The Cardiff, Welsh and Bristol Airports' package holiday market has quite a lot of past history.
Airways Cymru International:
Set up by Red Dragon Travel/Tour Operator in 1984 to operate from BRS and CWL, plus other UK regional airports.
Previously, both Hourmont Travel and Cambrian Holidays using Cambrian Airways BAC 1-11's were the major local Tour Operators.
Airways International Cymru obtained a couple of Quebecair/ex British Eagle BAC 1-11's, plus leased in one more from BIA.
Their 2 own BAC 1-11's becoming rather fittingly G-YMRU (CYMRU = Wales) and G-WLAD (WLAD = Country in Welsh).
In 1985 Airways Cymru leased an ex Britannia Airways Boeing 737-204 G-BAZI.
The airline suffered more than their fair share of AOG's and summer ATC delays.
In 1986/87 their venture into expensive leases with 3 brand new 737-300's lead them to financial problems with winter subleasing in the USA, and they went under in early 1988.
Airways International Cymru was always an airline that operated on a rather shoestring budget.
The failure of a single lease agreement over just a couple of months, ultimately causing its failure, was indicative of this.
From the ashes, Red Dragon needed a new airline and so came Diamond Airways following the collapse of Airways International Cymru in the Spring 1988 but a month before their start-up the new airline was forced to rebrand as Amberair (Amber Airways) after a legal dispute with British Midland Airways over their own prestige ''Diamond Service''.
Amberair operated two Boeing 737-200s on holiday charter flights from many UK airports.
One of which was G-BAZI being ex Airways Cymru, but was registered G-BOSA so it would not get impounded.
Their other 737 was ex Orion, G-BKMS.
Despite having a good summer season the airline's owners and financiers were not happy to invest in expanding the airline and instead sold it to the new Bristol based Paramount Airways before the year was out.
This purchase was in part, due to Paramount being very unhappy with their MD-83 fleet, and of the Contract that Douglas had them bound into citing they could not operate any other type. Buying Amberair now allowed Paramount to gain access in operating the 737 which then saw them procure a new 737-300.
The airline's sudden collapse in 1989 is another very infamous tale, the history of which is well known.
Around the same time frame, another Welsh local Tour Operator Aspro Holidays (Owned by the Greek Cypriot Asprou family) set up their own airline, Inter European Airways who commenced operations in May 1987.
Initial plans were the leases from GPA of two new Boeing 737-300 aircraft, but in place of these a single 737-200 G-BNGK leased from GPA was used.
After operating during the Summer 1987 season, the aircraft was returned to GPA at the end of October and operations ceased for the winter.
The two new Boeing 737-300 series aircraft were then delivered in early 1988 - with a 3rd leased from Monarch, and then a 4th came in 1989 brand new from AWAS (G-IEAA)
The IEA fleet grew to a total of 12 aircraft, though their fleet at any time was 8 aircraft during 1992 & 1993.
Other aircraft operated included one Boeing 737-400, four Boeing 757-200 (two of which were brand new), and two new Airbus A320.
In June 1993 parent company Aspro Travel was acquired by the Airtours Group for £20m, and operations under the IEA name continued to the end of October 1993.