accompanied by a selection of complimentary wines. Thereafter, a dessert course was served, followed by a choice from a cheese tray and a basket of fresh fruit. The inflight service concluded with tea or coffee being served with complimentary brandies and liqueurs, as well as free cigarettes for those who smoked.

Further growth and new business opportunities

Caledonian carried 110,700 passengers and made a net profit of £90,600 in its 1963-64 financial year.

Caledonian's rapid growth as a profitable charter carrier did not satisfy the ambitions of its founders. Thomson and de la Haye's long-term goal was to run a fully fledged scheduled operation. They considered Caledonian's transformation into a scheduled airline the only way to build an airline with a long-term, stable future, rather than continuing to compete with "boom and bust" operators that were charging ruinous rates in an insecure charter market.

Caledonian first applied to the ATLB for a licence to launch transatlantic scheduled services from London to New York via Prestwick in 1964. These flights were to operate twice-weekly using DC-7Cs. The fare level was to be similar to Loftleiðir

Loftleiðir

Loftleiðir HF, internationally known as Icelandic Airlines or Loftleiðir Icelandic, was a private Icelandic airline headquartered on the grounds of Reykjavík Airport in Reykjavík, which operated mostly trans-atlantic flights linking Europe and America, pioneering the low-cost flight business...

's.
During summer 1964, Caledonian added two leased Douglas DC-6

Douglas DC-6

Bssourced from Sabena to its fleet to complement the DC-7Cs. The additional aircraft enabled Caledonian to operate an expanded European IT charter programme from Gatwick, Manchester and Prestwick.serving 17 destinations by the end of the decade

On 21 September 1964, the ATLB announced its decision to reject Caledonian's application for a licence to operate transatlantic scheduled services. It did however award the airline two licences to operate inclusive tours across the North Atlantic.Caledonian had applied for these licences in addition to a scheduled licence

In December 1964, Caledonian acquired its first 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

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, a pair of ex-BOAC 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. These were mainly intended for use on transatlantic IT charters beginning in summer 1965. Over the coming years, additional examples were sourced from BOAC and Canadian Pacific Airlines

Canadian Pacific Airlines

Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986...

, enabling the company to continue expanding its worldwide charter business. 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 gradually replaced DC-7Cs. Caledonian operated a total of nine Britannias, the last of which was disposed of in May 1971.to IAS Cargo Airlines

IAS Cargo Airlines

International Aviation Services Limited, trading as IAS Cargo Airlines from 1975, is a defunct wholly privately owned, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline that was based at London Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom...

Caledonian carried 148,000 passengers and earned a net profit of just over £200,000 in its 1965-66 financial year.

The ATLB granted Caledonian five licences to operate scheduled services from Scotland to the Med

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

in 1966. These were the airline's first scheduled service licences.

By the end of September 1966, Industrial and Commercial Finance Corporation (ICFC), one of the two predecessors of Investors in Industry,3i

3i Group plc is a multinational private equity and venture capital company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has offices in 13 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas and had total assets under management of £12.7 billion as at 31 March 2011...

's former name acquired a 14% stake in Caledonian's 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...

. This improved access to capital

Finance

"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...

to finance further growth, including new business ventures and fleet renewal.

Caledonian planned to introduce twice-weekly services from Prestwick to 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...

and 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...

for the 1967 summer season, making use of the licences the ATLB had awarded it the year before. However, these plans were shelved due to the Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

authorities' refusal to grant reciprocal traffic rights.
During 1967, both Lyle Shipping

Abram Lyle

Abram Lyle is noted for founding the sugar refiners Abram Lyle & Sons which merged with a rival to become Tate & Lyle in 1921....

and Great Universal Stores

GUS (retailer)

GUS plc was a FTSE 100 retailing group based in the United Kingdom. GUS is an abbreviation of Great Universal Stores, the company's former name before 2001...

(GUS) became new shareholders of Caledonian Airways. These investments ended a period of uncertainty for the airline following the Donaldson Line's voluntary liquidation. Lyle Shipping's purchase of shares worth £125,000 increased Caledonian's issued capital and reserves

Balance sheet

In financial accounting, a balance sheet or statement of financial position is a summary of the financial balances of a sole proprietorship, a business partnership or a company. Assets, liabilities and ownership equity are listed as of a specific date, such as the end of its financial year. A...

to £1 million. GUS were the owners of the Global travel organisation, a leading contemporary UK 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...

that contracted a growing share of its flying business to Caledonian. It acquired Donaldson's 20% stake.

