Freddie Laker
Encyclopedia
Sir
Frederick Alfred Laker (6 August 1922 – 9 February 2006) was a British
airline
entrepreneur
, best known for founding Laker Airways
in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982. Laker was one of the first airline owners to adopt the "no-frills" airline business model
that has since proven to be very successful worldwide with companies such as Southwest Airlines
Southwest
was one of the few other "no-frills" airlines in the world when Skytrain was launched, Ryanair
, easyJet
, AirAsia
, WestJet
and Virgin Australia.
, Kent
and an old boy
of the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
, started working in aviation with Short Brothers
in Rochester. He was a member of the Air Transport Auxiliary
during and immediately after World War II
(1941–46).
After World War II, he worked for a brief period for British European Airways
(BEA) and London Aero Motor Services (LASM). Having borrowed £
38,000 from a wealthy friend to top up his own savings of £4,500, he subsequently went into business as a war-surplus aircraft dealer. The Soviet blockade of West Berlin
in 1948-49, during which all available aircraft were needed to fly essential supplies into West Berlin
, allowed his business to flourish as this provided more than a year's work for his planes and employees almost immediately. This period often saw Laker flying the aircraft himself.
By 1954, Channel Air Bridge
, his second airline venture, was flying cars and their owners in Bristol Freighter
s from Southend Airport (Rochford)
to Calais
.
In 1958, he sold Air Charter
, Aviation Traders
and Channel Air Bridge to Airwork. All three companies joined the Airwork group in 1959. Following the Airwork – Hunting-Clan
merger in 1960, he became managing director of British United Airways.
He departed British United in 1965 and formed his own airline — Laker Airways — in 1966, initially operating charter flights with a pair of turboprop
planes acquired second-hand from British Overseas Airways Corporation
(BOAC). The livery was a mixture of black and red with a bold LAKER logo on the tailplane. He offered a brand-new, revolutionary concept of economic air travel requiring passengers to purchase their tickets on the day of travel as well as to buy their own food. These flights were operated by Laker Airways and marketed under the Skytrain trademark.
Following the successful launch of Skytrain in 1977 he was knighted the following year in recognition of his services to the airline industry.
He received an honorary degree from the University of Strathclyde
in 1981.
Sir Freddie Laker divided his final years between his waterfront home in Princess Isle, Grand Bahama
Island, where he kept his yacht, The Lady Jacqueline, and Florida
. Sir Freddie died at the age of 83 in a suburban Miami hospital in Hollywood
, Florida, following complications from cardiac surgery to implant a pacemaker
. He was survived by his fourth wife, Jacqueline Harvey, a former airline hostess
he married in 1985, and also by his two children. His daughter, Elaine, was by his first wife Joan with whom he also had a son, Kevin, who died in 1965 at age 17 after crashing a sports car Freddie had given him for his birthday. His son Freddie Allen Laker — also a successful entrepreneur — was born to his third wife, Patricia Gates, with whom he also had another son who died in infancy.
consequences for the business that employed him.
Freddie Laker founded Aviation Traders in October 1947. It was based at Southend Airport
, Essex
, England
and specialised in converting numerous war-surplus bombers and transporters into freighters. This included the conversion of Handley Page Halifax
bombers into freighters, six of which were sold to Bond Air Services, an early post-war British independentindependent from government-owned corporation
s airline. Bond Air Services based these planes at Wunstorf
aerodrome in West Germany
to carry essential supplies into West Berlin
during the Berlin Blockade
of 1948-49. Bond Air Services furthermore contracted Aviation Traders to service these planes. In return, Aviation Traders got half of Bond Air Services' freight charges. Following the end of the Berlin Airlift
in 1949, Laker had most of the Halifaxes he had supplied to various independent airlines during the Airlift scrapped at its Southend
facilities. He also made use of these facilities for the subsequent conversion of several DC-4/C-54 Skymaster airframe
s into Carvair
s for various operators around the world.
In addition, Aviation Traders re-engined Argonauts, BOAC's Canadian
-built Douglas DC-4
s, with unused Rolls-Royce Merlin
piston
engines, which it sourced from the 88 spare Merlins Freddie Laker had acquired earlier along with BOAC's entire fleet of Haltons — former Royal Air Force
Halifax bombers that had been converted to carry passengers and cargo — and several Avro Tudor
s purchased from the Government. It also produced an all-new aircraft design, the ATL-90 Accountant
.
In 1951, Aviation Traders (Engineering), a sister company of Aviation Traders, won a contract from Bristol Aircraft
to manufacture wing centre sections for Bristol Freighters. Between the beginning of 1952 and the end of 1955, Aviation Traders (Engineering) built 50 wing sections for Bristol Aircraft.
In 1958, Laker announced his decision to sell both Aviation Traders and Air Charter to Airwork for £600,000 cash plus a further £200,000, subject to the valuation of stock. The deal became effective in January 1959, when Aviation Traders and Air Charter joined the Airwork group.
's old Croydon Airport
. The airline participated in the 1948-49 Berlin Airlift. (Following the end of the Airlift in 1949, Laker sold the Air Charter Yorks that were still airworthy to other independent airlines, two of which were acquired by Dan-Air
in 1956.)
On 14 April 1955, Air Charter inaugurated its first vehicle ferry service between Southend and Calais
using a Bristol 170 Mark 32 Super Freighter.
In 1958, Laker announced his decision to sell both Air Charter and Aviation Traders to Airwork for £600,000 cash plus a further £200,000, subject to the valuation of stock.
In January 1959, Air Charter became a subsidiary of the Airwork group.
Following a rationalisation of Air Charter's flight crew and ground staff in February 1959, Laker decided to transfer all vehicle ferry services along with the Bristol 170 fleet to the newly formed Channel Air Bridge.
Air Charter was absorbed into British United Airways
in June 1960, as a result of Airwork's merger with Hunting-Clan
and several other contemporary, British independent operators.
in 1954, initially using a fleet of Bristol Freighter twin-engined, piston-powered planes. These were later supplemented and eventually superseded by the larger-capacity, four-engined Carvairs. The Carvair design was based on the Douglas DC-4
piston-engined airliner. It involved raising the aircraft's cockpit "above" the fuselage in a 747
-style bulge so as to create more space for vehicles and/or passengers on the main deck. It also involved replacing the DC-4's original tail fin with a newly designed, larger DC-7-style fin as well as equipping the aircraft with a Bristol Freighter-type nose-loading cargo door, more powerful brakes and a stronger undercarriage.
