Harry Goodman -Air Europe/ILG

[tubby linton]

Harry Goodman, one of the most influential figures in the UK travel industry over the past 50 years, has died aged 79.

The founder of Intasun parent International Leisure Group, Goodman pioneered low- cost package holidays and created a number of iconic travel brands.

His airline Air Europe was widely seen as the forerunner of the budget scheduled airlines of today.

Goodman founded Sunair Holidays at the age of 24, and with it became the first major entrepreneur in a travel industry which until then had been regarded as dull and conservative.

In 1970 Goodman created and the built the business that came to define the package holiday market – Intasun, which eventually became the ILG.

The group spawned such famous tour operating brands as Skyworld and Club 18-30.

ILG became the second largest UK tour operator and pioneered the Florida boom in 1979, bringing mass-market travel to UK holidaymakers as never before.

In-house carrier Air Europe was the earliest low-cost airline, becoming the first pan European airline with bases in all major UK airports as well as Madrid; Palma, Italy, Germany and Scandinavia.

Goodman saw his empire crumble in 1991 as a result of the first Gulf war, but he left a legacy that included many of today’s leading travel bosses who worked under Goodman in the 1980s.

As the industry evolved Goodman continued to reinvent himself. In 1997 he founded TV Travel Shop which was the world’s first 24/7 TV channel selling holidays direct to the public and was sold in 2002 to IAC Corporation.

In 2005 he entered the cruise market, purchasing the Retail Travel Division of Page & Moy and founding Totally Travel whose major brand is 1st4cruising.

In tandem with an unparalleled career, Goodman raised significant money for charitable causes.

As Chief Barker of the Variety Club of Great Britain he raised more than £20 million for disadvantaged children in the UK.

Goodman will be remembered for inspiring and influencing many of today’s travel entrepreneurs and industry leaders, who regarded him as one of the sector’s true founding fathers.

[Fly3]

Sorry to hear this news. Air Europe is still the best airline I ever worked for.

[HP6]

Air Europe; the first pan-european orange airline

[Doors to Automatic]

This chap is testimony to the fact that there is often the slimmest of fine lines between resounding success and failure. It was a very sad day when Air Europe stopped flying. RIP Harry.

[eckhard]

Air Europe was my first airline. Great company with top trainers and a real atmosphere (while it lasted) of growth and success. Thanks Harry, I learned a lot and and had a great time!

[pontifex]

Air Europe was also my first civil line. I have since flown for a number of others. None of than came close to AR. Then standard of airmanship, management and staff involvement were without peer. I wish all of or airline managements from their example. RIP Harry (and his first chief pilot Geoff Baldock).

[GKOC41]

Up there with Freddie Laker.
Air Europe was the first Airline I had an interview for and didn't get the job. My loss

[fantom]

My first jet command. My wife kept saying: 'this is so good, it can't last' .

It didn't.

[max alt]

I met Harry once bringing him back from Crete in Air 2000 days.The F/o was ex Air Europe and when Harry asked to come to the flight deck,he bowled in and said,"you two used to work for me then"?.True to say he was a character and we had a good chat.
My condolences to the family.
Max.

[Gordomac]

Of course, without Harry, there would have been no Air Europe. Most aircrew here will associate their very happy times with the airline within which many made friends lasting through today. Harry was the quintessential entrepreneur who deserved all of his successes for defining the title. We, ordinary AE employees hitched our wagons to this economic star and, in most cases, faired very well indeed. Indeed, RIP Harry and condolences to those closest to you, now left grieving.


TUBBY ; Excellent post.


PONTIFEX: Geoff was very much alive & well at the AE re-union of April 2016. Although many thought that both he & I were long gone. Scared the life out of several !

[Maxboost]

Air Europe was also my first civil line. I have since flown for a number of others. None of than came close to AR. Then standard of airmanship, management and staff involvement were without peer. I wish all of or airline managements from their example. RIP Harry (and his first chief pilot Geoff Baldock).

Sorry to hear about Harry, but concerned that Geoff Baldock’s name mentioned. Is he still with us? In fact, Geoff was AE’s Deputy C/P cum Training Manager; Des de Vertieul was the first C/P and is still going strong.

[Old Boeing Driver]

I met and dealt with harry many years ago on some charter business.

He was really good to work with and I enjoyed our "negotiations" He Won :-)

OBD

[rog747]

had the pleasure of looking after AE for a few years until the end at LGW

lovely airline and nice people

the major holiday companies i recall were sunair intasun and lancaster holidays

[Landflap]

Rog, looks as though you didn't look after it to well then eh ? "the end at LGW" saw most of us walking the streets. Harry was long gone at the end, doing other things.


Maxboost- see Gordomac's post. Geoff was fine two years ago. Don't know about here & now though.