Caledonian re-applied to the ATLB for a licence to launch transatlantic scheduled services from Gatwick, 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...

or 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...

via Prestwick to New York JFK

John F. Kennedy International Airport

John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...

, Chicago

O'Hare International Airport

Chicago O'Hare International Airport , also known as O'Hare Airport, O'Hare Field, Chicago Airport, Chicago International Airport, or simply O'Hare, is a major airport located in the northwestern-most corner of Chicago, Illinois, United States, northwest of the Chicago Loop...

, Los Angeles

Los Angeles International Airport

Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...

, San Francisco

San Francisco International Airport

San Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...

and Toronto

Toronto Pearson International Airport

Toronto Pearson International Airport is an international airport serving Toronto, Ontario, Canada; its metropolitan area; and the Golden Horseshoe, an urban agglomeration that is home to 8.1 million people – approximately 25% of Canada's population...

, and from Birmingham via Prestwick to New York, in 1967. These services were to be gradually introduced between 1969/70 and 1970/71 utilising the new 707s. BUA, British Eagle and Transglobe Airways simultaneously applied for similar licences. Caledonian objected to the other independent airlines' applications. BOAC opposed all the independents' applications. The Board of Trade

Board of Trade

The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...

(BOT) directed the ATLB to prejudge the four contenders' applications in order to concentrate only on those that stood a reasonable chance of success under existing bilateral

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....

arrangements before the route licensing hearings could begin. As a result, BUA withdrew its own applications but objected to Caledonian's and British Eagle's. Transglobe withdrew its applications as well. Caledonian and British Eagle objected to each other's applications. The ATLB heard Caledonian's applications, British Eagle's counter applications and BOAC's objections in early 1968. Following the conclusion of the transatlantic scheduled licensing hearings in mid-1968, the ATLB rejected Caledonian's and British Eagle's applications. It felt that the independents generally lacked the financial strength to acquire the then latest 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...

and 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...

(SST) aircraft for their proposed services, and that these airlines had insufficient economies of scale to enable them to compete with BOAC and the American

United States

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

carriers on a level playing field

Level playing field

A level playing field is a concept about fairness, not that each player has an equal chance to succeed, but that they all play by the same set of rules. A metaphorical playing field is said to be level if no external interference affects the ability of the players to compete fairly...

. It also felt that it would take the independents too long to make these services profitable. In Caledonian's case, the ATLB found that despite having a dedicated North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

n sales force and its own ground handling

Aircraft ground handling

In aviation, aircraft ground handling defines the servicing of an aircraft while it is on the ground and parked at a terminal gate of an airport.-Overview:...

operation at John F. Kennedy Airport

John F. Kennedy International Airport

, the airline's lack of any kind of scheduled service experience and its almost total reliance on Sabena's engineering support counted against granting it a scheduled service licence for one of the most competitive air markets in the world. Secondary factors for the ATLB's rejection of Caledonian's applications included the delay in the introduction of Concorde

Concorde

Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde was a turbojet-powered supersonic passenger airliner, a supersonic transport . It was a product of an Anglo-French government treaty, combining the manufacturing efforts of Aérospatiale and the British Aircraft Corporation...

and the non-availability within the envisaged timeframe of widebodied aircraft that were smaller and carried a lower price tag than the Boeing 747

Boeing 747

The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...

, which would have made them better suited to the type of operation proposed.

Caledonian's net profit grew to nearly £550,000 on turnover of £16.7 million in its 1969-70 financial year.

In spring 1970, Caledonian won a renewable, one-year contract from Qantas

Qantas

Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...

to carry migrant

Human migration

Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...

s from Europe to Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. The initial contract was worth £4.3 million. It was a sub-charter providing for the carriage of up to 40,000 passengers on approximately 220 flights.

Becoming an all-jet operator

From 1968, the Britannias were gradually replaced with state-of-the-art Boeing 707 jet equipment

Jet aircraft

on long-haul routes. 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...

500s replaced the remaining Britannias on the company's short-/medium-haul European IT operations from 1969.

