LUTON History and Nostalgia
Still an interesting photo and thanks for sharing!
Re: BY and The BFS-LTN schedule service: I was involved in the launch of this when I worked for BY. It was very successful, albeit dependant on the 737-200 being the right size and the slots, at least initially, working well between the Troopers. But, my memory is playing tricks, did we add LTN-GLA and/or EDI or were we just thinking about it before the Fleet Modernisation Programme ended the reign of the -200s?
Re: BY and The BFS-LTN schedule service: I was involved in the launch of this when I worked for BY. It was very successful, albeit dependant on the 737-200 being the right size and the slots, at least initially, working well between the Troopers. But, my memory is playing tricks, did we add LTN-GLA and/or EDI or were we just thinking about it before the Fleet Modernisation Programme ended the reign of the -200s?
Last edited by oncemorealoft; 10th May 2015 at 21:45.
The A320 in BA cols would have been a BMED aircraft which MON looked after at the time.
BY didn't operate to GLA or EDI......but sold a couple of very well maintained 737-200's to an outfit that did!
BY didn't operate to GLA or EDI......but sold a couple of very well maintained 737-200's to an outfit that did!
the newer fleet starting with G-BADP onwards had more powerful engines JT8-15A's
The -9 engines were eventually all modified to -9A standard, as I recall; I think the only difference was less smoke, the thrust was the same. What was -15A? I don't remember that designation.
Anorak off!
What was -15A? I don't remember that designation.
JT8D-15A: Same as -15 except reduced fuel consumption by incorporation of improved engine parts.
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foreign operators 1973-1976
Info I have 1973-1976 is a little patchy as I wasn't working at the airport until 1977 nor living locally, but I can remember the following:-
1973:-
Air Spain DC-8-21, Wed morning, Fri evening, Sat morning + evening, Sun evening
Aviaco Caravelle, Wed morning, Sat evening, DC-8-50 (Iberia) Tue afternoon, Sat morning
Germanair 1-11 500 3 flights each Mon/Fri from end October
Aer Turas C-54/DC-7 all year
1974:-
Germanair 1-11 500 3 flights each Mon/Fri all year, 4 flights Mon/Fri peak summer
Aviaco Caravelle, Fri evening x2, Sat morning x2, Sun evening (DC-9-30 from 15th Sep).
Maersk Air F-27 Sun evening, Jul/Aug/Sep
Aer Turas Britannia, C-54 all year
British Midland used Heralds in addition to their Viscounts on the Channel Islands schedules
Dan Air introduced 727-100’s
1975:-
Germanair 1-11 500 all year, Tue/Sat during the summer, Mon/Fri during the winter
Tarom IL-18 short series March/April to/from Oradea Mare
Inex Adria DC-9-30 Sun afternoon Dubrovnik
Aviaco DC-9-30 Sun morning Palma, Sun evening Alicante
A.T.I. DC-9-30 late Sat evening, late Sun evening, August
Bavaria 1-11 400 Thu evening/Sun evening from October 7th, 1-11 500 as well from November
Austrian DC-9-30 late Sun evening from November 2nd
(strictly Austrian Air Transport using leased Austrian aircraft, flight prefix OB)
Aviogenex TU-134 several ad-hoc charters Nov/Dec, usually staying 2-3 days
Aer Turas Britannia, C-54 all year
1976:-
Germanair 1-11 500 Fri/Mon all year
Bavaria 1-11 400/500 all year
Inex Adria DC-9-30/50 Sun lunchtime
Austrian DC-9-32/50 late Sun evening all year
Condor 727-100 Sat, March only
Sterling Airways Caravelle 6R/12 all year starting April, Mon/Fri/Sat/Sun, 4 flights weekly summer, up to 10 weekly winter including 5 on Sundays
Aviaco DC-9-30 Fri evening
Trans Europa Caravelle 10R Sun afternoon June
Aviogenex TU-134 ad-hoc charters, usually weekends
Aer Turas Britannia, C-54 all year
Geminair Britannia, scheduled cargo flights to/from Accra
I kept excessively obsessive anorak records after starting work at Monarch in June 1977 and will try and post these in due course. Any corrections/additions welcome.
