Past Operators and Destinations at LCY

[BA318]

I'm interested in past operators and destinations at London City Airport.

I know of a few but curious as to other operators and where they flew and when. Any information would be appreciated!

Aer Lingus - Operated BAe146 - Just to Dublin?
Air Southwest - Newquay via Plymouth with DCH8
SAS - Copenhagen with Q400, ARN and OSL with RJ aircraft (leased)

Announced but never started:
Estonian - Tallinn with E170

[jensdad]

Eastern Airways operated to Newcastle for a little while. I think it was a Saab 2000, but possibly a J41.

[TCU]

On 30th April 1993 I flew London City to Berlin Tempelhof and back (5th May) with a little German airline called Conti-flug who operated a BAe146-200 D-ACFA

My one and only LCY flight to date

[DGAC]

Don’t forget Brymon

[Fly.Buy]

A few years back I flew out on a Augsburg Airways Dash-8 (short version) to Frankfurt.

Worthy of mention an interesting visitor to land at the airport in 2006 was a British Eagle / Air Atlantique DC6. At the time it was said to be the largest aircraft to have landed at LCY but I’m not sure if this has now been superceeded by the new E-jets ?

[Kieron Kirk]

I flew with my father from LCY to DUB on the 27th July 1995 on VS3303 BAe.146-200 EI-JET.

We returned on the 24th August 1995 on VS3308 again in EI-JET.

Kieron.

[Haven't a clue]

IOM/LCY has been operated by:

British European (146/200, Dash8/300)
EuroManx (RJ85, Dash8/300)
Aer Arran (ATR42/72)
VLM (F50)
British Airways Cityflyer (Eastern Saab 2000, BACF E170/190)

(E&OE but I've flown on them all!)

[Yellow Sun]

Eurocity Express 1987, became London City Airways in 1988 to CDG, AMS and BRU

YS

[Harry Wayfarers]

When LCY first opened Brymon were operating something like 5 CDG rotations daily, London City Airways (Airlines of Britain Group) were there also, not for so long before Loganair acquired their DHC7's.

Business Air, these days kinown as BMIr, had a BAe146 on sub for Lufty, I think it was operating a FRA route to/from LCY.

[tczulu]

There was a very short lived operation (2 months or so) in the 90's I think,that used a Do228 from somewhere up the Northeast of England. Memory might be playing tricks but I think they flew in the FIR and called for a join of controlled airspace at Barkway just North of Stansted. Can't remember their name!

[DaveReidUK]

There was a very short lived operation (2 months or so) in the 90's I think,that used a Do228 from somewhere up the Northeast of England. Memory might be playing tricks but I think they flew in the FIR and called for a join of controlled airspace at Barkway just North of Stansted. Can't remember their name!

Are you thinking of Suckling Airways? They flew the Dundee-LCY route, though using 328s rather than Do228s.

If not, it's one more to add to the list of former LCY airlines, anyway.

[tczulu]

I don't think so. However, can't find any info on the net. Will ask some former Atc chums,might have better memories!

[Herod]

AirUK/KLMuk? LCY-AMS?

[Harry Wayfarers]

And who could forget Austrian Airlines:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c0eaofrdTo

[posso]

Back in 2006 there was a short lived service operated by Wight Airlines..Sandown Isle of Wight to LCY. Three round trips a day using Navajo G-BBNT.
They did a 75 quid day return special, so had to have a go, splendid never been from the IOW to central London so fast, approx. 30 mins, (plus cheaper than a peak time train fare to Waterloo).


Alas only lasted a few months, back to the boat & train!

[dixi188]

Used VLM from Antwerp a few times in 2007/8. Fokker 50.

[GiveMeABreak]

World Airlines, BAe146, AMS. 1996 short lived.

[BA318]

Thanks for the replies. All very helpful.

Harry, that's Swiss. They also had the heavy landing RJ which had to be floated across the dock for repairs.

[Harry Wayfarers]

Thanks for the replies. All very helpful.