When Caledonian's senior management

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...

began evaluating competing state-of-the-art jet aircraft

Jet aircraft

types as potential replacements for the Britannia in its long-haul role in the mid-1960s, the Boeing 707 320C series was favoured because of its superior range

Range (aircraft)

The maximal total range is the distance an aircraft can fly between takeoff and landing, as limited by fuel capacity in powered aircraft, or cross-country speed and environmental conditions in unpowered aircraft....

and payload compared with its contemporary rivals. Caledonian planned to place an order directly with 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...

for two convertible 707-320Cs that could either be operated in an all-passenger, all-cargo or mixed passenger-cum-cargo configuration. The initial order needed to be placed before the end of 1965 to secure the first aircraft's delivery in May 1967, just in time for that year's summer season. To avoid paying the 14% tax the UK Government had imposed on imported, new foreign aircraft to protect competing British models, Caledonian needed to persuade the BOT that there was no equivalent home-grown alternative. It also cited the BOT's earlier decision to approve BOAC's application for an import duty

Excise

Excise tax in the United States is a indirect tax on listed items. Excise taxes can be and are made by federal, state and local governments and are far from uniform throughout the United States...

waiver

Waiver

A waiver is the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some known right or privilege.While a waiver is often in writing, sometimes a person's actions can act as a waiver. An example of a written waiver is a disclaimer, which becomes a waiver when accepted...

on two new Boeing 707-336Cs as a precedent. However, the BOT was unwilling to grant Caledonian the requested tax exemption

Tax exemption

Various tax systems grant a tax exemption to certain organizations, persons, income, property or other items taxable under the system. Tax exemption may also refer to a personal allowance or specific monetary exemption which may be claimed by an individual to reduce taxable income under some...

and was instead assisting Vickers

Vickers

Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...

in selling it the Super 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...

, the stretched version of the original "standard" VC10

Vickers VC10

and Britain's answer to the all-American 707 and DC-8

Douglas DC-8

The Douglas DC-8 is a four-engined narrow-body passenger commercial jet airliner, manufactured from 1958 to 1972 by the Douglas Aircraft Company...

. Despite the BOT's and Vickers's best efforts, Caledonian's senior management remained unconvinced that the Super VC10 was a worthy competitor of the 707. The results of its evaluation had shown that the Super VC10 was not competitive with the 707, in terms of amortisation, resale value and availability of finance due to its small production run. Apart from its insufficient range to fly non-stop from the UK to the US West Coast

West Coast of the United States

West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...

with a viable payload, significantly smaller cargo capacity and lack of passenger/freighter convertibility, the Super VC10 was also heavier than the 707. This increased fuel consumption. In its ongoing negotiations with the BOT, Caledonian cited these findings as evidence that there was no suitable British alternative to the 707 for the envisaged role. The BOT however continued to insist that irrespective of Caledonian's specific requirements, the 707 and Super VC10 were equivalent and, based on this assessment, refused the airline's application for an import duty waiver. Meanwhile, the civil engine production hold-up caused by the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

resulted in the first aircraft arriving in July rather than May 1967. This did not allow its utilisation for that year's full summer charter season precluding a profitable operation. These circumstances compelled Caledonian to lease out its first 707 to the Flying Tiger Line

Flying Tiger Line

Flying Tiger Line, also known as Flying Tigers, was the first scheduled cargo airline in the United States and a major military charter operator during the Cold War era for both cargo and personnel .- History :...

until May 1968. To facilitate the 707's smooth introduction into service the following summer, Caledonian required access at its Gatwick base to its second aircraft (ordered in 1966) for as much as winter 1967-68 as possible to complete aircrew

Aircrew

Aircrew are the personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of the crew depends on the type of aircraft as well as the purpose of the flight.-Civilian:*Aviator** Pilot-in-command** First officer** Second officer** Third officer...

and ground support training in time for the following summer season. This was not possible as long as the standoff between the airline and the BOT continued. To avoid having an expensive, new jet aircraft sit idly on the ground in the absence of a timely resolution, the airline's senior management put in place a contingency plan

Contingency plan

A contingency plan is a plan devised for an exceptional risk which is impractical or impossible to avoid. Contingency plans are often devised by governments or businesses who want to be prepared for events which, while highly unlikely, may have catastrophic effects. For example, suppose many...

