Originally Posted by
YVRLTN
What an incredible memory, thanks so much for those photos - how I miss LTN in those days... I remember the Merchantman too, was that used on regular flights?
Air Bridge Carriers / Hunting Cargo Airlines based a Merchantman at Luton from 1979 to 1994. Originally used for 6 nights a week flying the Sun newspaper to Glasgow with an empty ferry return (AK121/122P). Saturday night I think it did a newspaper flight to Belfast. During the day it would regularly be reconfigured for horse flights, with Dublin, Beauvais and Rome-Ciampino amongst the destinations. Into the 1990's they were used on DHL flights, with a nightly Luton-Heathrow ferry (BCS412P), then Heathrow-Brussels-Luton (BCS412/411). Still used for horse flights during the day as well.
They carried a variety of colour schemes:-
G-APES 10/11/79
G-APEP 26/11/82
G-APEP 12/1/93
G-APEM 19/10/90
G-APES 17/11/93