Originally Posted by
TCAS FAN
We've come a long way with noise. Still remember the Mon-Fri BUA BAC 1-11 departures to GLA - that was real noise!
I'm just picking up on that story as it brings back happy memories from that era. Nostalgia is something that I am hugely interested in.
As we are fully aware, British United Airways was taken over by Caledonian Airways in 1970 to form British Caledonian Airways.
From 1970, British Caledonian Airways operated the GLA-SOU BAC 1-11 flights. In 1971, BCAL increased GLA-SOU to daily.
BUA introduced the BAC 1-11-200 on GLA-SOU in June 1968, replacing the Viscount 800, which previously operated the route. The route at that time operated daily except for Saturdays.
BCAL made huge cuts to their network in 1974, which included the axing of their GLA-SOU route. The Last BCAL GLA-SOU flight was in late September 1974
Cambrian Airways from 1971 operated a BAC 1-11-400 on their Cardiff-Bristol-Southampton-Paris Le Bourget-Southampton-Bristol-Cardiff routing. The airlines Viscount fleet originally operated this route before the BAC 1-11.
The Cambrian Airways BAC 1-11 used to fly into Southampton twice daily except for Saturdays. On both the outbound and inbound flights from Paris Le Bourget.
The BCAL BAC 1-11 from GLA would usually be on the ground at SOU in between the Cambrian Airways BAC 1-11 from Paris LBG. from 1971 to late September 1974, Southampton witnessed up to three daily BAC 1-11 movements.
CS 3707
CARDIFF 09.30
BRISTOL 09.50
BRISTOL 10.10
SOUTHAMPTON 10.40
SOUTHAMPTON 11.00
PARIS LBG 13.15 +1
CS 3708
PARIS LBG 15.00+1
SOUTHAMPTON 15.20
SOUTHAMPTON 15.40
BRISTOL 16.10
BRISTOL 16.30
CARDIFF 16.50
BR 841
GLASGOW 12.05
SOUTHAMPTON 13.20
SOUTHAMPTON 14.00
GLASGOW 15.10
From 1975 until 1980, there was the very occasional visit of a British Airways BAC 1-11-400 operating on their Jersey to Southampton route.
I can remember the Cambrian Airways and BCAL BAC 1-11s flying over our house when I was a young lad. My friends and I would then often cycle to the airport to witness their departures. On a couple of occasions, both the Cambrian and BCAL BAC 1-11s were on the ground together.
On a side note, it is related to the BAC 1-11. I can vividly remember in the late 1970s seeing two British Airways BAC 1-11s and three British Airways Viscounts on the ground together at SOU due to a strike at LHR. It was a Sunday if I remember correctly. The apron was rather busy on that particular day along with the usual BIA Herald movements.