Originally Posted by
Mooncrest
Just what was the big deal with b****y bulbfields fifty-odd years ago ?
They were marketed extensively to groups, Women's Institutes, that sort of thing. Many taking them had not been abroad, or by air, before. It also, being in March/April, formed pre-season work for the charter companies before a summer season that was shorter then. I believe passports were not required. Apart from seeing the flowers, foreign shopping for things not in UK shops in those days was another attraction. The coach took them to tourist trap shops but where £ were accepted. Everyone seemed to come home with Toblerone and Nutella.
Normal operation was with propeller aircraft, Viscounts, Ambassadors, etc, early departure to Rotterdam, only about an hour flying, sit there all day, back in the evening, then position on to the following morning's departure point. Clarksons were the leader, they started using Autair's Vikings from Luton which introduced the two to each other, and the rest was history. Some operators also offered overnight trips, which used the aircraft standing at Rotterdam to make a second round trip during the day.
Beauvais was another Clarksons point, being bussed from there to Paris, and there were other combinations and operators. The loss of the Invicta Vanguard approaching Basel from Bristol in 1973 was just such a day trip, it wiped out a number of women's social groups from North Somerset.