At the end of 1958, he sold Channel Air Bridge together with his other two companies — Air Charter and Aviation Traders — to Airwork. All three officially became part of the Airwork group in January 1959. In June 1960 Airwork and Hunting-Clan merged to form British United Airways. Channel Air Bridge continued operating under its own identity for more than two years.
On 1 January 1963, Channel Air Bridge merged with Silver City Airways, which had pioneered commercial cross-Channel vehicle ferry flights in 1948. The merged entity traded as British United Air Ferries
.
In the meantime, Laker had been appointed British United's managing director.
During his tenure (1960–65), British United became Britain
's biggest wholly privately owned
, independent airline. It also became the UK
's first independent airline to re-equip its entire fleet with brand-new, state-of-the-art jet aircraft
.
In 1961, British United became the launch customer for the BAC One-Eleven
short haul jetliner
when it placed an order for ten series 200 aircraft. Laker had personally negotiated this deal with the manufacturer. This was the first time that an independent airline had placed an order for brand-new jet
s. The first of the new One-Eleven
s entered service on 9 April 1965, on the airline's scheduled London Gatwick
—Genoa
route. Laker also placed an order for Vickers VC10
series 1103 long-haul jets on behalf of British United. The first two aircraft were delivered towards the end of 1964. (These aircraft differed from other operators' VC10s by having a large cargo door on the left-hand side of the forward fuselage where the aircraft's first class
section was located. They also had extended wingtips that were slightly bent downwards to reduce the aircraft's cruise drag as well as to help it overcome the instability encountered when entering a stall
.)
By the end of that decade, British United boasted an all-jet fleet, which gave it a competitive edge over its contemporary independent rivals.
Laker was furthermore instrumental in securing the transfer of the traffic rights for BOAC's loss-making South America
n routes to Argentina
, Brazil
, Chile
and Uruguay
to British United. The airline commenced service on these routes in November 1964 using its brand-new VC10s and managed to make them profitable within five years.
In 1965, Laker decided to leave British United to set up his own airline following an alleged disagreement with British United's chairman Myles Wyatt.
was formed in 1966. This was Laker's third and most prominent airline venture. Laker Airways commenced commercial airline operations that July with a fleet of two ex-BOAC Bristol Britannia
s. These were subsequently supplemented and eventually replaced with a brand-new fleet of BAC One-Eleven jetliners as well as a pair of second-hand Boeing 707
jets.
Initially, Laker Airways was a charter airline. For many years it had been the most profitable as well as the best-run charter airline in Britain.
Laker Airways pioneered many new, cost-saving as well as profit-enhancing, commercial concepts and operational techniques.
In 1969, Laker Airways announced its intention to buy the proposed BAC Three-Eleven, an all-British
widebodied
jet powered by two rear-mounted Rolls-Royce RB211
engines. The airline's letter of intent
was for four aircraft to be delivered in 1974. It was anticipated that these 250-seaters would replace the entire narrowbodied
fleet, which was envisaged to comprise two 158-seat Boeing 707s and four 84-seat BAC One-Elevens by that time. Following the project's cancellation in 1971 due to a lack of Government funding, Laker remarked that this would force him to spend the £3 billion he had planned to invest by 1986 in a fleet of British-built widebodied airliners (including options) on competing foreign models.
Laker Airways eventually became the first independent British airline to actually operate widebodied equipment when it introduced its first two McDonnell Douglas DC-10
-10 series aircraft into commercial airline service in November 1972, the first Europe
an operator to do so. These aircraft were the first UK-registered
DC-10
s.
In 1973, Laker Airways operated the world's first Advanced Booking Charter (ABC) flight. By the mid-1970s it had become the undisputed, global ABC flight market leader.
Laker Airways scored another industry first when it introduced its first daily Skytrain low-fare scheduled service between London Gatwick and New York John F. Kennedy Airport on 26 September 1977.
and New York
, charging a then incredibly low one-way fare of £32.50 in winter and £37.50 in summer. This was one third of what the major, established "flag carrier
s" were charging at the time. The proposed service was to be marketed using the Skytrain trademark and was to be initially operated with 158-seat, single-class Boeing 707-138Bs that were acquired second-hand. Skytrain was to be a "walk-on", "walk-off" operation that did not require any advance reservations. Instead, seats were to be sold to the travelling public at each end of the route on a "first come, first served" basis only.
The ATLB rejected Laker's application before the year was out, and Laker appealed the ruling. The appeal was successful, and the ATLB eventually granted Laker the requested licence in February 1972.
However, on 30 March 1972, the UK Government revoked Laker's licence and instructed him to reapply to the CAA, which came into being on 1 April 1972.
Laker duly reapplied to the CAA for permission to operate eleven weekly Skytrain services each way between London Gatwick and New York's John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) during the summer and seven weekly round-trips during the winter. The summer schedule was to be operated with Laker's brand-new DC-10 widebodied jet aircraft to take advantage of increased demand he anticipated for his new low-fare service during the peak months from June to September as well as of the DC-10's low break-even
load factor of only 52%. The winter schedule was to be operated with 707
narrowbodies
as specified in Laker's original application to the ATLB.
The newly formed CAA approved Laker's application on 5 October 1972, granting a ten-year licence. However, it specified Stansted
rather than Gatwick
as the service's UK departure/arrival point and limited the number of seats that could be sold in winter to 189 per trip, the maximum number of passengers a Boeing 707 could accommodate in a high-density, all-economy
configuration. (The unexpected change of the UK departure/arrival point for Laker's Skytrain service as well as its capacity limit during the lean winter season were intended not to undermine the planned launch of a daily British Caledonian
(BCal) Gatwick—JFK full-service scheduled operation, for which the ATLB had already granted that airline a 15-year licence — along with another 15-year licence for a daily Gatwick—Los Angeles International Airport
full-service scheduled operation — during the so-called "cannon ball" hearings earlier the same year.)
The UK government designated Laker Airways as a scheduled transatlantic UK "flag" carrier on 11 January 1973.
However, under intense pressure from the established airlines, including Laker's archrival and next-door Gatwick neighbour BCal, against a backdrop of huge losses and overcapacity on the North Atlantic
in the aftermath of the global energy crisis
caused by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' oil embargo, the UK's Labour
government of that era decided to revoke Laker's licence on 29 July 1975.
Freddie Laker took the government to the UK High Court
, which overturned the latter's decision to revoke the airline's licence for a Skytrain service between London and New York.
It took another two years until Laker gained final approval — including a reciprocal permit from the relevant US
authorities, which was granted for a one-year experimental period on 13 June 1977 by US President Jimmy Carter
— to commence Skytrain.