[DCS99]

Only just saw this news.

Terribly sad when Air Europe folded.
Goodman was a good man - he laid the seeds for others to follow.

[LGW Vulture]

Glad to say Peter Smith still going strong. And continues to be very active on a number of aviation projects. ;)

[lederhosen]

Described by his closest family as an enormous risk taker, he was the archetypal east end barrow boy. He was excellent at hiring good people and backing innovation, but with a reputation for being lets say a bit flexible on the financial side. The spectacular growth of Air Europe was hugely underfinanced. The company had virtually no assets and when it folded it owed hundreds of millions. I have only heard good things about Air Europe operationally, but as with Air Berlin more recently the other side of the story should not be glossed over.

[Old King Coal]

Air Europe - some of the best years of my life! :ok:

Air Europe achieved a number of 'firsts' - events that all involved could be, and indeed were, immensely proud of. E.g. It was the first charter airline to start off with brand new equipment; it was the first charter airline to provide a quality cabin service; the first new airline to be immediately profitable; the first airline to take advantage of airline competition policy in Europe; and the first airline to bring down business class fares within Europe; the first European airline to gain ETOPS approval for the B757 (albeit working in cooperation with Monarch Airlines, who actually operated the first ETOPS flight on 1st May 1988) ... and so the list goes on.

https://www.pprune.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4474&stc=1&d=1521189150

https://www.pprune.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=4475&stc=1&d=1521189150

Harry, RIP

[Spartacan]

I caught the tail end of Air Europe. I was left with a brand new type rating and just a few yours. Took me ages to get another job. However, the training was excellent and that helped in the long run.

Agree with most of what has been said. Great fun company, excellent operation but aggressive expansion and the Gulf War contributed to its demise. However . . . the full story of that demise and how it actually happened has yet to be told!

One memory of 'Harry' that I will treasure. Sumptuous Christmas bash in London. Harry grabs the microphone and yells out:

"Are yer all enjoying yerselves?"

Several hundred crew go "mumble, mumble, mumble"

"I didn't hear yer!"

All shout "YES WE ARE!"

We could do with a few more Harry's to liven the place up!

[parabellum]

AE were a great airline to work for, good training and management and a nice work ethic throughout. At a personal level I have a lot to thank them for. None of it possible without Harry. Rest in peace now.

[pontifex]

Is that Peter Smith TP?

[Mooncrest]

Let me see if I've got this right. It was Errol Cossey, Martin O'Regan and Alan Snudden who were the initial movers behind AE. Originally all Dan-Air employees, they couldn't persuade Fred Newman to buy a fleet of brand new Boeings for Dan-Air so they took their idea to Harry Goodman. Alan Snudden bowed out early on but the rest is history.

[Chris Scott]

Refreshing to see so many tributes to a controversial character who provided many pilots and other crews with much-appreciated work, but who must have left a degree of hardship in his wake.

By the late 1980s Air Europe had become a formidable rival to my airline, BCAL, on short-haul. With the privatisation of BA, our boss, Adam Thomson, had warned HMG around 1986 that BCAL would not survive unless we were allowed to operate passenger schedules out of LHR. That didn't happen, and by the summer of 1987 we were pretty much up for sale or merger.

That was when we had the infamous summer visit from Mr Goodman, who was evidently unimpressed by our modus operandi. That, of course, included running most of our own support services such as catering, engineering, ground handling, uniforms, et cetera. It was clear that all that kind of stuff would be swept away if he was to invest a bean in BCAL, and that led to a headline in one newspaper:
BCAL's NOT WILD ABOUT HARRY

Fortunately for many BCAL employees, Harry walked away, and by Christmas of 1987 Adam Thomson had negotiated a take-over by BA in which our jobs and pensions were protected. But we sometimes wonder what would have happened to Air Europe and BCAL had the tough East-Ender and the benign Scot done a deal. RIP to them both.

EDIT
On reflection (and a bit of research on the 'net..), the negotiations involving several kinds of proposed merger between all or part of BCAL and Air Europe/ILG had been going on since mid-1986, so the date of Harry Goodman's high-profile visit to BCAL's Gatwick HQ may have been earlier than stated above. I'm reminded that BA's proposals to take over BCAL had been threatened with the possibility of an inquiry by the MMC (Monopolies and Mergers Commission). That obviously strengthened Harry Goodman's negotiating hand.

