Highland Express
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Highland Express
Can anyone recall what Highland Express, the B747 operator based in the UK, was all about? The routes they flew, in-flight service offered, how many aircraft and reason for their downfall?
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747-100 reg G-HIHO, old plane so had to sub in expensive planes to cover while it was brought on to UK register, which I am led to believe was the beginning of the end for them, only lasted for the summer of 86' ish.
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Yeah, I used to work with alot of the ex Highland Express/ Lionair guys at EK. They said it was a real fun outfit to work for. The aircraft ,although fairly old, had remarkably low flying hours & went on to serve with Virgin Atlantic as G-VMIA which I had the pleasure to work on when I did my stint at VS. It had 2 lower galley modules via elevators to increase the passenger seating capacity on the main deck, one fwd of the wings & one just aft. I guess effectively it was a 3 storey airliner & was the workhorse for the VS Florida routes. Highland Express was the brainchild of Randolph Fields who tried to hook up with Richard Branson to set up the original concept of 'British Atlantic Airways' which wanted to operate a business/first class B-747 or DC-10 s product from London to New York after Lakers sad demise. Branson pulled out of the deal, much to Fields annoyance & went on to form VS. Fields then decided to go it alone as well & created Highland Express Airways using the ex American Airlines B-747-100 & operated it from Prestwick, Birmingham & London Stansted to Newark . As mentioned in previous threads it didn't last long & disapeared forever in the late 80's. I think I heard that Branson to this day still gives Randolph Fields free travel on VS as a goodwill gesture. To answer your question about onboard service I believe it was a low cost concept & the upper deck was a business class product.
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Fields had far more to do with VS than has been implied so far;
"It was not Richard Branson’s idea that he should own an airline. The idea was brought to him by Randolph Fields, a 31 year old barrister, who owned a ‘paper’ airline, British Atlantic, which had applied for a license to fly Gatwick to Newark airport in New Jersey, which is close to New York City. Fields had applied for the right to fly on a route that had been vacant since the collapse of Laker Airways two years previously. Fields had examined the feasibility of a new transatlantic airline and had made enquiries about purchasing aircraft. Fields, however, had no money to establish the airline.
For Virgin to move into the airline business did not make sense. Branson knew nothing about airlines. all of the expertise at Virgin was based generally on the entertainment business and specifically the record industry. Virgin had grown by a process of related diversification and so a move into airlines would be a radical departure. there was also the risk that the large investments needed to establish a presence in the airline business could ultimately force Virgin to bankruptcy. Nevertheless, Branson was persuaded of the attractiveness of the proposition and within a week of meeting, Branson and Fields agreed to be partners.
Field’s original concept had been of a dedicated business class service between London and New York. But Branson was uneasy with the notion believing that it did not have the right image from Virgin’s point of view. Instead he preferred the idea of a cut-price airline, partly because discounting was what Virgin had been built on. the American cut-price airline People Express had recently become successfully established as a transatlantic carrier and research convinced Branson that the market was big enough to support two cut-price carriers. also Branson came to believe that an airline was not that far removed from the principle of expanding into related businesses. In running a cut-price operation the potential customers would be the same people, young, mobile, relatively affluent - who for years had been buying records by Virgin artists in Virgin record shops. More recently they would have been buying Virgin books and videos and watching Virgin Films.
The agreement between Branson and Fields, drawn up in April 1984, gave Fields responsibility for the day-to-day running of the airline, while Branson considered the broader picture. Branson soon became disillusioned with Field’s ability to run his side of the operation and in September 1984, Virgin and Fields agreed that his contract should be terminated, with a sum of £125,000 paid in compensation. Fields remained a director and shareholder in Virgin Atlantic until an agreement was reached in 1985 to buy out his share holding for £1m, he was also given unlimited free travel on Virgin Atlantic. Branson now had total control of the airline."
Sadly, Randolph Fields died about 3-4 years ago. He lived in Jersey and was only in his late forties.