1973:-
Air Spain DC-8-21, Wed morning, Fri evening, Sat morning + evening, Sun evening
Aviaco Caravelle, Wed morning, Sat evening, DC-8-50 (Iberia) Tue afternoon, Sat morning
Germanair 1-11 500 3 flights each Mon/Fri from end October
Aer Turas C-54/DC-7 all year
1974:-
Germanair 1-11 500 3 flights each Mon/Fri all year, 4 flights Mon/Fri peak summer
Aviaco Caravelle, Fri evening x2, Sat morning x2, Sun evening (DC-9-30 from 15th Sep).
Maersk Air F-27 Sun evening, Jul/Aug/Sep
Aer Turas Britannia, C-54 all year
British Midland used Heralds in addition to their Viscounts on the Channel Islands schedules
Dan Air introduced 727-100’s
1975:-
Germanair 1-11 500 all year, Tue/Sat during the summer, Mon/Fri during the winter
Tarom IL-18 short series March/April to/from Oradea Mare
Inex Adria DC-9-30 Sun afternoon Dubrovnik
Aviaco DC-9-30 Sun morning Palma, Sun evening Alicante
A.T.I. DC-9-30 late Sat evening, late Sun evening, August
Bavaria 1-11 400 Thu evening/Sun evening from October 7th, 1-11 500 as well from November
Austrian DC-9-30 late Sun evening from November 2nd
(strictly Austrian Air Transport using leased Austrian aircraft, flight prefix OB)
Aviogenex TU-134 several ad-hoc charters Nov/Dec, usually staying 2-3 days
Aer Turas Britannia, C-54 all year
1976:-
Germanair 1-11 500 Fri/Mon all year
Bavaria 1-11 400/500 all year
Inex Adria DC-9-30/50 Sun lunchtime
Austrian DC-9-32/50 late Sun evening all year
Condor 727-100 Sat, March only
Sterling Airways Caravelle 6R/12 all year starting April, Mon/Fri/Sat/Sun, 4 flights weekly summer, up to 10 weekly winter including 5 on Sundays
Aviaco DC-9-30 Fri evening
Trans Europa Caravelle 10R Sun afternoon June
Aviogenex TU-134 ad-hoc charters, usually weekends
Aer Turas Britannia, C-54 all year
Geminair Britannia, scheduled cargo flights to/from Accra
I kept excessively obsessive anorak records after starting work at Monarch in June 1977 and will try and post these in due course. Any corrections/additions welcome.
Last edited by cj241101; 13th May 2015 at 21:36. Reason: correction
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foreign operators 1977
OK, my operator list for 1977, summer only unless otherwise stated:-
Bavaria Germanair (after the 2 companies merged March 1977) 1-11 400/500Thu/Fri/Sun/Mon all year
Austrian DC-9-32/51 late Sun evening all year plus ad-hocs, most night time
Sterling Airways Caravelle 6R/10B/12 all year, 727-200 Sun evening Arlanda summer
Tarom IL-18 Sun morning Bucharest, Jan/Feb, Sat morning Oradea Mare Apr
Condor727-200 Fri/Mon from Apr-Sep
Aviaco DC-9-30, Thu morning, Sat afternoon, Fri morning+evening
Inex Adria DC-9-30/50 Mon evening, Fri evening, Sun morning+evening
Maersk Air B720B Sun evening May-Oct Arlanda
Eagle Air B720B several ad-hocs from/to Keflavik Aug-Dec
Air Malta B720B (leased from P.I.A.) Thu 1110-1210
Trans Europa Caravelle 10R Palma Sat afternoon Dec/Jan '78
Aer Turas Britannia all year
Cyprus Airways Britannia (Aer Turas), scheduled cargo service to Larnaca Thu all year
Geminair Britannia all year
Bavaria Germanair (after the 2 companies merged March 1977) 1-11 400/500Thu/Fri/Sun/Mon all year
Austrian DC-9-32/51 late Sun evening all year plus ad-hocs, most night time
Sterling Airways Caravelle 6R/10B/12 all year, 727-200 Sun evening Arlanda summer
Tarom IL-18 Sun morning Bucharest, Jan/Feb, Sat morning Oradea Mare Apr
Condor727-200 Fri/Mon from Apr-Sep
Aviaco DC-9-30, Thu morning, Sat afternoon, Fri morning+evening
Inex Adria DC-9-30/50 Mon evening, Fri evening, Sun morning+evening
Maersk Air B720B Sun evening May-Oct Arlanda
Eagle Air B720B several ad-hocs from/to Keflavik Aug-Dec
Air Malta B720B (leased from P.I.A.) Thu 1110-1210
Trans Europa Caravelle 10R Palma Sat afternoon Dec/Jan '78
Aer Turas Britannia all year
Cyprus Airways Britannia (Aer Turas), scheduled cargo service to Larnaca Thu all year
Geminair Britannia all year
Last edited by cj241101; 13th May 2015 at 21:35. Reason: amendment
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Fog Gatwick
I remember a Dan-Air invasion in the 70s, Comets, 1-11s & B727's amongst others one foggy night. I must see if I have some photos...