to transfer the 707 training programme to Shannon Airport

Shannon Airport

Shannon Airport, is one of the Republic of Ireland's three primary airports along with Dublin and Cork. In 2010 around 1,750,000 passengers passed through the airport, making it the third busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Cork, and the fifth busiest airport on the island...

as the BOT had no jurisdiction

Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...

over the Republic of Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

. In the event, the contingency plan was not activated as a compromise was reached in early December 1967 that resulted in the BOT granting Caledonian's request for an import duty exemption. This permitted the airline to import the aircraft into the UK free of duty, as long as non-stop sectors outside the Super VC10's economically viable range accounted for a significant share of its operations. It enabled Caledonian to take delivery of its second 707, a 399C series aircraft bearing the registration G-AVTW ("Tango Whisky"), at Gatwick on 30 December 1967. The first aircraft — Boeing 707-399C G-AVKA ("Kilo Alpha") — joined the second at Gatwick on 1 June 1968, following the end of the Flying Tigers

Flying Tiger Line

lease. Both began operating a series of charters, carrying 15,000 passengers from Los Angeles

Los Angeles International Airport

and Oakland

Oakland International Airport

Oakland International Airport , also known as Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, is a public airport located south of the central business district of Oakland, a city in Alameda County, California, United States...

to the UK.

Caledonian's short-haul re-equipment effort to replace the remaining obsolete piston

Piston

A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from...

and turboprop airliners in its fleet, initially focused on Boeing's 737

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...

. It intended to place an order for three series 200 aircraft before the end of 1967. The aircraft were to be delivered by spring 1969 to accomplish the transition to an all-jet fleet ahead of the 1969 summer charter season. As the 737 was an all-American aircraft like the previously ordered 707, Caledonian needed to approach the BOT once more to request an import tax exemption. Predictably, the BOT opposed this. It threatened to withdraw the tax concession it had granted the airline to import brand-new 707s free of duty if 737s were selected instead of One-Eleven 500s. Caledonian did not favour the One-Eleven 500 because it could not match the 737-200's range, which was reckoned sufficient to fly British holidaymakers non-stop from the UK 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 to destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean

Mediterranean Sea

, as well as lower cost

Cost

In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which case the amount of money expended to acquire it is counted as cost. In this...

s per seat mile

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...

as a result of the latter's wider fuselage accommodating a greater number of passengers seated six (rather than five) across. In the cut-throat short-/medium-haul charter airline business these were important cost and marketing advantages that could make all the difference between profit and loss. In addition to the risk of losing the BOT's tax concession to import new 707s duty-free into the UK outweighing the 737-200's range and cost advantage over the One-Eleven 500, sterling's devaluation

Sterling Area

The sterling area came into existence at the outbreak of World War II. It was a wartime emergency measure which involved cooperation in exchange control matters between a group of countries, which at the time were mostly dominions and colonies of the British Empire...

together with increases in Boeing's basic sales price had made ordering One-Elevens more attractive financially. Based on an order for four aircraft valued at £7.5 million, buying an equivalent number of 737s was £1-1.5 million more expensive. Another factor swinging Caledonian's short-haul re-equipment decision in favour of the British aircraft was the manufacturer's ability to offer the Scottish airline a high-density, 109-seat version featuring an increased range of 1580 mi (2,542.8 km) (compared with 925 mi (1,488.6 km) for the baseline 97-seat, single-class One-Eleven 500 ordered by BEA). This brought most of the Mediterranean

Mediterranean Sea

and North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

within range. These considerations resulted in Caledonian placing an order for three One-Eleven 500s for delivery in 1969. It also took out an option on a fourth aircraft, which was to be delivered in 1970 if confirmed.

By the time Caledonian acquired BUA from British and Commonwealth

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) in late November 1970, it operated a fleet of eleven state-of-the-art jet aircraft comprising seven Boeing 707-320Cs and four BAC One-Eleven 500s and had more than 1,000 employees.

A new "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

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...

. 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

(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 SSTs, three widebodied 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, both BUA and Caledonian pitched for the role of the "Second Force" airline.

BUA's 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 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...

n 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 Africa

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:...

n routes in 1971, to be followed by 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....

