1-11s,707s and DC-10s
Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2024 7:41 pm
Yes, believe it or not, these were standard aircraft of the UK charter airlines way back in the early 1970s.
The BAC 1-11 300/400/500 was the darling of many UK charter airlines: British Caledonian,Court Line, Dan Air London, Laker Airways. Monarch and Dan Air added their series 500s early 1975 following the collapse of Court Line Aviation. The 1-11 was popular in Germany too with Bavaria and Germanair, Pan International and the short lived Phoenix Aviation of Basel. BCal, Court Line, Dan Air and Bavaria Flug were all regular Glasgow visitors with Laker operating a winter series to Tenerife on behalf of Wings.
While1-11s ruled for short haul services to Europe the 707s were the long haul queens of the skies before 747s eclipsed them. Tenerife was a popular route however Athens, Las Palmas and Corfu all saw Laker services from Gatwick and Dan Air operated Friday, Saturday, Sunday 707 services on Friday, Saturday, Sunday to Gerona, Palma and Alicante operating W pattern services on a Manchester aircraft on behalf of Lunn Poly and Thomson Skytours.
Although not a 707 Monarch operated Boeing 720s. Those hot rod machines operated ad hoc flights from Glasgow but during the mid 1970s one was Edinburgh based operating for Cosmos Holidays. The 720s also operated from Luton to St Lucia on behalf of Pegasus Holidays albeit with a fuel stop in Gander. 720s also operated from Prestwick to Calgary as part of a BHX-PIK-YYC series in behalf of a Solihull based travel agency. Monarch 1-11s also operated Lakes and Mountains flights from EDI and GLA to Milan Malpensa and Verona.
Colourful Court Line operated from Glasgow to AHO,ALC, GRO, PMI and PSA with lilac, orange,pink and turquoise 1-11s for Clarksons, then later Horizon Holidays. Much more conservative and staid British Caledonian operated 1-11s from Glasgow and 707s from Prestwick: the former to Alicante, Bergen, Basel, Genoa,Gerona, Ibiza, Palma, Rimini, Rome and Venice for Brighter Holidays, Blue Sly and Horizon Holidays; Toronto and New York from the latter.
Laker, like Britannia, another trendsetter, introduced the DC10 on routes to New York and Toronto from Prestwick but had little or no involved in the Scottish market for European IT flights. Their long haul destinations fro both LGW and MAN included Colombo and Mombasa. Monarch also operated a single DC-10, ex Zambia Airways,from its Manchester base but it did visit Glasgow on high season flights to Orlando on behalf of Thomas Cook/Sunworld.
So despite today’s EZY, FR, LS and TOM operations the roots stretch back over the decades. It would be interesting to surmise what these carriers would have been operating today had they survived.
The BAC 1-11 300/400/500 was the darling of many UK charter airlines: British Caledonian,Court Line, Dan Air London, Laker Airways. Monarch and Dan Air added their series 500s early 1975 following the collapse of Court Line Aviation. The 1-11 was popular in Germany too with Bavaria and Germanair, Pan International and the short lived Phoenix Aviation of Basel. BCal, Court Line, Dan Air and Bavaria Flug were all regular Glasgow visitors with Laker operating a winter series to Tenerife on behalf of Wings.
While1-11s ruled for short haul services to Europe the 707s were the long haul queens of the skies before 747s eclipsed them. Tenerife was a popular route however Athens, Las Palmas and Corfu all saw Laker services from Gatwick and Dan Air operated Friday, Saturday, Sunday 707 services on Friday, Saturday, Sunday to Gerona, Palma and Alicante operating W pattern services on a Manchester aircraft on behalf of Lunn Poly and Thomson Skytours.
Although not a 707 Monarch operated Boeing 720s. Those hot rod machines operated ad hoc flights from Glasgow but during the mid 1970s one was Edinburgh based operating for Cosmos Holidays. The 720s also operated from Luton to St Lucia on behalf of Pegasus Holidays albeit with a fuel stop in Gander. 720s also operated from Prestwick to Calgary as part of a BHX-PIK-YYC series in behalf of a Solihull based travel agency. Monarch 1-11s also operated Lakes and Mountains flights from EDI and GLA to Milan Malpensa and Verona.
Colourful Court Line operated from Glasgow to AHO,ALC, GRO, PMI and PSA with lilac, orange,pink and turquoise 1-11s for Clarksons, then later Horizon Holidays. Much more conservative and staid British Caledonian operated 1-11s from Glasgow and 707s from Prestwick: the former to Alicante, Bergen, Basel, Genoa,Gerona, Ibiza, Palma, Rimini, Rome and Venice for Brighter Holidays, Blue Sly and Horizon Holidays; Toronto and New York from the latter.
Laker, like Britannia, another trendsetter, introduced the DC10 on routes to New York and Toronto from Prestwick but had little or no involved in the Scottish market for European IT flights. Their long haul destinations fro both LGW and MAN included Colombo and Mombasa. Monarch also operated a single DC-10, ex Zambia Airways,from its Manchester base but it did visit Glasgow on high season flights to Orlando on behalf of Thomas Cook/Sunworld.
So despite today’s EZY, FR, LS and TOM operations the roots stretch back over the decades. It would be interesting to surmise what these carriers would have been operating today had they survived.