This provided fast hourly connections from Manchester Glasgow, Belfast , and Edinburgh with very few cancellations and a "guaranteed seat", there was even provision for a back up aircraft on standby if the 1st aircraft was full
Not for the outlaws. Many years ago...
They returned from Oz,having an "engine problem" in "The Gulf".
BA at MAN hadn't got a clue about this prob [or so they said].
Working in ATC I got hold of BA at LHR and found the prob. When I told the peeps waiting for Oz pax [40+] the griff, the BA staff roundly berated me [even more so when I gave out (as volunteered by LHR BA staff) the LHR phone no.
The end of it was, they "missed" a Shuttle....none existant, and were put on the "first available" Shuttle, the last LHR-MAN of the day
We were fortunate, because I had "some" inside info.
Outlaws due to arrive....0930. ATA 2230
AFAIK, Eastern Airways were the
only Airline to offer a guaranteed backup a/c. If BA did, I cannot remember one at Manch