LUTON History and Nostalgia
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Remembering the days of the spectators building and viewing area where visitors were encouraged. The booth in the corner was for pleasure flights.
Mark Osborne
Mark Osborne
aceatco, retired
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I started work there in 1967 and I am fairly certain, on occasions, BMA did a charter to Palma with an Argonaut; 4 hours!
And didn't Autair do Luton Palma with a HS748 with a tech stop at Perpignan? I remember it because it had to arrive Perpignan in daylight (no runway lights) but had to depart again before the temperature got too high.
And didn't Autair do Luton Palma with a HS748 with a tech stop at Perpignan? I remember it because it had to arrive Perpignan in daylight (no runway lights) but had to depart again before the temperature got too high.
I started work there in 1967 and I am fairly certain, on occasions, BMA did a charter to Palma with an Argonaut; 4 hours!
And didn't Autair do Luton Palma with a HS748 with a tech stop at Perpignan? I remember it because it had to arrive Perpignan in daylight (no runway lights) but had to depart again before the temperature got too high.
And didn't Autair do Luton Palma with a HS748 with a tech stop at Perpignan? I remember it because it had to arrive Perpignan in daylight (no runway lights) but had to depart again before the temperature got too high.
after the awful BMA stockport and air ferry DC-4 crashes in June their days were seriously numbered and piston a/c in the main on IT holiday flights from the UK were quickly replaced with newer jets such as 1-11's and caravelles or at least comets or prop-jet Viscounts Vanguards and Britannia's
(The vanguards of BEA were mostly not charters but the low midweek YN night tourist excursion fares offered by BEA to BCN PMI NAP MLA GIB and so on offered very low fares and full packages were arranged by BEA silver wing Holidays)
Gaytours did charter the BEA vanguards from MAN.
It took some years for the term 'charter airline' to return to respectability,
although Inex Adria, S.A.M of Italy, TAE and Spantax (to a lesser extent) still flew their piston DC-6's and 7's into the UK on holiday charters for some years after into the 1970's.
in July 1968 BY took delivery at LTN of their first 737 and Monarch commenced ops that year.
autair and laker took their first 1-11's in 1968 as had Channel in 1967
Channel in 1968 and BKS (in 1969) with their new Tridents
BUA and Caledonian took their first charter 1-11 500's in 1969
in 1969 Dan Air at LTN quickly set up their 1-11 base in response to Lunn Poly's need for IT contracts due to the demise in Nov 1968 of parent British Eagle. Dan Air by 1971 had five 1-11's on its LTN base.
i gather autair also used the older Elizabethans on IT charters to Corsica and Corfu being two islands they flew to along with using the 748's later on.
Last edited by rog747; 29th Aug 2017 at 20:14.
I had a jump-seat ride on one of Autair's 748s which was operating Luton-Mahon (Menorca) one of a series of charters. We made a planned tech stop at Perpignan southbound but I can't remember now if it was necessary on the return leg.
Yes it was daylight and I think Perpignan was considered by Autair a Cat C airfield more for the surrounding terrain and lack of landing aids rather than any problems with runway lighting. I would think that there was runway lighting at Perpignan for the Air Ferry crash there occurred in the evening. Incidentally in those days the old airfield at Mahon consisted of a couple of huts and a very rough single strip more resembling the remains of an old wartime airfield.
Yes it was daylight and I think Perpignan was considered by Autair a Cat C airfield more for the surrounding terrain and lack of landing aids rather than any problems with runway lighting. I would think that there was runway lighting at Perpignan for the Air Ferry crash there occurred in the evening. Incidentally in those days the old airfield at Mahon consisted of a couple of huts and a very rough single strip more resembling the remains of an old wartime airfield.
Last edited by OUAQUKGF Ops; 30th Aug 2017 at 08:57.
I flew TMI to Mahon a few times from LGW on a Skyways wet lease in 68 I do not recall any tech stops but we did once lose the water meth injection at V1 which gave a very good view of the stone wall at the end of the then very short old runway
but not sure if they could do AGP MLA or GIB for instance with a full load of 73Y
yes 1967 was the last summer of the BM Argie's -
after the awful BMA stockport and air ferry DC-4 crashes in June their days were seriously numbered and piston a/c in the main on IT holiday flights from the UK were quickly replaced with newer jets such as 1-11's
after the awful BMA stockport and air ferry DC-4 crashes in June their days were seriously numbered and piston a/c in the main on IT holiday flights from the UK were quickly replaced with newer jets such as 1-11's
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They used a mixture of Autair 1-11's before it became Courtline and Dan-Air Comet 4's for some of the airports Courtline did not have a base at. Teesside comes to mind for the Comet. Actually did Court have any bases away from Luton?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5-FZgOIqko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5-FZgOIqko
Last edited by LTNman; 2nd Sep 2017 at 10:41.
court line bases
They used a mixture of Autair 1-11's before it became Courtline and Dan-Air Comet 4's for some of the airports Courtline did not have a base at. Teesside comes to mind for the Comet. Actually did Court have any bases away from Luton?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5-FZgOIqko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5-FZgOIqko
then in 1973 Court bought out Horizon Hols and 4S Travel who were staunch BUA/BCAL customers/charterers at LGW and MAN whose bulk IT flying then went over to a Court operation
- so from then on the Court Line presence at LGW and also MAN hugely increased
They used a mixture of Autair 1-11's before it became Courtline and Dan-Air Comet 4's for some of the airports Courtline did not have a base at. Teesside comes to mind for the Comet. Actually did Court have any bases away from Luton?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5-FZgOIqko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5-FZgOIqko
BRS and CDF Rhoose Clarksons used Court Line and often they did a CDF-BRS hop then to the destination
OU Crews operating from Rhoose were accommodated in The Water's Edge Hotel (Now demolished) at Barry. As far as I know there were no Court Line Outstations after the demise of Autair's scheduled services but I left them in 1971 and could well be wrong.
OU outstations
many positioning flights were done all over the show to Rhoose BRS NCL LGW BHX and STN
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The terrible Dan air comet crash in Spain 1970 I beleive this was a clarkson charter but wasn't this from Manchester did clarksons use these until they got there own aircraft
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BBC ON THIS DAY | 3 | 1970: Holiday jet goes missing over Spain