, West

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:...

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 1974.by 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 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 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 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".

Caledonian opposed BUA's advocacy of large-scale route transfers from the corporations. Rather than creating spheres of influence between the corporations and the independents, it advocated organic development through new licensing opportunities that would permit competition with the corporations on an equal footing, especially on North Atlantic routes, and security of tenure upon which to build a sound economic future.

Meanwhile, as a result of its disappointing financial performance, BUA became a growing burden on the Cayzers

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 ....

', BUA's controlling shareholders. This situation was 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...

. These events 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 managing director, 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 begun negotiations with BUA's senior management on 5 March 1970 to make an offer to take over the ailing 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, seeing off competition from that airline's former managing directors 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...

and 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...

and from Channel Airways

Channel Airways

Channel Airways was a private airline formed in the United Kingdom in 1946 as East Anglian Flying Services.The newly formed airline initially operated aerial joy rides with a single, three-seater aircraft from an airstrip on the Kent coast...

chairman Jack Jones. In its fight to win control of BUA, Caledonian had launched a parallel campaign to gain the support of BUA's union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

s for its proposed merger. As part of this campaign, it had coined the slogans "Better off at Caledonian" and "Better under Adam". Caledonian had also considered a merger with 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...

as a fallback option in case the preferred option of merging with BUA had failed to materialise.

In November 1970, Caledonian merged with BUA. Initially operating under the interim name Caledonian//BUA, the merged entity adopted 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 as of September 1971. During the 1970s and '80s, British Caledonian became the UK's largest independent, international scheduled airline, with an extensive global route network serving over 40 destinations in around 25 countries on five continents.

Fleet

Caledonian operated the following aircraft types during its ten-year history:

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...

500 series

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...

-320C

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

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...

B

Douglas DC-7
Douglas DC-7
The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. It was the last major piston engine powered transport made by Douglas, coming just a few years before the advent of jet aircraft such as the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8.-Design and...

C

Fleet in 1962

In April 1962, Caledonian's fleet comprised just one aircraft.

**Caledonian fleet in April 1962**
Aircraft	Number
Douglas DC-7C Douglas DC-7 The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. It was the last major piston engine powered transport made by Douglas, coming just a few years before the advent of jet aircraft such as the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8.-Design and...	1
Total	1

The airline's sole aircraft was leased from Sabena and ca. 40 people were employed during the first year of operation.

Fleet in 1965

In April 1965, Caledonian's fleet comprised six aircraft.

**Caledonian fleet in April 1965**
Aircraft	Number
Bristol 175 Britannia 312 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...	2
Douglas DC-7C Douglas DC-7 The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. It was the last major piston engine powered transport made by Douglas, coming just a few years before the advent of jet aircraft such as the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8.-Design and...	4
Total	6

One of the airline's DC-7Cs was leased from Sabena and another Britannia 312 was due to be delivered. 220 people were employed.

Fleet in 1967

In September 1967, Caledonian's fleet comprised seven aircraft.

**Caledonian fleet in September 1967**
Aircraft	Number
Boeing 707-399C 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...	1
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...	6
Total	7

Another 707-399C was due to be delivered the following year. 325 people were employed.

Fleet in 1969

In April 1969, Caledonian's fleet comprised eleven aircraft.

**Caledonian fleet in April 1969**
Aircraft	Number
Boeing 707-399C 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...	2
Boeing 707-349C 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...	2
BAC One-Eleven 509EW 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...	3
Bristol 175 Britannia 314 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...	3
Bristol 175 Britannia 312 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...	1
Total	11

Another One-Eleven 509EW was due to be delivered the following year. 850 people were employed.

Fleet in 1970

In March 1970, Caledonian's fleet comprised 13 aircraft.

**Caledonian fleet in March 1970**
Aircraft	Number
Boeing 707-320C 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...	5
BAC One-Eleven 509EW 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...	4
Bristol 175 Britannia 314 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...	3
Bristol 175 Britannia 312 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...	1
Total	13

1,000 people were employed.

Accidents and incidents

During its ten-year existence Caledonian suffered two accidents, one of which was fatal.

The fatal accident occurred on 4 March 1962. A Douglas DC-7C named Star of Robbie Burns (registration: G-ARUD) operating the Douala

Douala

Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...

