Originally Posted by
hatton
Place seemed busier than Heathrow at night. Topflight Herons and Air Luton DC3s were my fav.
Our engineering outfit for both companies often used to drive up to EMA and Luton to fix their defects. If I remember correctly (this is back in the '80s), the Royal Mail penalties for late carriers was £2000 per hour. No wonder they both went under, there can't have been much of a profit margin considering their regular and irregular maintenance schedule costs. Air Atlantique did fairly well on the mail runs though, one of the best companies I ever worked for.
Air Luton ... I remember AM having a camp bed in his office. I never saw anyone else in there other than DC, his line engineer.
Coventry was the place to be for night freight ops in the early '90s. The apron was rammed with HS748s, Heralds, Short Sheds and the occasional Viscount. Interesting days, especially if you liked the RR Dart growl, whistle and shriek.