Caledonian Airways (1961)
| Caledonian Airways | |
|---|---|
|
|
| IATA code : | (without) |
| ICAO code : | CA |
| Call sign : | CALEDONIAN |
| Founding: | 1961 |
| Operation stopped: | 1970 |
| Seat: |
Crawley , UK
|
| Home airport : | London Gatwick Airport |
| Fleet size: | 13 |
| Aims: | international |
| Caledonian Airways ceased operations in 1970. The information in italics refer to the last status before the end of operation. | |
Caledonian Airways (shortened to Caledonian ) was a British airline . The company took over British United Airways in 1970 and merged with them to form British Caledonian Airways .
history
Caledonian Airways was founded in Edinburgh on April 27, 1961 by Adam Thomson, a former British European Airways pilot and businessman John de la Haye . The company was initially based at Prestwick Airport . The company's first aircraft was a Douglas DC-7 leased long-term from the Belgian Sabena , which was first used on November 30, 1961 on a charter flight from London-Gatwick to Barbados . Initially, the company carried out international occasional flights ( ad hoc charter ), including a first charter service to New York on Christmas Day 1961 .
After the accident of their first aircraft on March 4, 1962 in Douala , Caledonian Airways rented two Douglas DC-7s from Sabena again from May 1962 . Both machines were mainly used on behalf of British tour operators on tourist charter flights (IT charter) to southern Europe. On June 17, 1963, Caledonian Airways was the first British charter airline to receive a three-year approval for travel group flights ( Affinity Group Charter ) to the USA and put two more Douglas DC-7s into service. In addition, the company was able to conclude long-term transport contracts with the British armed forces in the same year. The military contract flights took place with two leased Douglas DC-6s . From December 1964, the existing machines were gradually replaced by turboprop aircraft of the type Bristol Britannia . At the same time, the company introduced a new livery.
In 1965, Caledonian Airways became the first non-US company to receive permanent permission to offer transatlantic IT charter flights for package travelers from the UK to the US. In the same year, the company ordered two Boeing 707-320C jet planes , which came into service from the spring of 1968. At that time Caledonian Airways operated charter flights within Europe , Australia , Asia , Canada and the USA. In 1969 the company became the first operator of the BAC 111-500 .
As early as 1967, Caledonian Airways had applied for a permit for scheduled flights from London via Prestwick to New York, Los Angeles , San Francisco and Toronto , but this was rejected by the British aviation authority Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB). In the late 1960s, Britain's largest private airline, British United Airways ( BUA ), ran into economic difficulties. The BUA already had an extensive route network, which Caledonian Airways and the state-owned BOAC were interested in taking over . The British government supported the establishment of a second airline ( "Second Force" ) at this time , which was to offer long-haul flights in competition with the state-owned BOAC , so that Caledonian Airways was able to win the bidding dispute on November 30, 1970. Following its acquisition, BUA was merged with Caledonian Airways . The merged company was initially named Caledonian / BUA and was renamed British Caledonian Airways on September 1, 1972 .
fleet
Incidents
- On March 4, 1962, a Douglas DC-7C ( aircraft registration G-ARUD ) barely gained any altitude after taking off from Douala Airport ( Cameroon ). The machine brushed several trees and hit a swamp. All 111 occupants were killed in the accident. The crash was probably caused by an elevator blocked due to a mechanical defect .
- On September 28, 1964, a Douglas DC-7C ( G-ASID ) had an accident in poor weather conditions while approaching Istanbul-Yeşilköy Airport . The plane hit the runway threshold and caught fire. All 97 occupants survived the accident.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Aero, issue 34, year 1984.
- ^ Flight International, June 27, 1963
- ↑ a b Flight International, September 28, 1967
- ^ Aero, edition 201, year 1987.
- ↑ Flight International, various issues
- ↑ JP aircraft markings 1970.
- ^ Accident report DC-7C G-ARUD , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 19, 2018.
- ^ Accident report DC-7C G-ASID , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on August 19, 2018.
Airlines from the United Kingdom , British Overseas Territories and the Crown possessions of the British Crown