—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...

sector of Caledonian Airways flight 153 (a Lourenço Marques — Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

charter on behalf of Trans Africa Air Coach of London) crashed shortly after a night takeoff from Douala Airport

Douala International Airport

Douala International Airport is an international airport located 6 miles from Douala, the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province...

's runway 12, killing all 111 occupants (ten crew and 101 passengers). At the time of the accident, the weather was very hot and humid. After a long takeoff run on the airport's 9350 ft (2,849.9 m) long runway, the aircraft gained insufficient height to clear the trees close to the runway end. The aircraft's port wing struck trees 72 ft (21.9 m) above aerodrome elevation

Above Aerodrome Elevation

In aviation, above aerodrome alevation denotes that an altitude is given above the nearest aerodrome or airport. This is usually identical to the altitude above ground level, but AAE is used to be precise. Also, in extremely hilly or mountainous areas, elevation AGL can change dramatically over...

, some 2300 yd (2,103.1 m) from the runway end and 500 yd (457.2 m) from the extended centreline. This resulted in the aircraft crashing into a tidal swamp

Mangrove

Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...

and exploding on impact. Although this was the only fatal accident in Caledonian's history, it was the deadliest air disaster in British aviation history

Aviation history

The history of aviation has extended over more than two thousand years from the earliest attempts in kites and gliders to powered heavier-than-air, supersonic and hypersonic flight.The first form of man-made flying objects were kites...

at the time. The commission of inquiry probing the accident determined that the evidence at the crash site seemed to suggest that a jammed elevator

Elevator (aircraft)

Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's orientation by changing the pitch of the aircraft, and so also the angle of attack of the wing. In simplified terms, they make the aircraft nose-up or nose-down...

spring tab mechanism prevented the aircraft from attaining sufficient height to clear the obstacles in the runway end's vicinity. This would have resulted in abnormal elevator control forces during takeoff. It was also consistent with tests showing this to prolong takeoff runs that had an attendant risk of losing height during flap

Flap (aircraft)

Flaps are normally hinged surfaces mounted on the trailing edges of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft to reduce the speed an aircraft can be safely flown at and to increase the angle of descent for landing without increasing air speed. They shorten takeoff and landing distances as well as...

retraction when the aircraft became airborne. The commission of inquiry also described a number of adverse features that might have aggravated the circumstances in which the accident occurred. It had furthermore not been able to exclude the possibility of an instrument

Flight instruments

Flight instruments are the instruments in the cockpit of an aircraft that provide the pilot with information about the flight situation of that aircraft, such as height, speed and altitude...

failure as a probable accident cause as the instruments were either not recovered or too damaged for a valid expert examination.

The non-fatal accident occurred on 28 September 1964. A Douglas DC-7C (registration: G-ASID) operating Caledonian's flight 355 from London Gatwick via Istanbul Yeşilköy

Atatürk International Airport

Atatürk International Airport is the major international airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Opened in 1924 and located in Yeşilköy, on the European side of the city, it is west of the city centre. In 1980, the airport was renamed to Atatürk International Airport in honor of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the...

to Singapore

Paya Lebar

Paya Lebar is an area in the north-eastern part of Singapore. It is served by Paya Lebar Station, on the East West Line of Singapore's Mass Rapid Transit system. It is an urban planning area. The Singapore Post Centre is located there too....

crash-landed 236 ft (71.9 m) short of the threshold of Yeşilköy's runway 24 when the aircraft's left main gear

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...

struck the ground in line with the runway. This had caused the aircraft to bounce and touch down again 14m further on, which in turn resulted in the nose gear collapsing and engines no. 1 and 2 breaking off, followed by the separation of the entire port wing. The fuselage, which skidded 850 ft (259.1 m) down the runway, caught fire. Although the aircraft was completely destroyed, all 97 occupants (eight crew and 89 passengers) miraculously survived. The crash-landing followed an abandoned 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 Yeşilköy's runway 24 in heavy rain. The approach was abandoned because the pilot-in-command

Pilot in command

could not see the runway lights

Runway Edge Lights

Runway Edge Lights are used to outline the edges of runways during periods of darkness or restricted visibility conditions. These light systems are classified according to the intensity they are capable of producing:...

