Orion Airways Airbus 300s.

[GBYAJ]

Originally Posted by Mooncrest

I think Orion owned, or had use of, a Cessna 404 Titan for crew transport. It certainly had their logo on the tailfin.

ta, I remember seeing the kg logo on it.

Bit of registration nostalgia, in 87 bizarrely for the time there were 2 w patterns into ncl on a Monday from Mahon. Orion and Monarch with 737-200’s. Despite all the brand new -300’s they had between them we only got to see BHVH and BKHO from
Orion and Monarch BMON and DFUB.

In 88, the Monarch flight was planned to be a 757 and I was booked it on it with my parents. Sadly, the excitement of going on a relatively large and brand new 757 (had to wait until 1999 to get on G-BYAJ and 2006 to go on Monarch) was replaced by going on one of the oldest and smallest charter aircraft at the time, a BIA 1-11 400 when the series eventually started!

[Matt995]

Originally Posted by GBYAJ

I will have a look but threw most of my timetables out many years ago pre the internet thinking no one else would ever be interested!

looking back at my old flight notes I kept back in 1988, looks like if was flight number KG401/2 arrived NCL 1330, departed 1430

Originally Posted by Mooncrest

I think Orion owned, or had use of, a Cessna 404 Titan for crew transport. It certainly had their logo on the tailfin.

yes it was G-BKWA a Cessna 404 Titan!

[mustbeaboeing]

The same Cessna 404 was previously registered G-BELV and was operated by Executive Express at Luton.
They had a pilot based at EMA for the purpose of flying it.
Out of interest the same company operated G-BRIT. The Cessna 421C which was operated on behalf of Britannia Airways, although it was based at Luton.

[Flightrider]

Flightrider, you don't happen to have the summer 1988 BHX Orion Flight Timetable by any chance? I know the 2 remaining B737-2T5's, G-BHVH & G-BKHO were based, both in a revised colour scheme. Thanks

Yes, I will have - will take me a few days to dig it out but I'll definitely have it. I think I've still got an Orion full A4 line-by-line flying programme for a Summer 1988 week somewhere as well - I'll have a look. Part of a pile of stuff BoeingBoy gave me on what was my first ever jumpseat landing on an Orion 737-300 into MAN that summer.

[Matt995]

Originally Posted by Flightrider

Yes, I will have - will take me a few days to dig it out but I'll definitely have it. I think I've still got an Orion full A4 line-by-line flying programme for a Summer 1988 week somewhere as well - I'll have a look. Part of a pile of stuff BoeingBoy gave me on what was my first ever jumpseat landing on an Orion 737-300 into MAN that summer.

Wow, that would be fantastic Flightrider if you have any Orion timetables from summer1988! - I bet the jumpseat landing was an experience!

[Flightrider]

The 1988 Newcastle schedule does indeed have a Monarch 757 listed as operating MAH-NCL-MAH for Horizon Holidays on Mondays - MON489 arriving at 1535 and MON488 departing at 1705. I guess this must have been changed in a late tour operator chop-around. There were two British Island 1-11 flights from LGW (BIA2005 at 0630 which w'd to Glasgow for Horizon and BIA2701 at 1045 which did a W pattern to somewhere not listed at the time of publication of the Airport Timetables UK. Horizon obviously had quite some Monday Mahon flying - there was a Novair DC10 from Gatwick, an Orion A300 and Dan-Air 727 from Manchester, a Monarch 737-300 from Glasgow (back in the day when there were three based there, with Monarch doing virtually everyone's Glasgow flying) and many more.


The Orion 737 programme at Birmingham for 1988:


Aircraft 1

Sat KG817 BHX 0630 - REU - 1135 BHX KG818 Horizon

Sat KG2207 BHX 1300 - JER - 1540 JER KG2208 Lewis's

Sat KG875 BHX 1715 - ALC - 2305 BHX KG876 Horizon

Sun KG2465 BHX 0005 - GRO - 0505 BHX KG2466 Intasun

Sun KG807 BHX 0645 - LEI - 1320 MAN KG920 Horizon

Sun KG919 MAN 1420 - LEI - 2055 BHX KG808 Horizon

Sun KG827 BHX 2230 - GRO - 0330 BHX KG828 Horizon

Mon KG835 BHX 0810 - MAH - 2040 BHX KG836 Horizon

Mon KG2417 BHX 2230 - ADB - 0740 BHX KG2417 Falcon/Owners Abroad

Tue KG7673 BHX 0950 - GUT - 1300 BHX KG7674 (guess Orion must have had the MOD trooping flight contract for Gutersloh)