Harry, that's Swiss. They also had the heavy landing RJ which had to be floated across the dock for repairs.


Yes, brain cells and all that, it was Austrian that tried F70 operations and then decided better not to.

[GiveMeABreak]

Also...
Sabena, DHC-8
Flexair Do-228, RTM, 1990
City Sky Bus, Do-228, 1994 not sure where but short lived again.

[Harry Wayfarers]

VLM operated to/from Monchengladbach, I positioned a flight crew on them one time.

[Goldencane]

Brymon was the first, they did all the hard work including the first landing at Canary Wharf early eighties with the dash 7. Capt Harry Gee in command.

On start up of the first commercial flights the service operated PLH-LCY- CDG then several CDG rotations, the aircraft then operated back to PLH in the evening for routine maintenance. The PLH-LCY-PLH sectors didn't last long, low pax numbers, therefore engineering came up with a maintenance plan that did not require the aircraft to return to PLH every night.

[OpsSix]

Eastern Airways operated to Newcastle for a little while. I think it was a Saab 2000, but possibly a J41.

Indeed it was a J41. It arrived empty most of the time and then usually departed with single passenger loads.

Once the announcement was made that the route was going, it was pretty full nearly every day. Odd.


Another operator was OLT to Bremen.

[jensdad]

It arrived empty most of the time and then usually departed with single passenger loads.

Once the announcement was made that the route was going, it was pretty full nearly every day. Odd.




That's where they went wrong. Maybe they should have told everyone that it was going when they launched it :)

[rightbank]

Flexair Do-228, RTM, 1990

I doubt it as its not on this list

https://www.londoncityairport.com/downloads/LCY42279_PURE_A4_Types%20of%20Aircraft-Concessions_2011%20fv_sm.pdf

[DaveReidUK]

I doubt it as its not on this list

https://www.londoncityairport.com/downloads/LCY42279_PURE_A4_Types%20of%20Aircraft-Concessions_2011%20fv_sm.pdf

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Dornier_228-202K%2C_Flexair_AN1170453.jpg/640px-Dornier_228-202K%2C_Flexair_AN1170453.jpg

[Cymmon]

Didn't KLM start a short lived service from the original Sheffield City Airport?
Also a business operator offered a daily link from there but unsure whether that ever operated.

[rog747]

Kosmar Greek Holidays had seen Tyrolean AW operate their Dash 7's into the greek Islands namely Paros and Naxos (next to mykonos) and talked to London City Airways in 1987 about a possible charter flight on a Friday night from LCY to PAS using a 50 seat Dash 7

the premium cost would have attracted the passengers wanting to go direct to Paros or Naxos by avoiding a LGW-ATH night flight then a 7 hour ferry from Piraeus port to the islands - there were no fast ferries then only the conventional car ferries of dubious origin

back then the Friday night ATH charters were often seriously delayed - the norm was 12 hours or more either ATC or Tech, or both! - many were op'd by KT TriStars or Dan Air and Amberair and their AOG reputation went before them especially at weekends in july and and august causing the pax to miss the 7am ferries to the islands and losing 2 days of their holiday

after much discussion with LCYairways we decided not to go ahead as fuel costs went up due Middle East issues and the operation was although exciting and quite doable it needed careful planning for ops and crewing

BA (CF) now successfully operate LCY to both mykonos and further down to santorini with the EMB jets (skiathos too i think)

[DaveReidUK]

Kosmar Greek Holidays had seen Tyrolean AW operate their Dash 7's into the greek Islands namely Paros and Naxos (next to mykonos) and talked to London City Airways in 1987 about a possible charter flight on a Friday night from LCY to PAS using a 50 seat Dash 7

Presumably the idea lasted only as long as it took someone to find a DHC-7 Flight Planning Manual.

1370 nm in a Dash 7 ???

[rog747]

Presumably the idea lasted only as long as it took someone to find a DHC-7 Flight Planning Manual.