(In the meantime, Peter Shore
, the then Secretary of State for Trade, had conducted a review of the government's aviation policy and in 1976 announced a new "spheres of influence" policy that ended dual designation for British airlines on all long-haul routes. As a result of this new aviation policy, BA and BCal were no longer permitted to run competing scheduled services on the same long-haul routes and the latter was forced to withdraw from the London—New York and London—Los Angeles
routes, resulting in the suspension of BCal's Gatwick—JFK and Gatwick—Los Angeles licences. The same year, Edmund Dell
, Peter Shore's successor, renounced the original Bermuda
air services agreement of 1946 and initiated bilateral negotiations with his US counterparts on a new air services agreement
, which resulted in the Bermuda II
treaty of 1977.)
Laker's long-running Skytrain application was finally granted in 1977 upon designating the airline as the second UK flag carrier between London and New York under the then just-concluded Bermuda II UK-US air agreement. At the last minute prior to the inaugural Skytrain flight from London to New York, Laker also received government permission to use its Gatwick base as the service's UK departure and arrival point, rather than Stansted as originally specified in its licence. The restriction limiting it to 189 seats per aircraft in winter was lifted as well and the baggage allowance was brought into line with International Air Transport Association
(IATA) rules.
Skytrain took to the air for the first time on 26 September 1977 when the inaugural flight departed London Gatwick for New York JFK. This flight carried 272 passengers on one of the airline's 345-seat McDonnell Douglas DC-10 widebodied aircraft. The fares charged at the time were £59 one-way from London and $135 one-way from New York.
Skytrain was originally envisaged to achieve a 50% load factor in winter. By summer 1978, the actual load factor was 80%.
Laker claimed that Skytrain helped to grow passenger numbers for all airlines in the London—New York market, citing statistics comparing passenger numbers for the July—September peak season in 1977 with those of the corresponding period in 1976 as evidence. These had shown that in the days before Skytrain, total traffic between London and New York for the aforesaid period in 1977 was down 2% on the same period in 1976. He contrasted these figures with those comparing the October—December 1977 off-peak period with the corresponding 1976 off-peak period. The latter set of figures had shown a 30% increase, boosted by "Skytrain" which launched on 26 September 1977. A closer analysis comparing the figures for October 1977 compared with those of the same month in 1976 had shown an increase of 31.8% (37,902 passengers) for all airlines. A further breakdown of these figures had shown that Laker's "Skytrain" accounted for 15% (17,501 passengers) of the overall increase while competing services of rival airlines accounted for the remaining 16.8% (20,401 passengers). The latter included IATA members British Airways, Pan Am
and TWA
who had opposed "Skytrain" as wellin addition to BCal. (Statistics for November and December 1977, as well as for January—June 1978, had also shown that the overall monthly growth in the London—New York market was maintained at that level for the remainder of this period while Skytrain managed to grow its share of the overall monthly increase to 50% and keep up this performance until the end of the period.)
Skytrain became a financial success in its first year of operation, leading to further expansion over the coming years, in terms of new routes as well as additional frequencies.
As a result of his clever publicity stunts to market the then brand-new London—New York Skytrain service, Freddie Laker himself became popular with the public ("the forgotten man's hero") and was regarded as one of Margaret Thatcher
's "golden boys" of industry (along with Sir Clive Sinclair and Sir Alan Sugar
). The former Conservative
Prime Minister
was a self-confessed "Freddie Laker fan".
However, it was James Callaghan
's "pro-union
" Labour Government that awarded Laker his knighthood for services to the airline industry in 1978, rather than Margaret Thatcher's subsequent "pro-business" Conservative administration (although the latter had recommended him for his service to private enterprise in her capacity as the then leader of the opposition).
As Skytrain expanded, the airline placed orders for additional McDonnell Douglas DC-10 widebodies, including the company's first order for five longer-range series-30 aircraft. These were delivered from December 1979 onwards to support its growing number of destinations and frequencies.
The airline also became one of the early buyers of the first Airbus
airliner, the A300
, ordering ten of these widebodies in 1979 and had plans to deploy the aircraft on a new network of intra-European Skytrain routes in a big way.
Skytrain came to an end the day the airline went spectacularly bankrupt on 5 February 1982.
, owing over £250 million. The airline made its last flight on 5 February 1982, the day it went bankrupt.
There were numerous reasons for what was termed the biggest corporate failure in Britain at the time:
, who had used the airline to tour America).
Laker, by now living in the Bahamas, got off the ground again in the early 1990s, moving his refounded business' base to Freeport
. Laker Airways (Bahamas)
flew from there until it shut down in 2005. It was Laker's final airline venture.
for his distinguished contributions to commercial air transportation. He is remembered for his famous advice to fellow airline entrepreneurs Sir Richard Branson
, of Virgin Atlantic, and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou
, of easyJet
, to "sue the bastards", a reference to the bullying tactics of British Airways
in trying to force upstarts out of business. Virgin Atlantic later named one of its Boeing 747
s The Spirit of Sir Freddie. In addition, Malaysia's low-cost, long-haul carrier AirAsia X
named its first Airbus A330
Semangat Sir Freddie in homage to the pioneer of "no-frills" air travel.
He was also the subject of a musical, Laker!, as performed at Not In Front Of The Audience in 1982, and written by Mel Smith
and Peter Brewis
in reaction to Laker Airways' bankruptcy.
(1980) featuring the pioneer British punk
band The Clash
, lead singer Joe Strummer
introduces a song titled "I'm So Bored with the USA
" in a live concert venue with the words "This song is made possible by Freddie Laker."
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
Frederick Alfred Laker (6 August 1922 – 9 February 2006) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, best known for founding Laker Airways
Laker Airways
Laker Airways was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline founded by Sir Freddie Laker in 1966. It originally was a charter airline flying passengers and cargo worldwide...
in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982. Laker was one of the first airline owners to adopt the "no-frills" airline business model
Business model
A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value...
that has since proven to be very successful worldwide with companies such as Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
Southwest
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co. is an American low-cost airline based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest is the largest airline in the United States, based upon domestic passengers carried,...
was one of the few other "no-frills" airlines in the world when Skytrain was launched, Ryanair
Ryanair
Ryanair is an Irish low-cost airline. Its head office is at Dublin Airport and its primary operational bases at Dublin Airport and London Stansted Airport....
, 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...
, AirAsia
AirAsia
AirAsia Berhad is a Malaysian-based low-cost airline. AirAsia is Asia's largest low-fare, no-frills airline and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia. AirAsia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to over 400 destinations spanning 25 countries. Its main hub is the Low-Cost...