[chevvron]

In 1986, Headquarters Air Cadets chartered Air Europe for its programme of cadet camps in Cyprus and Gibraltar. I did Easter camp in Cyprus (Gatwick - Akrotiri) and to my surprise, AE were using a brand new 737-600 where other IT operators were still using -300s. I don't know if the last Easter Camp flight took place because we were the second camp of three and the group which came out to replace us arrived in the AE '737 but only stayed 2 days and were loaded into a Herc and sent home; a few hours later the yanks bombed Libya (so the station master was probably told to get rid of all non-essential personnel) which meant there was a charter flight to Cyprus wasted! Wonder if it was paid for by HMG?
Wife and I booked a holiday in Malta with Intasun in early '91; alas it was not to be because the group went under a few weeks before we were due to travel.

[lotus1]

My brother and I flew on a hour pleasure flight from Gatwick on Air Europe 757 must have Been 85 .We did a fly past at Exeter and Bristol .Great flight was completely full Believe A Mr fiddler organised it great flight.

[eckhard]

to my surprise, AE were using a brand new 737-600

Must be a typo there, chevvron.

AE only had 737-200/300/400 (classics)
AE went under in 1991 and the first 737 NG flew in 1997.

So, in 1986 it must have been a 737-200 or -300. The first -400 flew in 1988.

[chevvron]

Must be a typo there, chevvron.

AE only had 737-200/300/400 (classics)
AE went under in 1991 and the first 737 NG flew in 1997.

So, in 1986 it must have been a 737-200 or -300. The first -400 flew in 1988.

Maybe it was a -300 then , but it was certainly bigger (160 seats I think) than the 737s used by other operators at the time (Apr 1986).

[lotus1]

didn't intersun sub charter out there flights to other carriers.I know they used Danair flights I remember going to Palma on a Danair 727 and coming back on a Britishairtours 737.

[Mooncrest]

Intasun certainly used Dan-Air and British Airtours from LBA. Also Spantax and possibly BIA.

[WHBM]

Intasun in their earlier days used a lot of Spanish charter capacity, especially Caravelles from Aviaco and Transeuropa. Unlike UK-based charter night flights, departing just before midnight and back home at dawn, these used to operate in and out of Manchester etc at 2am/3am. Friday/Saturday nights there might be several aircraft in together. Bit of a nuisance for the handling agent staffing things.

[LAS1997]

I worked for Goodman Air Taxis in the early 1980's; this was a private jet charter company trading as MAM Aviation (later changed to MAMI) and we managed Harry's HS125 and later Gulfstream 2 (G-OVIP); from memory he flew regularly to Palma. The G2 was in Intasun colours and was the first on the UK register as I recall. Great days. RIP Harry.

[lotus1]

When aireurope started long haul was it Transamerica jumbos they used .I know they used Carribean Airlines jumbos to Barbados I think they was on Luxumberg Reg.

[rog747]

When aireurope started long haul was it Transamerica jumbos they used .I know they used Carribean Airlines jumbos to Barbados I think they was on Luxumberg Reg.

AE leased from
In 1989-1990, leased or sub-leased two B747-100s. One from Tower Air aka fat Freddie and for a longer period than the second sub-leased from Orion Air, a former usa based ACMI provider of sort. (cargolux i think was the same as Lion)

What routes were they used on, well MCO ACA BGI and BKK
they also ended up on palma's and faro's etc


edit i think the Caribbean airways lion 747's were leased to airtours Intl then an ANZ nice RR 747 was leased after those 2 pigs

[canberra97]

AE also operated a single DC10-30 at one point in the same white livery as their leased B747 with the addition of the Air Europe name complete with the small USA flag on the tail.

I wasn't aware of the leased DC10 until I recently came across a photo of it online.

[lotus1]

Yes you are correct Caribbean airways where Airtours met a couple in Barbados said had a terrible time with them had a 16 Hour delay outbound from stansted When airtours went in the Long haul market. I remember on the news The fun and games they had with the Orion one .They where the days Airtours also used AirAtlantas Jumbos use to see land at Alicante Saturday afternoon flight from Glasgow Last time saw this was around 2004 Also use to use the Skyjet Dc10.

[chevvron]

I seem to recall Spanish registered aircraft in Air Europe colours operating long after ILG went under; may have been called 'Air Europa'.

[rog747]

AE also operated a single DC10-30 at one point in the same white livery as their leased B747 with the addition of the Air Europe name complete with the small USA flag on the tail.

I wasn't aware of the leased DC10 until I recently came across a photo of it online.

the white dc-10 was OO-JOT it was not for AE UK but was
for part of the old Airlines of Europe Group

the Challengair DC-10 was painted in full AE colours and again was leased to air Europe Italy spa.
AE Italy morphed Volare became part of AZ and closed in 2008

and the Spanish arm of AE air Europa SA is still going strong today

[rog747]

AE did have orders (options maybe) with both MDD and Boeing back in the very early 1980's for DC10-30 and RR 747-200B with the prospect of gaining licences for long haul which they did not get then - the orders came to nothing

[WHBM]

Not unknown for non-UK subsidiaries of UK airlines to keep going well after the UK operation goes out of business. Court Line continued in South Africa, with same name, font and livery style, long after the UK one disappeared.

