Air Ecosse
| Air Ecosse | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Air Ecosse Embraer EMB 110, Manchester 1981 |
|
| IATA code : | EC |
| ICAO code : | ECS |
| Call sign : | AIR ECOSSE |
| Founding: | 1977 |
| Operation stopped: | 1987 |
| Seat: | Aberdeen |
| Home airport : | Aberdeen airport |
| Fleet size: | 3 |
| Aims: | |
| Air Ecosse ceased operations in 1987. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation. | |
Air Ecosse was a Scottish airline with headquarters in Aberdeen .
history
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Air Ecosse was founded in June 1977 and was based at Aberdeen Airport . The company was a subsidiary of the Biggin Hill- based airline Fairflight Charters.
The first commercial flight was operated between Aberdeen and Wick in July 1977. The focus was on passenger and cargo charter flights, with numerous contract flights for the oil industry.
In June 1978 another airline was founded by the parent company Fairflight. This, called Air Shetland , operated aircraft of the types Piper PA-31 Navajo and Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante and in 1981 was completely absorbed by Air Ecosse.
Starting in 1981, a number of night airmail routes were regularly flown on the basis of a contract with the British Post.
On November 29, 1985, Air Ecosse was acquired by Crown International Airways, with almost the entire fleet being transferred back to Fairflight. Only three Short 330s were retained to operate the regional route network, which had since been expanded to include London-Gatwick.
On January 19, 1987, Air Ecosse went into bankruptcy administration. Several offers to take over failed, including those from Euroair, Malinair and British Airways. Eventually Peregrine Air Services took over the company and renamed it Aberdeen Airways. But even this had to cease operations a short time later.
Destinations
From its base in Aberdeen, Air Ecosse served numerous Scottish islands as well as Dundee, Glasgow and Manchester. Belfast, Dublin and Liverpool were added later. From the summer of 1982 the route network was expanded to include Blackpool and Carlisle, and in the following year the services were extended north to the Faroe Islands (see also the map of the Air Ecosse route network 1983).
fleet
Fleet at the end of operations
Previously deployed aircraft
Before that, Air Ecosse also operated the following types of aircraft:
- BAC 1-11 (rented)
- Britten-Norman Trislander
- De Havilland DH.104 Dove
- De Havilland DH.114 Heron
- De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
- Embraer EMB 110 Bandeirante
- Handley Page Herald
- Piper PA-23 Aztec
- Piper PA-31 Navajo
- Short 330
- Short 360
Incidents
- On April 20, 1983, an Air Ecosse DHC-6-310 Twin Otter ( aircraft registration G-STUD ) had an accident at Flotta airfield . The charter flight came from Aberdeen Airport . The investigation found that the aircraft went off the runway and made a ringelpiez when it landed in a strong crosswind. Both wings broke off. There were no serious injuries and no fatalities among the two crew members and ten passengers.
See also
literature
- Maurice J. Wickstead: Airlines of the British Isles since 1919 . Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd., Staplefield, W Sussex 2014, ISBN 978-0-85130-456-4 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Wickstead 2014, p. 30.
- ↑ a b Wickstead 2014, p. 31.
- ^ Map of the Air Ecosse route network 1983
- ^ Ulrich Klee, Frank Bucher et al .: jp airline-fleets international . Zurich Airport 1978–1987.
- ^ Accident report DHC-6 G-STUD , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 4, 2020.
Airlines from the United Kingdom , British Overseas Territories and the Crown possessions of the British Crown