, WestJet
WestJet
WestJet Airlines Ltd. is a Canadian low-cost carrier that provides scheduled and charter air service to 71 destinations in Canada, the United States, Mexico and the Caribbean. Founded in 1996, WestJet is currently the second largest Canadian air carrier, behind Air Canada, operating an average of...
and Virgin Australia.
Biography
Laker, originally from CanterburyCanterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and an old boy
Alumnus
An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...
of the Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys
Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys is a selective boys school of over 1000 pupils and staff, located in the outskirts of Canterbury, Kent. It holds both Foundation and Grammar school status and has 'specialist college' status in science....
, started working in aviation with Short Brothers
Short Brothers
Short Brothers plc is a British aerospace company, usually referred to simply as Shorts, that is now based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Founded in 1908, Shorts was the first company in the world to make production aircraft and was a manufacturer of flying boats during the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s...
in Rochester. He was a member of the Air Transport Auxiliary
Air Transport Auxiliary
The Air Transport Auxiliary was a British World War II civilian organisation that ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between UK factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, Maintenance Units , scrap yards, and active service squadrons and airfields—but not to...
during and immediately after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
(1941–46).
After World War II, he worked for a brief period for 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) and London Aero Motor Services (LASM). Having borrowed £
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...
38,000 from a wealthy friend to top up his own savings of £4,500, he subsequently went into business as a war-surplus aircraft dealer. The Soviet blockade of West Berlin
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...
in 1948-49, during which all available aircraft were needed to fly essential supplies into West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
, allowed his business to flourish as this provided more than a year's work for his planes and employees almost immediately. This period often saw Laker flying the aircraft himself.
By 1954, Channel Air Bridge
Channel Air Bridge
Channel Air Bridge was a private British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline specialising in cross-Channel vehicle-cum-passenger ferry services. Freddie Laker started Channel Air Bridge as a sister airline of Air Charter on a provisional basis in 1954. Operations...
, his second airline venture, was flying cars and their owners in Bristol Freighter
Bristol Freighter
The Bristol Type 170 Freighter was a British twin-engine aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company as both a freighter and airliner, although its best known use is as an air ferry to carry cars and their passengers over relatively short distances.-Design and development:The...
s from Southend Airport (Rochford)
London Southend Airport
London Southend Airport or Southend Airport is a regional airport in the district of Rochford within Essex, England.During the 1960s, Southend was the third-busiest airport in the United Kingdom. It remained London's third-busiest airport in terms of passengers handled until the end of the 1970s,...
to Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
.
In 1958, he sold Air Charter
Air Charter Limited
Air Charter was an early post-World War II private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline formed in 1947. The airline conducted regular trooping flights to Cyprus as well as worldwide passenger and freight charter flights from its bases at Southend Airport and...
, Aviation Traders
Aviation Traders
was a war-surplus aircraft and spares trader formed in 1947. In 1949, it began maintaining aircraft used by some of Britain's contemporary independent airlines on the Berlin Airlift. In the early 1950s, it branched out into aircraft conversions and manufacturing. During that period it also became a...
and Channel Air Bridge to Airwork. All three companies joined the Airwork group in 1959. Following the Airwork – Hunting-Clan
Hunting-Clan Air Transport
Hunting-Clan Air Transport was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline that was founded in the immediate post-World War II period. It began trading on 1 January 1946 as Hunting Air Travel Ltd...
merger in 1960, he became managing director of British United Airways.
He departed British United in 1965 and formed his own airline — Laker Airways — in 1966, initially operating charter flights with a pair of turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
planes acquired second-hand from 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). The livery was a mixture of black and red with a bold LAKER logo on the tailplane. He offered a brand-new, revolutionary concept of economic air travel requiring passengers to purchase their tickets on the day of travel as well as to buy their own food. These flights were operated by Laker Airways and marketed under the Skytrain trademark.
Following the successful launch of Skytrain in 1977 he was knighted the following year in recognition of his services to the airline industry.
He received an honorary degree from the University of Strathclyde
University of Strathclyde
The University of Strathclyde , Glasgow, Scotland, is Glasgow's second university by age, founded in 1796, and receiving its Royal Charter in 1964 as the UK's first technological university...
in 1981.
Sir Freddie Laker divided his final years between his waterfront home in Princess Isle, Grand Bahama
Grand Bahama
Grand Bahama is one of the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, and the closest major island to the United States, lying off the state of Florida. Grand Bahama is the fifth largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays...
Island, where he kept his yacht, The Lady Jacqueline, and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Sir Freddie died at the age of 83 in a suburban Miami hospital in Hollywood
Hollywood, Florida
-Demographics:As of 2000, there were 59,673 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.5% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of...
, Florida, following complications from cardiac surgery to implant a pacemaker
Pacemaker
An artificial pacemaker is a medical device that uses electrical impulses to regulate the beating of the heart.Pacemaker may also refer to:-Medicine:...
. He was survived by his fourth wife, Jacqueline Harvey, a former airline hostess
Air Hostess
"Air Hostess" is a song by the British pop trio Busted. Composed by the band with Tom Fletcher of McFly, it was released as the third single from their second album A Present for Everyone in June 2004, reaching #2 on the UK Singles Chart.-Background:...
he married in 1985, and also by his two children. His daughter, Elaine, was by his first wife Joan with whom he also had a son, Kevin, who died in 1965 at age 17 after crashing a sports car Freddie had given him for his birthday. His son Freddie Allen Laker — also a successful entrepreneur — was born to his third wife, Patricia Gates, with whom he also had another son who died in infancy.
Business ventures
Throughout his working life Laker was involved in a number of aviation-related business ventures. Even when he was working for others, his decisions had far-reaching strategicStrategic management
Strategic management is a field that deals with the major intended and emergent initiatives taken by general managers on behalf of owners, involving utilization of resources, to enhance the performance of firms in their external environments...
consequences for the business that employed him.