Tue KG801 BHX 1400 - TFS - 2345 BHX KG802 Horizon

Wed KG809 BHX 0045 - PMI - 0630 BHX KG810 Horizon

Wed KG803 BHX 0800 - ALC - 1400 MAN KG992 Horizon

Wed KG991 MAN 1500 - ALC 2150 BHX KG804 Horizon

Wed KG212 BHX 2250 - IBZ - 0440 BHX KG213 Orion scheduled service

Thu KG811 BHX 0940 - LEI - 1620 BHX KG812 Horizon

Thu KG837 BHX 1730 - AGP - 2359 KG838 Horizon

Fri KG819 BHX 0710 - MAH - 1300 BHX KG820 Horizon

Fri KG877 BHX 1400 - SKG - 2135 BHX KG878 Horizon

Fri KG847 BHX 2230 - CFU - 0615 BHX KG848 Horizon


Aircraft 2

Sat KG2413 BHX 0705 - PMI - 1250 BHX KG2414 Redwing

Sat KG208 BHX 1435 - PMI - 2020 BHX KG209 Orion scheduled service

Sat KG2601 BHX 2130 - ZTH - 0635 BHX KG2602 Sunmed (tech stop at QTV on the way home)

Sun KG212 BHX 0755 - IBZ - 1345 EMA KG762 Orion scheduled service/Horizon

Sun KG761 EMA 1455 - IBZ - 2045 BHX KG213 Horizon/Orion scheduled service

Sun KG829 BHX 2145 - FAO - 0430 BHX KG830 Horizon

Mon KG813 BHX 0940 - CFU - 1745 BHX KG814 Horizon

Mon KG2411 BHX 1900 - GRO - 0005 MAN KG2410 Redwing/Owners Abroad

Tue KG2409 MAN 0105 - GRO - 0610 BHX KG2412 Redwing/Owners Abroad

Tue KG833 BHX 0720 - AYT - 1705 BHX KG834 Horizon

Tue KG831 BHX 1820 - HER - 0335 BHX KG832 Horizon

Wed KG867 BHX 0700 - QTV - 1200 BHX KG868 Horizon

Wed KG843 BHX 1300 - RHO - 2220 BHX KG844 Horizon

Wed KG839 BHX 2345 - CFU - 0730 BHX KG840 Horizon

Thu KG208 BHX 0900 - PMI - 1445 BHX KG209 Orion scheduled service

Thu KG2891 BHX 1625 - FAO - 2300 BHX KG2892 tour operator not listed

Fri KG845 BHX 0015 - AGP - 0650 BHX KG845 Horizon

Fri KG825 BHX 0905 - HER - 1840 BHX KG826 Horizon

Fri KG815 BHX 1945 - HER - 0500 BHX KG816 Horizon


There was also an Orion A300 PMI-BHX-PMI on Saturdays and a 737-300 AGP-BHX-AGP on Sundays.


As well as the relative oddity of the Orion 737 flying a Jersey roundtrip on Saturdays (I think Britannia did this for a year or two afterwards and seem to recall some Air UK Leisure 737-200 Jersey flying not long after that), the Birmingham 1988 Saturday schedule also has the Brymon Twin Otter operating a charter to Bembridge (with a W pattern to Luton!) for Warner Holidays. I bet that's a departure point that hasn't been seen on the Birmingham Airport screens ever since!

[Matt995]

thanks alot Flightrider, quite amazing to see how many flights were not actually for Horizon!!

I believe there was also an A300 flight to Palma on Tuesdays, KG 861/2, arrive 1320, depart 1500

So many UK charter airlines in those days!!

[Moneymatters]

It was based in ABZ and (I think) operated by Peregrine (Andy Hornblower). I was based in ABZ working for BCalH before joining Orion

[TLoraine]

There is also an Orion Airways facebook group (76761820155) which may be able to help provide more info.