Northeast Airlines (UK)

[lederhosen]

An alternative perspective is that Northeast was a halfhearted rebranding of the plucky but ultimately unsuccessful BKS, when it was subsumed into the moribund state airline BEA which was itself merged into BA. It was very much a sideshow in a very poor performing more or less state monopoly. Service was reduced until a private sector alternative in the shape of British Midland appeared and what was left of Northeast mostly evaporated. The only positive was that in marked contrast to later takeovers the pilots were dealt with pretty fairly (a youngish viscount captain having seniority to bid left seat 747 was one example I remember).

[Airbanda]

I think that's a rather harsh assessment lederhosen.

Certainly so far as Leeds was concerned NS and later BA Regional carried on in seventies in much same vein as BKS in it's later days. The latter might have been more fleet of foot in fifties/sixties but by time Viscounts were on scene it was pretty set in its ways.

Withdrawal from Leeds came when Viscounts reached end of their useful without a suitable replacement. While the runway was a factor at Leeds BA also pulled out of (IIRC) Cambrian's Bristol and Cardiff territory at same time.

British Midland stepped in at that point on LHR (only) but they never competed with BA on the route and independents took over all the other ex BA LBA services.

BMA competition on LHR trunk routes to GLA/EDI came later as part of Thatcherite 'free market' reforms.

[lederhosen]

I prefaced my comments by saying an alternative view. But having used Northeast a fair amount and from a commercial viewpoint they were pretty typical of how things were in the early seventies. Your comment about the viscount reaching the end of their life does not quite tie in with Midland replacing BA more or less one for one with viscounts. The regions were very much the bastard stepchild for BA and in Leeds at least they seemed delighted to pull out as soon as possible.

[A30yoyo]

Flightwatch #17 has it, apparently the story is that the huge increase in TBO on the Dart engine on the V802 in the late fifties left BEA with a big surplus of spare engines which they had fitted to their new Argosies. These proved underpowered hence were fitted with engines pulled from the 6 V806 Viscounts which became the V806X (fitted with Darts from the V802 spares pool). This all presumably a few years before BKS/BAS got the V806X.
As an aside our honeymoon was a Cambrian BAC-111 red-top 1 week IT to Marbella/Malaga (from Heathrow ,too) in Feb 1973 seem to remember it was £35 each :-)....also that year I think BEA launched some ultra-cheap fares to Paris, Amsterdam (and Brussels)...seem to remember £13 one-way with some travel/booking time restrictions...anyone remember it?

[lederhosen]

I remember it well from close involvement in the industry. However the internet translates 13 pounds in 1973 into 149 pounds in today's money. So a return flight to Paris seemed cheap at nearly 300 pounds. It shows what competition has done to prices and indeed efficiency in the airline world.

An airline with over 60 jet aircraft (Jet 2) having its head office at Leeds would have been inconceivable.

I vividly remember the powers that be looking for a part time chairman for (iirc) BOAC. A cartoonist paraphrased it as them needing someone for a couple of evenings a week, which shows how the government of the time viewed the importance of the job. That was to change when Lord King took over.

Its funny how time plays with memories. For instance the sun always seemed to be shining at Headingley when Boycott was batting. But Yeadon I always remember as gray and windy.