Aviation Traders
London Southend Airport
London Southend Airport or Southend Airport is a regional airport in the district of Rochford within Essex, England.During the 1960s, Southend was the third-busiest airport in the United Kingdom. It remained London's third-busiest airport in terms of passengers handled until the end of the 1970s,...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and specialised in converting numerous war-surplus bombers and transporters into freighters. This included the conversion of Handley Page Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
bombers into freighters, six of which were sold to Bond Air Services, an early post-war British 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 airline. Bond Air Services based these planes at Wunstorf
Wunstorf
Wunstorf is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approx. 22 km west of Hanover. The following localities belong to the city of Wunstorf: Blumenau , Bokeloh, Grossenheidorn, Idensen , Klein Heidorn, Kolenfeld, Luthe, Mesmerode, Steinhude, Wunstorf....
aerodrome in West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
to carry essential supplies into West Berlin
West Berlin
West Berlin was a political exclave that existed between 1949 and 1990. It comprised the western regions of Berlin, which were bordered by East Berlin and parts of East Germany. West Berlin consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors, which had been established in 1945...
during the Berlin Blockade
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...
of 1948-49. Bond Air Services furthermore contracted Aviation Traders to service these planes. In return, Aviation Traders got half of Bond Air Services' freight charges. Following the end of the Berlin Airlift
Berlin Blockade
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first resulting in casualties. During the multinational occupation of post-World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under Allied...
in 1949, Laker had most of the Halifaxes he had supplied to various independent airlines during the Airlift scrapped at its Southend
London Southend Airport
London Southend Airport or Southend Airport is a regional airport in the district of Rochford within Essex, England.During the 1960s, Southend was the third-busiest airport in the United Kingdom. It remained London's third-busiest airport in terms of passengers handled until the end of the 1970s,...
facilities. He also made use of these facilities for the subsequent conversion of several DC-4/C-54 Skymaster airframe
Airframe
The airframe of an aircraft is its mechanical structure. It is typically considered to include fuselage, wings and undercarriage and exclude the propulsion system...
s into Carvair
Aviation Traders Carvair
The Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair was a large piston-engine transport aircraft. It was a Douglas DC-4-based air ferry developed by Freddie Laker's Aviation Traders Limited , with a capacity of 25 passengers and five cars, loaded at the front.-Design and development:Freddie Laker's idea to...
s for various operators around the world.
In addition, Aviation Traders re-engined Argonauts, BOAC's Canadian
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...
-built Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
s, with unused Rolls-Royce Merlin
Rolls-Royce Merlin
The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled, V-12, piston aero engine, of 27-litre capacity. Rolls-Royce Limited designed and built the engine which was initially known as the PV-12: the PV-12 became known as the Merlin following the company convention of naming its piston aero engines after...
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...
engines, which it sourced from the 88 spare Merlins Freddie Laker had acquired earlier along with BOAC's entire fleet of Haltons — former Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Halifax bombers that had been converted to carry passengers and cargo — and several Avro Tudor
Avro Tudor
Avro's Type 688 Tudor was a British piston-engined airliner based on their four-engine Lincoln bomber, itself a descendant of the famous Lancaster heavy bomber, and was Britain's first pressurised airliner...
s purchased from the Government. It also produced an all-new aircraft design, the ATL-90 Accountant
Aviation Traders Accountant
|-See also:...
.
In 1951, Aviation Traders (Engineering), a sister company of Aviation Traders, won a contract from Bristol Aircraft
Bristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines...
to manufacture wing centre sections for Bristol Freighters. Between the beginning of 1952 and the end of 1955, Aviation Traders (Engineering) built 50 wing sections for Bristol Aircraft.
In 1958, Laker announced his decision to sell both Aviation Traders and Air Charter to Airwork for £600,000 cash plus a further £200,000, subject to the valuation of stock. The deal became effective in January 1959, when Aviation Traders and Air Charter joined the Airwork group.
Air Charter
This was his first airline venture, which he took over in 1951. Since its inception in 1947, Air Charter had been based at LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's old Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport was an airport in South London which straddled the boundary between what are now the London boroughs of Croydon and Sutton. It was the main airport for London before it was replaced by Northolt Aerodrome, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport...
. The airline participated in the 1948-49 Berlin Airlift. (Following the end of the Airlift in 1949, Laker sold the Air Charter Yorks that were still airworthy to other independent airlines, two of which were acquired by Dan-Air
Dan-Air
Dan-Air was a leading private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline based in the United Kingdom....
in 1956.)
On 14 April 1955, Air Charter inaugurated its first vehicle ferry service between Southend and Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
using a Bristol 170 Mark 32 Super Freighter.
In 1958, Laker announced his decision to sell both Air Charter and Aviation Traders to Airwork for £600,000 cash plus a further £200,000, subject to the valuation of stock.
In January 1959, Air Charter became a subsidiary of the Airwork group.
Following a rationalisation of Air Charter's flight crew and ground staff in February 1959, Laker decided to transfer all vehicle ferry services along with the Bristol 170 fleet to the newly formed Channel Air Bridge.
Air Charter was absorbed into 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...
in June 1960, as a result of Airwork's merger with Hunting-Clan
Hunting-Clan Air Transport
Hunting-Clan Air Transport was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline that was founded in the immediate post-World War II period. It began trading on 1 January 1946 as Hunting Air Travel Ltd...
and several other contemporary, British independent operators.
Channel Air Bridge
His second airline venture began flying cars and their owners across the English ChannelEnglish Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
in 1954, initially using a fleet of Bristol Freighter twin-engined, piston-powered planes. These were later supplemented and eventually superseded by the larger-capacity, four-engined Carvairs. The Carvair design was based on the Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
piston-engined airliner. It involved raising the aircraft's cockpit "above" the fuselage in a 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...
-style bulge so as to create more space for vehicles and/or passengers on the main deck. It also involved replacing the DC-4's original tail fin with a newly designed, larger DC-7-style fin as well as equipping the aircraft with a Bristol Freighter-type nose-loading cargo door, more powerful brakes and a stronger undercarriage.
At the end of 1958, he sold Channel Air Bridge together with his other two companies — Air Charter and Aviation Traders — to Airwork. All three officially became part of the Airwork group in January 1959. In June 1960 Airwork and Hunting-Clan merged to form British United Airways. Channel Air Bridge continued operating under its own identity for more than two years.
On 1 January 1963, Channel Air Bridge merged with Silver City Airways, which had pioneered commercial cross-Channel vehicle ferry flights in 1948. The merged entity traded as British United Air Ferries
British United Air Ferries
British United Air Ferries was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations car and passenger ferry airline based in the United Kingdom during the 1960s. It specialised in cross-Channel ferry flights carrying cars and their owners between its numerous bases...
.
In the meantime, Laker had been appointed British United's managing director.
During his tenure (1960–65), British United became 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 biggest wholly privately owned
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
, independent airline. It also became the UK
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 first independent airline to re-equip its entire fleet with brand-new, state-of-the-art jet aircraft
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
.
In 1961, British United became the launch customer for the 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...
short haul jetliner
Jetliner
Jetliner are an alternative rock band from the USA. They focus on melodic piano based rock and have been compared to Queen and early Elton John, being heavily influenced by early 70s rock. Composed of Adam Paskowitz of The Flys, son of Doc Paskowitz, on piano and lead vocals, Jeff Kluesner on...
when it placed an order for ten series 200 aircraft. Laker had personally negotiated this deal with the manufacturer. This was the first time that an independent airline had placed an order for brand-new 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...
s. The first of the new 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 entered service on 9 April 1965, on the airline's scheduled London 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...
—Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
route. Laker also placed an order for Vickers VC10
Vickers VC10
The Vickers VC10 is a long-range British airliner designed and built by Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, and first flown in 1962. The airliner was designed to operate on long-distance routes with a high subsonic speed and also be capable of hot and high operations from African airports...
series 1103 long-haul jets on behalf of British United. The first two aircraft were delivered towards the end of 1964. (These aircraft differed from other operators' VC10s by having a large cargo door on the left-hand side of the forward fuselage where the aircraft's first class
First class (aviation)
First class is a luxury travel class on some airliners that exceeds business class, premium economy, and economy class. On a passenger jetliner, first class refers to a limited number of seats or cabins located in the front of the aircraft which are notable for their comfort, service, and privacy...
section was located. They also had extended wingtips that were slightly bent downwards to reduce the aircraft's cruise drag as well as to help it overcome the instability encountered when entering a stall
Stall (flight)
In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases. This occurs when the critical angle of attack of the foil is exceeded...
.)
By the end of that decade, British United boasted an all-jet fleet, which gave it a competitive edge over its contemporary independent rivals.
Laker was furthermore instrumental in securing the transfer of the traffic rights for BOAC's loss-making 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 Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
to British United. The airline commenced service on these routes in November 1964 using its brand-new VC10s and managed to make them profitable within five years.
In 1965, Laker decided to leave British United to set up his own airline following an alleged disagreement with British United's chairman Myles Wyatt.
Subsequent business ventures
Laker was involved in the following business ventures during the later postwar years of the 20th century (post-1960):Laker Airways
Laker AirwaysLaker Airways
Laker Airways was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline founded by Sir Freddie Laker in 1966. It originally was a charter airline flying passengers and cargo worldwide...
was formed in 1966. This was Laker's third and most prominent airline venture. Laker Airways commenced commercial airline operations that July with a fleet of two ex-BOAC 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...
s. These were subsequently supplemented and eventually replaced with a brand-new fleet of BAC One-Eleven jetliners as well as a pair of second-hand 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...
jets.
Initially, Laker Airways was a charter airline. For many years it had been the most profitable as well as the best-run charter airline in Britain.
Laker Airways pioneered many new, cost-saving as well as profit-enhancing, commercial concepts and operational techniques.
In 1969, Laker Airways announced its intention to buy the proposed BAC Three-Eleven, an 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...
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...
jet powered by two rear-mounted Rolls-Royce RB211
Rolls-Royce RB211
The Rolls-Royce RB211 is a family of high-bypass turbofan engines made by Rolls-Royce plc and capable of generating 37,400 to 60,600 pounds-force thrust. Originally developed for the Lockheed L-1011 , it entered service in 1972 and was the only engine to power this aircraft type...
engines. The airline's letter of intent
Letter of intent
A letter of intent is a document outlining an agreement between two or more parties before the agreement is finalized. The concept is similar to a heads of agreement...
was for four aircraft to be delivered in 1974. It was anticipated that these 250-seaters would replace the entire 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...
fleet, which was envisaged to comprise two 158-seat Boeing 707s and four 84-seat BAC One-Elevens by that time. Following the project's cancellation in 1971 due to a lack of Government funding, Laker remarked that this would force him to spend the £3 billion he had planned to invest by 1986 in a fleet of British-built widebodied airliners (including options) on competing foreign models.
Laker Airways eventually became the first independent British airline to actually operate widebodied equipment when it introduced its first two McDonnell Douglas DC-10
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a...
-10 series aircraft into commercial airline service in November 1972, the first Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an operator to do so. These aircraft were the first UK-registered
United Kingdom aircraft registration
United Kingdom aircraft registration is a register and means of identifcation for British owned and operated commercial and private aircraft, they are identified by registration letters starting with the prefix G-.-Registration:...
DC-10
McDonnell Douglas DC-10
The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is a three-engine widebody jet airliner manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 has range for medium- to long-haul flights, capable of carrying a maximum 380 passengers. Its most distinguishing feature is the two turbofan engines mounted on underwing pylons and a...
s.
In 1973, Laker Airways operated the world's first Advanced Booking Charter (ABC) flight. By the mid-1970s it had become the undisputed, global ABC flight market leader.
Laker Airways scored another industry first when it introduced its first daily Skytrain low-fare scheduled service between London Gatwick and New York John F. Kennedy Airport on 26 September 1977.
Skytrain
On 15 June 1971, Laker Airways submitted an application to the UK's Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB), one of the forerunners of today's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), to launch the world's first daily transatlantic, low-fare scheduled service between LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and 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...
, charging a then incredibly low one-way fare of £32.50 in winter and £37.50 in summer. This was one third of what the major, established "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" were charging at the time. The proposed service was to be marketed using the Skytrain trademark and was to be initially operated with 158-seat, single-class Boeing 707-138Bs that were acquired second-hand. Skytrain was to be a "walk-on", "walk-off" operation that did not require any advance reservations. Instead, seats were to be sold to the travelling public at each end of the route on a "first come, first served" basis only.
The ATLB rejected Laker's application before the year was out, and Laker appealed the ruling. The appeal was successful, and the ATLB eventually granted Laker the requested licence in February 1972.
However, on 30 March 1972, the UK Government revoked Laker's licence and instructed him to reapply to the CAA, which came into being on 1 April 1972.
Laker duly reapplied to the CAA for permission to operate eleven weekly Skytrain services each way between London Gatwick and New York's John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) during the summer and seven weekly round-trips during the winter. The summer schedule was to be operated with Laker's brand-new DC-10 widebodied jet aircraft to take advantage of increased demand he anticipated for his new low-fare service during the peak months from June to September as well as of the DC-10's low break-even
Break-even
Break-even is a point where any difference between plus or minus or equivalent changes side.-In economics:A technique for which identifying the point where the total revenue is just sufficient to cover the total cost...
load factor of only 52%. The winter schedule was to be operated with 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...
narrowbodies
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...
as specified in Laker's original application to the ATLB.
The newly formed CAA approved Laker's application on 5 October 1972, granting a ten-year licence. However, it specified 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...
rather than 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...
as the service's UK departure/arrival point and limited the number of seats that could be sold in winter to 189 per trip, the maximum number of passengers a Boeing 707 could accommodate in a high-density, all-economy
Economy class
__FORCETOC__Economy class, also called coach class , steerage, or standard class, is the lowest class of seating in air travel, rail travel, and sometimes ferry or maritime travel....
configuration. (The unexpected change of the UK departure/arrival point for Laker's Skytrain service as well as its capacity limit during the lean winter season were intended not to undermine the planned launch of a daily 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...