"It was not Richard Branson’s idea that he should own an airline. The idea was brought to him by Randolph Fields, a 31 year old barrister, who owned a ‘paper’ airline, British Atlantic, which had applied for a license to fly Gatwick to Newark airport in New Jersey, which is close to New York City. Fields had applied for the right to fly on a route that had been vacant since the collapse of Laker Airways two years previously. Fields had examined the feasibility of a new transatlantic airline and had made enquiries about purchasing aircraft. Fields, however, had no money to establish the airline.
For Virgin to move into the airline business did not make sense. Branson knew nothing about airlines. all of the expertise at Virgin was based generally on the entertainment business and specifically the record industry. Virgin had grown by a process of related diversification and so a move into airlines would be a radical departure. there was also the risk that the large investments needed to establish a presence in the airline business could ultimately force Virgin to bankruptcy. Nevertheless, Branson was persuaded of the attractiveness of the proposition and within a week of meeting, Branson and Fields agreed to be partners.
Field’s original concept had been of a dedicated business class service between London and New York. But Branson was uneasy with the notion believing that it did not have the right image from Virgin’s point of view. Instead he preferred the idea of a cut-price airline, partly because discounting was what Virgin had been built on. the American cut-price airline People Express had recently become successfully established as a transatlantic carrier and research convinced Branson that the market was big enough to support two cut-price carriers. also Branson came to believe that an airline was not that far removed from the principle of expanding into related businesses. In running a cut-price operation the potential customers would be the same people, young, mobile, relatively affluent - who for years had been buying records by Virgin artists in Virgin record shops. More recently they would have been buying Virgin books and videos and watching Virgin Films.
The agreement between Branson and Fields, drawn up in April 1984, gave Fields responsibility for the day-to-day running of the airline, while Branson considered the broader picture. Branson soon became disillusioned with Field’s ability to run his side of the operation and in September 1984, Virgin and Fields agreed that his contract should be terminated, with a sum of £125,000 paid in compensation. Fields remained a director and shareholder in Virgin Atlantic until an agreement was reached in 1985 to buy out his share holding for £1m, he was also given unlimited free travel on Virgin Atlantic. Branson now had total control of the airline."
Sadly, Randolph Fields died about 3-4 years ago. He lived in Jersey and was only in his late forties.
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good little site for airline history
http://airlines.afriqonline.com/airlines/index.html#H
http://airlines.afriqonline.com/airlines/index.html#H
I'm Just A Lawnmower
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Ah, Highland Express... I remember that they launched themselves at a press conference covered by the Scottish media. It showed a picture of a Tristar with a saltire tail. Of course, when they finally got of the ground they used the 747. It was in the days when Prestwick was 'Scotland's Intecontinental Gateway' so they had to use Prestwick which at the time was virtually a ghost airport.
The routes, as previously mentioned, were BHX-PIK-NYC (I seem to remember it being JFK) and then STN-PIK-NYC. A number of friends came up to visit from the south of England on the domestic leg. As half the pax got on and off at PIK the airline sold off the empty domestic seats for £10. Bargain!! On some occasions a charterd 1-11 (London European I think) was used for the domestic leg.
They lasted one summer. The service was unreliable and there was a bit of negative publicity about cancelled flights. Relying on one aircraft and one route was perceived to be a mistake. The Prestwick factor didn't help either, though I doubt they would have fared much better had they been allowed to use GLA.
The routes, as previously mentioned, were BHX-PIK-NYC (I seem to remember it being JFK) and then STN-PIK-NYC. A number of friends came up to visit from the south of England on the domestic leg. As half the pax got on and off at PIK the airline sold off the empty domestic seats for £10. Bargain!! On some occasions a charterd 1-11 (London European I think) was used for the domestic leg.
They lasted one summer. The service was unreliable and there was a bit of negative publicity about cancelled flights. Relying on one aircraft and one route was perceived to be a mistake. The Prestwick factor didn't help either, though I doubt they would have fared much better had they been allowed to use GLA.
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Yeah, I saw the 747 once, it was a fleeting glance when I was small but it is burned into my memory.
Not many photos exist of it. Just a handful
But here's one I made up specially for you guys
Not many photos exist of it. Just a handful
But here's one I made up specially for you guys
I remember going to Brum to photograph it. A beautiful sunny morning, just perfect. The flight was a couple of hours late, by which time it had clouded over and it was pi$$ing it down! Still got my shot though.