. During the second approach VHF communications were lost for a short time due to the tower

Control tower

A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...

transmitter

Transmitter

In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...

's failure. When transmission resumed, the plane's flightdeck crew reported lightning and heavy turbulence during its descent, and sighting the runway while descend

Descent (aircraft)

A descent during air travel is any portion where an aircraft decreases altitude, and is the opposite of an ascent or climb. Descents are an essential component of an approach to landing...

ing to 500 ft (152.4 m). This was followed by a slight correction to the right when the pilot-in-command ordered the deployment of full flaps and a reduction in power. It resulted in the plane sinking too quickly just short of the runway. Ordering an immediate increase in power did not prevent the plane from touching the ground short of the runway threshold. The subsequent accident investigation concluded that the probable cause was threefold:

the late selection of full flaps and power reduction during the second approach,
the crew's inability to control the height precisely due to heavy rain and poor visibility, and
the delay in ordering a power increase. The latter resulted in the aircraft undershooting the runway.

Second incarnation

British Airtours

, the erstwhile wholly owned charter subsidiary of British Airways

British Airways

British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...

, adopted the popular Caledonian Airways brand

Brand

The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...

in April 1988 when the newly privatised British Airways had completed the takeover of its former Gatwick-based rival British Caledonian. It also adopted a modified British Caledonian 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...

adapted from the contemporary, Landor Associates

Landor Associates

Landor Associates is a San Francisco-based brand and creative design consultancy. Founded by Walter Landor and his wife Josephine in 1941, Landor pioneered many of the research, design and consulting methodologies that are now standard in the branding industry.-Operations:Landor offers brand...

designed British Airways livery. The newly renamed Caledonian Airways

Caledonian Airways (1988)

Caledonian Airways was a United Kingdom charter airline that operated for twelve years between 1988 and 2000.-History:Caledonian Airways was formed in 1988 when British Airways acquired British Caledonian...

moved its Gatwick operation from the airport's South Terminal into the then brand-new North Terminal, thereby concentrating most of the British Airways group's Gatwick services in the new terminal.

Caledonian Airways began replacing its Boeing 737 narrowbodies with additional ex-British Airways L-1011 Tristar

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...

widebodies and a number of brand-new Boeing 757

Boeing 757

The 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...

s sourced from the large 757 orders placed by its parent company. The former British Airtours 737s were re-configured in British Airways's contemporary short-haul two-class cabin arrangement and began replacing the BAC One-Eleven 500s British Airways had inherited from British Caledonian on the UK flag carrier

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 short-haul Gatwick routes.

In 1995, British Airways decided to exit the short- to medium-haul package holiday

Package holiday

A package holiday or package tour consists of transport and accommodation advertised and sold together by a vendor known as a tour operator. Other services may be provided like a rental car, activities or outings during the holiday. Transport can be via charter airline to a foreign country...

market and sell Caledonian Airways to UK-based tour operator Inspirations, then part of the US-owned Carlson group, along with its core fleet of five Tristars. Following Caledonian's sale to Inspirations, the 757s were returned to British Airways.

Inspirations became part of the Thomas Cook

Thomas Cook

Thomas Cook of Melbourne, Derbyshire, England founded the travel agency that is now Thomas Cook Group.- Early days :...

group in 1999 when Caledonian Airways was merged with the Flying Colours

Flying Colours (airline)

-History:The airline began operations in the summer of 1996 with a fleet of Boeing 757-200 & Airbus A320 aircraft.Flying Colours had several operational bases outside of its Manchester Airport headquarters, including London Gatwick Airport and Glasgow International Airport...

airline to form JMC Air Services

JMC Air

JMC Air Services also known as JMC Air, JMC Airlines or simply JMC, was a UK charter airline formed by the merger of Caledonian Airways and Flying Colours Airlines following the purchase of Thomas Cook Group by the Carlson Leisure Group. JMC Air was named after the initials of the son of Thomas...

, which in turn became the UK arm of the present day 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....

.

Following Inspirations' takeover by Thomas Cook, the former Caledonian Airways Tristars were withdrawn from service as these had suffered increasing, widely publicised reliability problems resulting in the travelling public's generally poor perception of Caledonian Airways Mark II.

External links

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