(BCal) Gatwick—JFK full-service scheduled operation, for which the ATLB had already granted that airline a 15-year licence — along with another 15-year licence for a daily Gatwick—Los Angeles International Airport
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...
full-service scheduled operation — during the so-called "cannon ball" hearings earlier the same year.)
The UK government designated Laker Airways as a scheduled transatlantic UK "flag" carrier on 11 January 1973.
However, under intense pressure from the established airlines, including Laker's archrival and next-door Gatwick neighbour BCal, against a backdrop of huge losses and overcapacity on the 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...
in the aftermath of the global energy crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
caused by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' oil embargo, the UK's Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
government of that era decided to revoke Laker's licence on 29 July 1975.
Freddie Laker took the government to the UK High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
, which overturned the latter's decision to revoke the airline's licence for a Skytrain service between London and New York.
It took another two years until Laker gained final approval — including a reciprocal permit from the relevant US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
authorities, which was granted for a one-year experimental period on 13 June 1977 by US President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
— to commence Skytrain.
(In the meantime, Peter Shore
Peter Shore
Peter David Shore, Baron Shore of Stepney PC was a British Labour politician and former Cabinet Minister, noted in part for his opposition to the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community. His idiosyncratic left-wing nationalism led to comparison with the French politician...
, the then Secretary of State for Trade, had conducted a review of the government's aviation policy and in 1976 announced a new "spheres of influence" policy that ended dual designation for British airlines on all long-haul routes. As a result of this new aviation policy, BA and BCal were no longer permitted to run competing scheduled services on the same long-haul routes and the latter was forced to withdraw from the London—New York and London—Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
routes, resulting in the suspension of BCal's Gatwick—JFK and Gatwick—Los Angeles licences. The same year, Edmund Dell
Edmund Dell
Edmund Emanuel Dell was a British politician and businessman.Dell was born in London, the son of a Jewish manufacturer. In World War II he served in the Rifle Corps and the Royal Artillery, leaving as a first lieutenant...
, Peter Shore's successor, renounced the original Bermuda
Bermuda Agreement
The Bermuda Agreement, reached in 1946 by American and British negotiators in Bermuda, was an early bilateral air transport agreement regulating civil air transport...
air services agreement of 1946 and initiated bilateral negotiations with his US counterparts on a new air services 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....
, which resulted in the Bermuda II
Bermuda II
Bermuda II was a bilateral air transport agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States signed on 23 July 1977 as a renegotiation of the original 1946 Bermuda air services agreement...
treaty of 1977.)
Laker's long-running Skytrain application was finally granted in 1977 upon designating the airline as the second UK flag carrier between London and New York under the then just-concluded Bermuda II UK-US air agreement. At the last minute prior to the inaugural Skytrain flight from London to New York, Laker also received government permission to use its Gatwick base as the service's UK departure and arrival point, rather than Stansted as originally specified in its licence. The restriction limiting it to 189 seats per aircraft in winter was lifted as well and the baggage allowance was brought into line with 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) rules.
Skytrain took to the air for the first time on 26 September 1977 when the inaugural flight departed London Gatwick for New York JFK. This flight carried 272 passengers on one of the airline's 345-seat McDonnell Douglas DC-10 widebodied aircraft. The fares charged at the time were £59 one-way from London and $135 one-way from New York.
Skytrain was originally envisaged to achieve a 50% load factor in winter. By summer 1978, the actual load factor was 80%.
Laker claimed that Skytrain helped to grow passenger numbers for all airlines in the London—New York market, citing statistics comparing passenger numbers for the July—September peak season in 1977 with those of the corresponding period in 1976 as evidence. These had shown that in the days before Skytrain, total traffic between London and New York for the aforesaid period in 1977 was down 2% on the same period in 1976. He contrasted these figures with those comparing the October—December 1977 off-peak period with the corresponding 1976 off-peak period. The latter set of figures had shown a 30% increase, boosted by "Skytrain" which launched on 26 September 1977. A closer analysis comparing the figures for October 1977 compared with those of the same month in 1976 had shown an increase of 31.8% (37,902 passengers) for all airlines. A further breakdown of these figures had shown that Laker's "Skytrain" accounted for 15% (17,501 passengers) of the overall increase while competing services of rival airlines accounted for the remaining 16.8% (20,401 passengers). The latter included IATA members British Airways, 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 TWA
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...
who had opposed "Skytrain" as wellin addition to BCal. (Statistics for November and December 1977, as well as for January—June 1978, had also shown that the overall monthly growth in the London—New York market was maintained at that level for the remainder of this period while Skytrain managed to grow its share of the overall monthly increase to 50% and keep up this performance until the end of the period.)
Skytrain became a financial success in its first year of operation, leading to further expansion over the coming years, in terms of new routes as well as additional frequencies.
As a result of his clever publicity stunts to market the then brand-new London—New York Skytrain service, Freddie Laker himself became popular with the public ("the forgotten man's hero") and was regarded as one of Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's "golden boys" of industry (along with Sir Clive Sinclair and Sir Alan Sugar
Alan Sugar
Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar is a British entrepreneur, media personality and political advisor. From humble origins in the East End of London, Sugar now has an estimated fortune of £770m , and was ranked 89th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2011...
). The former Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
was a self-confessed "Freddie Laker fan".
However, it was James Callaghan
James Callaghan
Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC , was a British Labour politician, who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1976 to 1980...
's "pro-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...
" Labour Government that awarded Laker his knighthood for services to the airline industry in 1978, rather than Margaret Thatcher's subsequent "pro-business" Conservative administration (although the latter had recommended him for his service to private enterprise in her capacity as the then leader of the opposition).
As Skytrain expanded, the airline placed orders for additional McDonnell Douglas DC-10 widebodies, including the company's first order for five longer-range series-30 aircraft. These were delivered from December 1979 onwards to support its growing number of destinations and frequencies.
The airline also became one of the early buyers of the first 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....
airliner, the A300
Airbus A300
The Airbus A300 is a short- to medium-range widebody jet airliner. Launched in 1972 as the world's first twin-engined widebody, it was the first product of Airbus Industrie, a consortium of European aerospace companies, wholly owned today by EADS...
, ordering ten of these widebodies in 1979 and had plans to deploy the aircraft on a new network of intra-European Skytrain routes in a big way.
Skytrain came to an end the day the airline went spectacularly bankrupt on 5 February 1982.
