Originally Posted by
lederhosen
The big carriers like BEA introduced their own charter services but largely failed to make a big success.
Not quite. BEA started their BEA Airtours operations in the late 1960s with retired Comets they found nobody else wanted, and made a substantial business that worked through several generations of aircraft and various renamings until BA sold it off, as Caledonian, in 1995. Over in Germany Lufthansa owned similar operator Condor, who were the market leader for many years there. They had an advantage that in the winter season they readily chartered their spare capacity to their parent's scheduled operation.