Unwell_Raptor
26th May 2003, 16:33
Mike Keegan (the 'K' in BKS) has died. Here is his obit from The Times (copyright acknowledged). ===============================
AFTER wartime service as a flight engineer on Lancasters, Mike Keegan went into the airline business and became a highly innovative private operator in both the cargo and passenger fields. In the 1960s and 1970s he owned and ran Transmeridian Air Cargo, then Europe’s largest all-cargo airline, and in the 1970s and 1980s British Air Ferries (BAF), based at Southend.
Keegan, who took over BAF in 1971 with a promise to make it a “fun airline”, was one of the characters of the airline industry in his era. BAF was one of the earliest airlines to open its doors to women pilots and Keegan enjoyed the sensation when the airline’s inaugural Southend-Düsseldorf service turned out to be an all-girl affair.
Passengers at first assumed that the woman’s voice welcoming them aboard the Dart Herald airliner was that of a stewardess, and were astonished to learn that it was the aircraft’s first officer on the flight deck. At the end of the flight there was spontaneous applause when the Herald’s 26-year-old captain, Caroline Frost, treated them to a silk-smooth landing.
Thomas Denis Keegan was born in Liverpool in 1925. He left school at 16 to become an apprentice at Vickers, and in the early years of the Second World War was employed on assembling Wellington bombers. As soon as he was old enough he joined the RAF, training as a flight engineer and serving in the European theatre and in the Far East. It was during his RAF service that he became known as Mike and, gratefully leaving behind his given names, was universally called by that name ever afterwards.
Demobilised as a sergeant, he worked for two years for Skyways, at the same time qualifying as a private pilot himself. He continued to fly until he retired.
With a couple of colleagues he next set up BKS Air Transport and Engineering, which converted ex-RAF DC3 transport aircraft for civilian use, and operated them on charter. One of its first routes was to Johannesburg. This was a 45-hour flight, with the aircraft stopping only for fuel, as night stops involving hotels for passengers were not included in the budget calculations. BKS was also involved in the Berlin airlift of 1948-49, helping to fly in supplies to the city, then isolated in the Soviet zone of occupation, when overland routes were cut by the Russians for almost a year.
Keegan eventually sold out to his partners in BKS, Barnby and Stevens, but he retained the spare parts and engineering side of the business. At Southend he branched out into various enterprises, including Airline Air Spares, which became a major stockist for civil aircraft parts. He also started a factory manufacturing agricultural machinery, and another making vending machines. In addition he ran a restaurant, a finance company and an aircraft leasing business, Transworld Leasing.
In 1968 Keegan bought Transmeridian Air Cargo (T-MAC) and over the next ten years saw it become Europe’s largest all-cargo airline, with services to Hong Kong, Nigeria, Zambia and the Bahamas. Among its aircraft were 14 Canadair CL44 “swing-tail” transports, a long-range four-engined turboprop based on the Bristol Britannia and capable of carrying cars.
In 1976 Keegan sold T-MAC to Cunard, who combined it with IAS Cargo Airlines to form British Cargo Airlines. Meanwhile, in 1971 he had acquired British Air Ferries, which had been formed from a merger of Silver City Airways — pioneer in 1948 of cross-Channel vehicle services with its Bristol freighters from Lympne to Le Touquet — and Channel Air Bridge.
At this stage BAF was still operating piston-engined Carvairs, DC4s modified to carry heavy freight, including motorcars. With car air travel in the doldrums in the face of fast and frequent cross-channel sailings carrying with the vastly increased volume of overseas holidaying and commercial vehicles, Keegan modernised the fleet. He acquired turboprop Viscounts and Dart Herald aircraft, and expanded BAF’s passenger routes to include Belgium, Holland, Switzerland and the Channel Islands, as well as France.
BAF also had a thriving charter business connected with the oil industry in Britain, Egypt, Algeria and Libya. Southend Airport was largely supported by Keegan’s enterprises, BAF, Airline Air Spares and BAF Engineering employing more than 1,000 staff at their peak.
Another of Keegan’s enthusiasms was motor racing. In 1976 he bought a controlling share in the troubled Hawke Racing, where in the late 1960s and early 1970s David Lazenby had been one of the major builders of 1600cc Formula Ford cars. Keegan moved its manufacturing operations to Southend, where he sponsored the racing career of his son Rupert, one of the bright hopes of British racing and Formula 3 champion in 1976.
He set about building a Hawke F3 car, but the project ran into problems. Lazenby sold the remainder of his holding and Hawke closed in 1979, the year in which Rupert Keegan won the British Aurora AFX Formula 1 championship in an Arrows A1 Ford.
In March 1983 Keegan sold British Air Ferries to Jadepoint, and in 1985 he retired to his villa in Spain. He is survived by his wife, Anne-Marie, and three sons.
