Described by his closest family as an enormous risk taker, he was the archetypal east end barrow boy. He was excellent at hiring good people and backing innovation, but with a reputation for being lets say a bit flexible on the financial side. The spectacular growth of Air Europe was hugely underfinanced. The company had virtually no assets and when it folded it owed hundreds of millions. I have only heard good things about Air Europe operationally, but as with Air Berlin more recently the other side of the story should not be glossed over.