Laker Airways' collapse and the end of Skytrain
In 1982, the company went bankruptInsolvency
Insolvency means the inability to pay one's debts as they fall due. Usually used to refer to a business, insolvency refers to the inability of a company to pay off its debts.Business insolvency is defined in two different ways:...
, owing over £250 million. The airline made its last flight on 5 February 1982, the day it went bankrupt.
There were numerous reasons for what was termed the biggest corporate failure in Britain at the time:
- Laker Airways had expanded too quickly in the late 1970s/early 1980s when it took delivery of a large fleet of brand-new DC-10 and A300 widebodies, which had been bought with funds borrowed at too high a rate of interest.
- The company was undercapitalised and did not enjoy the financial back-up of any significant assets, which seriously undermined its ability to withstand a concerted and prolonged campaign to put it out of business at the depth of the 1981-82 recession at the hands of its financially stronger competitors.
- Laker Airways incurred a revenue loss estimated at £13mMillionOne million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
when the worldwide DC-10 fleet was grounded as a result of having its certificate of airworthiness temporarily withdrawn in the aftermath of the American AirlinesAmerican AirlinesAmerican Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
DC-10 crashAmerican Airlines Flight 191American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight in the United States from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles International Airport. On May 25, 1979, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 operating the route crashed moments after takeoff from Chicago....
at Chicago O'Hare in May 1979.
- Some passengers may also have perceived the DC-10 as unsafe as a result of a string of fatal accidents involving the aircraft within a short timespan during the late 1970s (including the 1979 American Airlines Chicago crashAmerican Airlines Flight 191American Airlines Flight 191 was a regularly scheduled passenger flight in the United States from O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles International Airport. On May 25, 1979, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 operating the route crashed moments after takeoff from Chicago....
).
- The implications of Laker Airways' strategic decision to build its business on discount travellers only.
- The conspiracy of large airlines throughout EuropeEuropeEurope 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 North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth 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...
, which were aggressively price-matching Laker Airways even at the expense of massive losses. This charge, which was brought to court as the largest aviation anti-trust case in history, was later settled out of court.
- Aggressive, non profitable price dropping in Australia by (the so called Australian Airline) QANTAS which later went on to enjoy a monopoly and pushed east/west airline prices through the roof.
- The fallout from the company's demise descended into litigation, which delayed the privatisation of British Airways.
Laker Airways Mark II
Laker was undaunted and almost immediately attempted to relaunch the airline on the back of a strong public following (a relief fund gathered over £1m, helped by an endorsement from the music band The PoliceThe Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For the vast majority of their history, the band consisted of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, who had used the airline to tour America).
Laker, by now living in the Bahamas, got off the ground again in the early 1990s, moving his refounded business' base to Freeport
Freeport, Bahamas
Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone located on the island of Grand Bahama of the North-west Bahamas. In 1955, Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier with lumber interests in Grand Bahama, was granted 50,000 acres Freeport is a city, district and free trade zone located on the island of...
. Laker Airways (Bahamas)
Laker Airways (Bahamas)
-History:Laker Airways was a US-registered airline based in the Bahamas to which Sir Freddie Laker lent his name and operational expertise. The airline was established in 1992 with financial assistance from Oscar Wyatt, a Texas oilman and business partner of Sir Freddie Laker. The initial fleet...
flew from there until it shut down in 2005. It was Laker's final airline venture.
Laker's legacy
Laker was the 2002 recipient of the Tony Jannus AwardTony Jannus Award
The Tony Jannus Award recognizes outstanding individual achievement in scheduled commercial aviation by airline executives, inventors and manufacturers, and government leaders. The award is conferred annually by the Tony Jannus Distinguished Aviation Society and was first bestowed in 1964 in Tampa,...
for his distinguished contributions to commercial air transportation. He is remembered for his famous advice to fellow airline entrepreneurs Sir Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
, of Virgin Atlantic, and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou , born 14 February 1967) is a British entrepreneur of Greek Cypriot origin, currently a resident of Monaco. He is the scion of a wealthy, shipowning family, but is best known for setting up easyJet, a highly successful and profitable low-cost airline, with start-up funds...
, of 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...
, to "sue the bastards", a reference to the bullying tactics 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...
in trying to force upstarts out of business. Virgin Atlantic later named one of its 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...
s The Spirit of Sir Freddie. In addition, Malaysia's low-cost, long-haul carrier AirAsia X
AirAsia X
AirAsia X is a long-haul, budget airline based in Malaysia. The airline is operated by AirAsia X Sdn. Bhd. . It commenced operations on 2 November 2007. Its first service flew from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia, to Gold Coast Airport in Australia...
named its first Airbus A330
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....
Semangat Sir Freddie in homage to the pioneer of "no-frills" air travel.
He was also the subject of a musical, Laker!, as performed at Not In Front Of The Audience in 1982, and written by Mel Smith
Mel Smith
Melvin Kenneth "Mel" Smith is an English comedian, writer, film director, producer, and actor. He is most famous for his work on the sketch comedy shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Griff Rhys Jones.- Early life :Smith's father, Kenneth, was born...
and Peter Brewis
Peter Brewis
Peter Brewis is a composer and instrumentalist who has been active in several spheres of music from ballet and modern dance to music theatre and rock music...
in reaction to Laker Airways' bankruptcy.
External links
- Reuters News announcing his death
- Obituary from BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
- Obituary from Miami Herald
- Obituary from The Daily TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
- Obituary from The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
- Final Interview
- Armstrong, P. (2005). The Flight of the Accountant: a Romance of Air and Credit, Flight to insolvency
- Stansted Airport Consultative Committee, Stansted — The Early Years (1942-1966), Sir Freddie Laker Arrives
- Skytrain: new Laker bid, Air Transport, Flight International, 27 July 1972, p. 116
- Skytrain ..., Air Transport ..., Flight International, 27 July 1972, p. 117
Footnote
In the film Rude BoyRude Boy (film)
Rude Boy is a 1980 British film directed by Jack Hazan and David Mingay and filmed in 1978 and early 1979.The film, part fiction, part rockumentary, tells the story of Ray Gange, a Clash fan who leaves his job in a Soho sex shop to become a roadie for the band...
(1980) featuring the pioneer British punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
, lead singer Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in...
introduces a song titled "I'm So Bored with the USA
I'm So Bored with the USA
"I'm So Bored with the U.S.A." is a song by British punk rock band The Clash, featured on their eponymous 1977 debut album, which was released in the United States in July 1979 as their second album after Give Em Enough Rope...
" in a live concert venue with the words "This song is made possible by Freddie Laker."