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foreign operators 1978
A much longer list than any previous year, mainly thanks to the Scandinavian influx. Summer only unless otherwise stated. (1979 will be even longer 
).
Bavaria Germanair 1-11 500 Fri/Mon March, Thu/Sun Apr-Oct
Austrian DC-9-32/51 late Sun evening all year plus ad-hocs
Sterling Airways Caravelle 6R/10B/12, B727-200 Arlanda Sun morning, around 14 flights per week with 6 on Sundays, plus large number of extra flights June-mid August
Condor B727-100/200 Fri/Mon from Mar-Dec
SATA (Switzerland) Caravelle 10R Tue/Fri 24/3/78-early June (planned until Oct but went out of business in Aug)
HB-ICN 7/4/78
Tarom IL-18 Sat morning 18/3/78-8/4/78 Oradea Mare
YR-IMD 11/2/89 OK wrong year but my 1989 camera was much better than my 1978 one....
Trans Europa Caravelle 10R Palma Wed evening 5/4-26/4, Palma Fri late evening Nov-Dec
Air Malta B707-123B (leased from Transasian) B720B (leased from Eagle Air or P.I.A.) Tue evening May-Dec
Aviaco DC-9-30, Caravelle Madrid (May and Oct only) Tue evening Thu evening, Palma Mon morning (DC-9)
Inex Adria DC-9-30 Mon evening, Fri evening, Sun evening
Kar Air DC-8-50 Jun-Sep, some flights with Finnair DC-8-62, mostly Thu morning
OH-LFY 20/7/78
Transair Sweden B727-100 Jun-mid Aug can only find 3 flights
SE-DDA 15/6/78 annoyingly they used to come in as it was getting dark hence the rubbish photo
Maersk Air B720B Jun-Jul
Braathens B737-200 Jun can only find 2 flights actually
Transavia B737-200 operated for Britannia Mon/Tue/Wed
PH-TVC 24/10/78
Middle East Airlines B720B Fri/Tue end Jul/Aug Milan-Linate not every week
Eagle Air B720B regular ad-hocs from/to Keflavik , usually in/out from maintenance
Aer Turas Britannia
Cyprus Airways Britannia (Aer Turas), scheduled cargo service to Larnaca Thu until April then it switched to LGW on a leased Tradewinds CL-44
Geminair Britannia
).Bavaria Germanair 1-11 500 Fri/Mon March, Thu/Sun Apr-Oct
Austrian DC-9-32/51 late Sun evening all year plus ad-hocs
Sterling Airways Caravelle 6R/10B/12, B727-200 Arlanda Sun morning, around 14 flights per week with 6 on Sundays, plus large number of extra flights June-mid August
Condor B727-100/200 Fri/Mon from Mar-Dec
SATA (Switzerland) Caravelle 10R Tue/Fri 24/3/78-early June (planned until Oct but went out of business in Aug)
HB-ICN 7/4/78
Tarom IL-18 Sat morning 18/3/78-8/4/78 Oradea Mare
YR-IMD 11/2/89 OK wrong year but my 1989 camera was much better than my 1978 one....
