Many thanks to you all for the extra stories - A time that really was the pivotal days of Package Holidays and their airlines - I joined the business in 1972.
I think another in-house Channel Holiday Brochure was Golden Jet Holidays >? Have a hazy memory of that one.
Their Comets though, were truly wrecks - Never went on one but saw them at various airports including LGW and LTN - News of their long delays often made the Press.
Another Comet was purchased in 1971 solely for spares - G-APDR, and G-ARDI was early retired in 1971 also for spares.
I never got to know for sure if their 99 seat 1-11's actually had 6 abreast seating;
Was it kept as 5 abreast, so with the removal of the rear galley and toilet to enable the extra 2 seat rows?
Can anyone concur>?
I only went on Channel's first 1-11 G-AVGP which was a standard 89 seats.
On 5th September 1966 Channel Airways Ltd announced an order for four Series BAC 1-11 408EFs with an option on two more.
Only three aircraft were eventually delivered, the first being in an 89 seat configuration and the second two in a high density 99 seat configuration.
This last seating plan necessitated a modification with two over-wing emergency exits each side (the only short fuselage One-Elevens to be so modified).
The first aircraft was returned to the manufacturer on receipt of the second in 1968.
G-AWEJ was due in 1968along with G-AWGG but GG was deferred, NTU and went on lease in 1968 to Bavaria Flug, who then bought it in 1969 as D-ALLI.
Bavaria Flug also then leased G-AVGP for summer 1968 just after it had left Channel.
BUA leased for 6 months in summer 1969 the almost brand new G-AWKJ Channel's 3rd aircraft (of the 99 seaters) delivered from BAC to Channel in FEB 1969.
BUA had lost ''JJ'' in the snow at Milan Linate.
I flew on holiday to Tunis via Djerba on WKJ that summer with BUA - the extra exit was deactivated and seating was 84 IIRC.
I flew on the Channel 139 seat Trident from Stansted to Majorca and back (Was Stansted ZSD in those days?) with my parents and my pal in a ''4 seater'' at the front,
and I can say it was seemingly more comfortable than the Air Spain DC-8, or a new BA A321Neo today LOL.
I was about 13 or14 and we were both big lads. The 7 across was only in the front cabin.
BKS Tridents had 123 seats versus 139.
It was a fine flight very fast, and we had the usual cold meal of ham salad etc.
Channel always had free airport open days on a Sunday afternoon at ZSD and SEN where you could go on-board to sit on their planes that you maybe going on holiday on.
I went on their new 1-11 G-AVGP at a SEN open day in 1967, and then on a Trident a couple of years later at Stansted.
There is a photo showing a ''small me'' standing under VGP's nose on the web.
We lived in Essex so Channel Airways was our local airline, and we often went to the Southend airport on a FRI or SAT summer evening to ''watch the planes''
They had a very nice waiter table service restaurant where Dad would treat us to a posh meal then go and see the many Viscounts lined up on the ramp that went off on night flights down
to Ostend France Rotterdam Austria and Spain.
Air/Coach Holidays were really popular back then as WHBM says - and they were much cheaper than Air Holidays.
Global Overland, Everyman Blue Sky and Cosmos were all big players, as well as Lyons of course.
Many folk liked them as they had never flown before and it was a shorter flying option.