Convair 580 - Court Air | Aviation Photo #0144657 | Airliners.net (http://www.airliners.net/photo/Court-Air/Convair-580/144657)

AE did have orders (options maybe) with both MDD and Boeing back in the very early 1980's for DC10-30 and RR 747-200B
I think you have one order mixed here. AE placed orders for the MD-11, the DC-10 no longer being marketed by the time, but with Rolls-Royce engines. In the end McDD never progressed the RR engine version through to production.

http://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=330067

[lotus1]

On a early edition of wish you where here could have been around 84/85 they had a episode about Intersun and a picture of a mock up MD11 In Aireuropre colours.It was said after this report of Miami and Florida holidays the telephone exchange went down in Bromley where Intersun had a office .Did see a Dc10 in Jet24 lively subchartered in Aireurope another airline which went under in 86.

[chevvron]

The name of the tour company was Intasun not Intersun.

[rog747]

WHBM

AE's first and perhaps not well known orders (perhaps even just MofU's) for wide bodies goes way back to the very early 80's when they had a deal with BA for leasing back and buying aircraft - hence the ref to an order for a RR 747-200B (a -236?)

re the MDD order for a DC-10 30 again in 1980 or thereabouts the DC-10 was still in production

the AE MD11 orders came much later in 1989 for a 93 delivery with RR power

[canberra97]

WHBM

AE's first and perhaps not well known orders (perhaps even just MofU's) for wide bodies goes way back to the very early 80's when they had a deal with BA for leasing back and buying aircraft - hence the ref to an order for a RR 747-200B (a -236?)

re the MDD order for a DC-10 30 again in 1980 or thereabouts the DC-10 was still in production

the AE MD11 orders came much later in 1989 for a 93 delivery with RR power

The Air Europe Wikipedia page says exactly the same as your post regarding the RR powered B742 so there must be some truth to it.

[rog747]

canberra97
LOL - yes i just read that too -
ta, I handled AE for a few years at LGW until their sad demise and heard all sorts of stories and we saw loads of subbing and leasing both in and out with all parts of the IAG group then - I think the BA747 RR order may have been def credible - not sure about the DC10 order although I knew the MDD rep at LHR and LGW quite well when i was with BMA and he knew about it
the licences were not forthcoming so that was that

back in the early 80's I chartered several series of AE for our tour op division - very nice accommodating bunch - brand new planes and superb on board service - pax loved it

[WHBM]

I'm still surprised about any ex BA 747/RRs being leased out in the early 1980s. BA had a considerable need for these aircraft for longer haul routes where their original 747s did not have the capability (California/JNB/Far East nonstops), but they were severely restricted by government ownership on capital expenditure to about two new frames a year, when they wanted more.

The BA/AE 757 arrangement that came along in 1983-5 allowed AE to charter out their new 757 capacity in winter, while BA aircraft went the other way in summer. The upside for BA was the much more efficient 757 during the winter; in the summer and shoulders when the 757s went away they reinstated their much less fuel efficient Tridents, the last of which were withdrawn at the end of 1985 which coincided with the end of the arrangement. There must have been some sort of "by the hour" charging as the AE 757s seemed to dominate on BA's shortest 757 sector, the Shuttle from Heathrow to Manchester.

[rog747]

I'm still surprised about any ex BA 747/RRs being leased out in the early 1980s. BA had a considerable need for these aircraft for longer haul routes where their original 747s did not have the capability (California/JNB/Far East nonstops), but they were severely restricted by government ownership on capital expenditure to about two new frames a year, when they wanted more.

The BA/AE 757 arrangement that came along in 1983-5 allowed AE to charter out their new 757 capacity in winter, while BA aircraft went the other way in summer. The upside for BA was the much more efficient 757 during the winter; in the summer and shoulders when the 757s went away they reinstated their much less fuel efficient Tridents, the last of which were withdrawn at the end of 1985 which coincided with the end of the arrangement. There must have been some sort of "by the hour" charging as the AE 757s seemed to dominate on BA's shortest 757 sector, the Shuttle from Heathrow to Manchester.

British Airtours had a 747-236 RR which they had delivered brand new from Boeing which went back to mainline - could have been that one marked for AE?

[brakedwell]

Regarding rumours, I was with AE from start to finish. Peter Phillips, the engineering director, visited Rome to inspect a couple of Alitalia 747/200's when I was on the 737/200 in 1981 or 82, but that came to nothing.
I can't remember DC10's ever being talked about, unless they were a result of the BCAL take-over that never happened. ISTR remember some of us thought the MD11 was a bit of a gamble and going for B767-300's would have been a better bet.