Mike Keegan, airline operator, was born on September 9, 1925. He died on March 7, 2003, aged 77.
AFTER wartime service as a flight engineer on Lancasters, Mike Keegan went into the airline business and became a highly innovative private operator in both the cargo and passenger fields. In the 1960s and 1970s he owned and ran Transmeridian Air Cargo, then Europe’s largest all-cargo airline, and in the 1970s and 1980s British Air Ferries (BAF), based at Southend.
Keegan, who took over BAF in 1971 with a promise to make it a “fun airline”, was one of the characters of the airline industry in his era. BAF was one of the earliest airlines to open its doors to women pilots and Keegan enjoyed the sensation when the airline’s inaugural Southend-Düsseldorf service turned out to be an all-girl affair.
Passengers at first assumed that the woman’s voice welcoming them aboard the Dart Herald airliner was that of a stewardess, and were astonished to learn that it was the aircraft’s first officer on the flight deck. At the end of the flight there was spontaneous applause when the Herald’s 26-year-old captain, Caroline Frost, treated them to a silk-smooth landing.
Thomas Denis Keegan was born in Liverpool in 1925. He left school at 16 to become an apprentice at Vickers, and in the early years of the Second World War was employed on assembling Wellington bombers. As soon as he was old enough he joined the RAF, training as a flight engineer and serving in the European theatre and in the Far East. It was during his RAF service that he became known as Mike and, gratefully leaving behind his given names, was universally called by that name ever afterwards.
Demobilised as a sergeant, he worked for two years for Skyways, at the same time qualifying as a private pilot himself. He continued to fly until he retired.
With a couple of colleagues he next set up BKS Air Transport and Engineering, which converted ex-RAF DC3 transport aircraft for civilian use, and operated them on charter. One of its first routes was to Johannesburg. This was a 45-hour flight, with the aircraft stopping only for fuel, as night stops involving hotels for passengers were not included in the budget calculations. BKS was also involved in the Berlin airlift of 1948-49, helping to fly in supplies to the city, then isolated in the Soviet zone of occupation, when overland routes were cut by the Russians for almost a year.
Keegan eventually sold out to his partners in BKS, Barnby and Stevens, but he retained the spare parts and engineering side of the business. At Southend he branched out into various enterprises, including Airline Air Spares, which became a major stockist for civil aircraft parts. He also started a factory manufacturing agricultural machinery, and another making vending machines. In addition he ran a restaurant, a finance company and an aircraft leasing business, Transworld Leasing.
In 1968 Keegan bought Transmeridian Air Cargo (T-MAC) and over the next ten years saw it become Europe’s largest all-cargo airline, with services to Hong Kong, Nigeria, Zambia and the Bahamas. Among its aircraft were 14 Canadair CL44 “swing-tail” transports, a long-range four-engined turboprop based on the Bristol Britannia and capable of carrying cars.
In 1976 Keegan sold T-MAC to Cunard, who combined it with IAS Cargo Airlines to form British Cargo Airlines. Meanwhile, in 1971 he had acquired British Air Ferries, which had been formed from a merger of Silver City Airways — pioneer in 1948 of cross-Channel vehicle services with its Bristol freighters from Lympne to Le Touquet — and Channel Air Bridge.
At this stage BAF was still operating piston-engined Carvairs, DC4s modified to carry heavy freight, including motorcars. With car air travel in the doldrums in the face of fast and frequent cross-channel sailings carrying with the vastly increased volume of overseas holidaying and commercial vehicles, Keegan modernised the fleet. He acquired turboprop Viscounts and Dart Herald aircraft, and expanded BAF’s passenger routes to include Belgium, Holland, Switzerland and the Channel Islands, as well as France.
BAF also had a thriving charter business connected with the oil industry in Britain, Egypt, Algeria and Libya. Southend Airport was largely supported by Keegan’s enterprises, BAF, Airline Air Spares and BAF Engineering employing more than 1,000 staff at their peak.
Another of Keegan’s enthusiasms was motor racing. In 1976 he bought a controlling share in the troubled Hawke Racing, where in the late 1960s and early 1970s David Lazenby had been one of the major builders of 1600cc Formula Ford cars. Keegan moved its manufacturing operations to Southend, where he sponsored the racing career of his son Rupert, one of the bright hopes of British racing and Formula 3 champion in 1976.
He set about building a Hawke F3 car, but the project ran into problems. Lazenby sold the remainder of his holding and Hawke closed in 1979, the year in which Rupert Keegan won the British Aurora AFX Formula 1 championship in an Arrows A1 Ford.
In March 1983 Keegan sold British Air Ferries to Jadepoint, and in 1985 he retired to his villa in Spain. He is survived by his wife, Anne-Marie, and three sons.
Mike Keegan, airline operator, was born on September 9, 1925. He died on March 7, 2003, aged 77.