1370 nm in a Dash 7 ???

there were stops planned both ways of course - cannot recall where though

[Flap40]

AirUK operates the 146 from LCY to EDI and AMS. They also operated the F50 to MAN. They also operates to RTM but I can’t remember if this was only the F50 or was also the 146 (they certainly did RTM-STN with the 146).
AirUK/KLMuk did Sheffield to AMS with the F50 but I don’t think there was a LCY service.

I don’t think the VLM LCY-JER has been mentioned yet.

[Herschel Krustofski]

AirUK operates
AirUK/KLMuk did Sheffield to AMS with the F50 but I don’t think there was a LCY service.


I think there was a short lived Sheffield to LCY service operated by BA Citiexpress Jetstream 41.

[one11]

Liverpool was yet another VLM F50 service in 1994

[TCAS FAN]

Air Wales ATR 42 Swansea/Cardiff.

[CloudHound]

Any photos of the DC6 at LCY?

[surely not]

I flew back BSL-LCY on a Crossair Saab 2000 back in the late 1990's. Memorable mainly for the very strong thunderstorms just off the Essex coast that tossed us around quite a bit.

[canberra97]

Any photos of the DC6 at LCY?

Plenty online including on airliners.net.

[twochai]

Brymon was the first, they did all the hard work including the first landing at Canary Wharf early eighties with the dash 7. Capt Harry Gee in command.

All true, but DHC did the early heavy lifting with the revolutionary Dash 7.

1) Convinced the ARB/CAA to recognise that there was technical and commercial justification for STOL aircraft to be certificated to different standards than the usual FAR 25 Transport Category (i.e. 7.5 degree approach slope (although this was later reduced to 5.5 degrees to allow other, less capable types in).

2) Considerable lobbying and marketing in support of the LCY concept, which gave London Docklands the courage to proceed with the airport against much resistance.

3) Bought Brymon and supported it financially for three years after its collapse when the pound went south in 1983.

[WHBM]

I think more of the routes I have used from LCY have gone than remain !

Conti-Flug 146 to Berlin Tempelhof. My first LCY trip. They subsequently extended midday from Berlin to Venice, and advertised through service from LCY, though hardly any pax did so.


AirUK 146 to Belfast, given up. British European DH8-300 to Belfast, given up. Scot Airways (operating for Cityjet) to Belfast, given up. Hmmm.

Cityjet to Nice.

British Midland to Leeds, on an ATR-42. Actually it was an Air Atlantique aircraft wet-leased in with an oddball paint scheme. I was one of (very) few pax, it didn't last long. Included a landing on the cross-runway at LBA, which was apparently a rarity. Likewise once had a Cityjet departure from Dublin for LCY off the old short north runway 11/29, now closed, most surprising until I looked up its length and found it was actually longer than LCY !

VLM to Manchester, at one stage about 8 daily, shame that went.

Jet Magic Emb-135 to Cork. Purple livery.

Ones I didn't take included Sabena (remember them) DH8-300, and even 146, to Brussels. KLM Dornier 328 to Berne, Switzerland (a commuter codeshare but full KLM livery). Malmo Aviation 146 to Stockholm. SAS Q400 to Copenhagen (very short lived), and the ludicrously-named World Airlines, who started just two daily round trips to Amsterdam for a couple of months before losing their only aircraft to the bailiffs right on the LCY ramp, it was pushed to where gate 11 is now, writ stuck on the door, and the oldest LCY ramp van was wheelclamped right across the front of it. I would guess they had never paid their landing fees. Their startup publicity had included 50 London taxis fully liveried about the airline and Amsterdam, must have been a 12 month contract, they were on the road long after the airline went bust.

Brymon was the first, they did all the hard work including the first landing at Canary Wharf early eighties with the dash 7. Capt Harry Gee in command.Here's an actual video of it - it's landing on Heron Quay, just where the Heron Quay DLR station is now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANRlDw3nB9Y Bit of a wobbly one by Harry, but all credit to him for pulling it off, to whom there is a commemorative plaque at the foot of the DLR station escalators.

Any photos of the DC6 at LCY?