Trans Europa Caravelle 10R Palma Wed evening 5/4-26/4, Palma Fri late evening Nov-Dec
Air Malta B707-123B (leased from Transasian) B720B (leased from Eagle Air or P.I.A.) Tue evening May-Dec
Aviaco DC-9-30, Caravelle Madrid (May and Oct only) Tue evening Thu evening, Palma Mon morning (DC-9)
Inex Adria DC-9-30 Mon evening, Fri evening, Sun evening
Kar Air DC-8-50 Jun-Sep, some flights with Finnair DC-8-62, mostly Thu morning
OH-LFY 20/7/78
Transair Sweden B727-100 Jun-mid Aug can only find 3 flights
SE-DDA 15/6/78 annoyingly they used to come in as it was getting dark hence the rubbish photo
Maersk Air B720B Jun-Jul
Braathens B737-200 Jun can only find 2 flights actually
Transavia B737-200 operated for Britannia Mon/Tue/Wed
PH-TVC 24/10/78
Middle East Airlines B720B Fri/Tue end Jul/Aug Milan-Linate not every week
Eagle Air B720B regular ad-hocs from/to Keflavik , usually in/out from maintenance
Aer Turas Britannia
Cyprus Airways Britannia (Aer Turas), scheduled cargo service to Larnaca Thu until April then it switched to LGW on a leased Tradewinds CL-44
Geminair Britannia
Last edited by cj241101; 14th May 2015 at 15:32. Reason: photos added
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Some great shots there and a few memories
I wonder why Monarch went for the 720 and not the more popular 707? Was there a performance advantage with the 720 when operated from Luton's 7056ft runway?
I wonder why Monarch went for the 720 and not the more popular 707? Was there a performance advantage with the 720 when operated from Luton's 7056ft runway?
Last edited by LTNman; 15th May 2015 at 05:46.
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I wonder why Monarch went for the 720 and not the more popular 707? Was there a performance advantage with the 720 when operated from Luton's 7056ft
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Monarch 720B's/707's
Quote:-
I wonder why Monarch went for the 720 and not the more popular 707? Was there a performance advantage with the 720 when operated from Luton's 7056ft runway?
The 720B was over-powered with its 4 PW JT3D engines which also powered the larger 707-123B. Their max TOW was never restricted from the LTN runway, unlike the 707's they acquired - G-BFMI in 1978, replaced by G-BGCT in 1979, both of which were -123B's and went to Cyprus Airways after just a year each with Monarch. Apart from the regular European IT routes the 720B's also operated to St. Lucia once a week but lacked the range to get there in one go, stopping at Santa Maria in the Azores for fuel each way. Summer 1981 saw the 6 month lease of 707-355C G-AXRS from British Caledonian which still needed the fuel stop outbound but operated the return sector direct.
I wonder why Monarch went for the 720 and not the more popular 707? Was there a performance advantage with the 720 when operated from Luton's 7056ft runway?
The 720B was over-powered with its 4 PW JT3D engines which also powered the larger 707-123B. Their max TOW was never restricted from the LTN runway, unlike the 707's they acquired - G-BFMI in 1978, replaced by G-BGCT in 1979, both of which were -123B's and went to Cyprus Airways after just a year each with Monarch. Apart from the regular European IT routes the 720B's also operated to St. Lucia once a week but lacked the range to get there in one go, stopping at Santa Maria in the Azores for fuel each way. Summer 1981 saw the 6 month lease of 707-355C G-AXRS from British Caledonian which still needed the fuel stop outbound but operated the return sector direct.
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Maof
quote:-
No mention of MAOF B720's on Sundays !!!!!!!!
I haven't got that far yet! Maof started late October 1981 with ex-Monarch 720B's 4X-BMA (G-BCBA), and 4X-BMB (G-BCBB). They operated Tue and Thu as well as Sun, plus extras for Xmas/Passover etc. (hence 2 on the ground together below). The 720's were supplemented by 707-139B N778PA in September 1982 then ex-BA 707-336B 4X-BMC in July 1984, which coincided with them defecting to Stansted prior to going out of business in November 1984.
Yes, the flights were awful to handle landside. They had their own separate check-in area out of sight of the rest of the passengers. I used to feel sorry for the check-in agents who had to deal with large quantities of baggage which required (equally large) excess baggage payments resulting in delays while the required payments were extracted from unwilling customers. Flights invariably went late as a result, with excess baggage getting put on standby and only getting loaded once final payload figures were available. Happy days!!
4X-BMA 4X-BMB 7/3/82
No mention of MAOF B720's on Sundays !!!!!!!!
I haven't got that far yet! Maof started late October 1981 with ex-Monarch 720B's 4X-BMA (G-BCBA), and 4X-BMB (G-BCBB). They operated Tue and Thu as well as Sun, plus extras for Xmas/Passover etc. (hence 2 on the ground together below). The 720's were supplemented by 707-139B N778PA in September 1982 then ex-BA 707-336B 4X-BMC in July 1984, which coincided with them defecting to Stansted prior to going out of business in November 1984.
Yes, the flights were awful to handle landside. They had their own separate check-in area out of sight of the rest of the passengers. I used to feel sorry for the check-in agents who had to deal with large quantities of baggage which required (equally large) excess baggage payments resulting in delays while the required payments were extracted from unwilling customers. Flights invariably went late as a result, with excess baggage getting put on standby and only getting loaded once final payload figures were available. Happy days!!
4X-BMA 4X-BMB 7/3/82
Last edited by cj241101; 20th May 2015 at 11:19. Reason: revised photo
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another Monarch line-up
Taken on 17/1/82, this shot shows the 3 types Monarch operated between Oct 1980 when their 1st 737-200 was delivered and March 1983 when the 720B's were retired.
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Boeing 720B performance
As previously mentioned the B720B was over-powered and actually capable of higher rates of climb than would ever be used with passengers on board. London ATC loved them - requests such as "Monarch 2344, can you make FL290 by Midhurst" would be answered by "we can make FL370 if you like".
I experienced an extreme example on 17/3/82 on G-AZKM. This aircraft was stripped of its seats for part of the winter and kept on standby for any ad-hoc cargo flights. On this occasion, the regular Air Bridge Merchantman, which took newspapers to Glasgow 6 nights a week, was unserviceable and 'KM was "scrambled", loaded with around 18 tonnes of newspapers and headed to Prestwick (GLA was closed for runway work). I was "persuaded" (very easily of course) to travel as loadmaster, which was a welcome relief from an otherwise boring winter night shift. Before the return sector, the skipper asked me if I was up for a bit of fun i.e. they were going to see how quickly the empty aircraft, lighter than usual with no seats, carpets or cabin crew, could reach their cruising level of FL330. Answer:- 4 minutes 30 seconds ! i.e. around 7000 fpm climb rate. Yes the ears did pop a bit. Just as well it was dark and I couldn't see the horizon at a 45 degree angle....
I experienced an extreme example on 17/3/82 on G-AZKM. This aircraft was stripped of its seats for part of the winter and kept on standby for any ad-hoc cargo flights. On this occasion, the regular Air Bridge Merchantman, which took newspapers to Glasgow 6 nights a week, was unserviceable and 'KM was "scrambled", loaded with around 18 tonnes of newspapers and headed to Prestwick (GLA was closed for runway work). I was "persuaded" (very easily of course) to travel as loadmaster, which was a welcome relief from an otherwise boring winter night shift. Before the return sector, the skipper asked me if I was up for a bit of fun i.e. they were going to see how quickly the empty aircraft, lighter than usual with no seats, carpets or cabin crew, could reach their cruising level of FL330. Answer:- 4 minutes 30 seconds ! i.e. around 7000 fpm climb rate. Yes the ears did pop a bit. Just as well it was dark and I couldn't see the horizon at a 45 degree angle....
