Aberdeen Airways/Air Ecosse/Business Air
 

I have looked on the net, but cannot find an answer.

Was there a direct link between Air Ecosse - Aberdeen Airways - Business Air, then bmi Regional?

Or were they all seperate unrelated companies?:confused:

I think Air Ecosse became Business Air then became BMI regional.Aberdeen Airways was a different company,but I'm not sure if they disappeared or became something else.

Air Ecosse / Aberdeen Aw / Business Air
 

Air Ecosse an individual company performing regional routes and night time freight for the post office, demised early 80s. operate variety of a/c including SD330's, Bandeirantes

Aberdeen airways was previously known as Perigrine Airways, one route flown was ABZ to HUY, operated Cessna Conquests, Jetstream 31 and I belive Gulfstream I's. Fasiled early 90s

Business Air was seperate company, but believe took over some of the routes flown by Air Ecosse / Aberdeen Aw previously.

Hope this helps

I thought Business air became British Midland Commuter & had vanished before the name change to BMI? I have a photograph somewhere of a Business Air Saab in the British Midland "Diamond" colour scheme.

Abredeen Airways, I think I remember HS748s operating for them (or was that Highland)?

Air Ecosse, part of Fairflight? (Again from a fading memory). Their Bandits were regular night time visitors at Luton on the Data Post runs, G-POST?

I visited Aberdeen during the late 1970's and Ecosse had quite a large fleet with their H.Q. over the far side of the airfield.

http://www.airtimes.com/cgat/uk/aber...a/sm890326.jpg

Air Ecosse: loads of Bandits, I think they had a Twotter, SD330, SD360
Peregrine: C404, B200, JS31 (first operators of?), GLF1 - I'm sure in the mid 80s Peregrine had, or had use of, a Learjet.
Aberdeen Airways: I think was the scheduled arm? of Peregrine, memory bit hazy now! Had the GLF1s BMPA. BNCE, BRWN (one more?) & brought in 748s also - I recall BFLL (Limping Lil I think someone termed it, Danair days!!) & one or two more. Went belly-up 1991-ish.

Business Air to bmi regional
 

I think Jerbourg is right. From what I remember Business Air became British Midland Commuter. British Midland Commuter were rebranded to British Midland Regional (on SAAB A340's (correct me if I am wrong)).

British Midland then spent millions and some bright spark thought up bmi - I would have only asked £100:)!!

British Midland Regional became bmi regional who really came into their own sometime in 2003 with their own Air Operators Certificate.

If I got this totally wrong then please enjoy the laugh at my expense - I will.:}

Ah! Peregrine! Many a pleasant jaunt to and from ABZ on the G1, full free cabin service, courtesy of BP (I don't think they ever knew).

Peregrine ended up merging with Air Ecosse/Fairflight, I'm sure Aberdeen Airways had an input somewhere but I'm not sure what it was.

Again, I'm sure that Buisness Air were absorbed by BMI.

bmi regional has always had it's own AOC, originally from when it was Business Air.

LL even meant Langford Lodge..also from it's Danair days!:}:}

With regards Air Ecosse, the remains were purchased by Peregrine/Aberdeen Airways in the mid to late 80's, however Aberdeen Airways eventually went bust, in the early 90's.

The only link between Aberdeen Airways and Business Air was that Business Air picked up a few routes and night mails and a few staff when Aberdeen Airways went bust. Several of the Aberdeen Airways staff still work with bmi regional today.

Business Air itself has an interesting history. Although it's origins came about in the very early 80's, it was Ian Woodley and Graham Ross (with a few other individuals) who 'bought' the operation in 1987 and turned it into an schedule airline, that was eventually purchased by British Midland in April 1996. Over the next five years it went through a couple of identity and organisational changes to appear as bmi regional in 2001.

Despite all these changes, bmi regional still has a number of staff from the early days of Business Air, one of whom is now the MD of bmi regional.

One last point is that Business Air/bmi regional has always held its own AOC.

What happened to Ian Woodley? From vague memory didn't he get involved with what was then Manx? Wasn't there a group called 'Airlines of Britain' which he was involved with?

Graham Ross was/is with Eastern. Commercial director for Scotland or something along the lines of that - I think! Nice guy but quiet - nervous flyer from memory :) !

Just joining in
 

My creaking memory from the early 1990s recalls Aberdeen Airways operating from EMA to EDI & ABZ with a couple of old 748 Series one ex-Dan Dare and some even older G1s. At the time they and Air Ecosse, which I dont think was operating, were owned by Ali Ghandour, former Chmn of RJA then resident in the South of France, who also later owned Air Bretagne, possibly with the same G1.s. I recall a CAA Licence Hearing in the days when they had such things, when the lawyers for Aberdeen AW and BMA and possibly Business Air argued the toss over who should operate said routes. It was I think the decision to allow a free-for-all that sent Aberdeen AW down the Swanee. At some stage Air Ecosse had been in the hands of Air Group International led by one Gabriel Echeverria, who had regional airlines elsewhere, including in Colombia where he hailed from.
Can't remember what happened today though.

East Midlands - Edinburgh - Aberdeen over the years
 

Does anyone remember Inter City?

They were around in the early / mid 1980s and flew a SD3-30 every morning from East Midlands to Edinburgh and then onto Aberdeen, where the aircraft would day stop prior to returning to East Midlands in the evening.

Following the airline’s collapse, the route was taken over by Air Ecosse, who maintained the schedule, albeit upgrading it eventually to a 360. As well as the East Midlands service, they also had an Aberdeen – Prestwick – Belfast flight which, I think, connected with the Northwest Orient flights to Boston from Prestwick and was operated by Bandeirante and a rather spectacular Dundee – Carlisle – Heathrow service which was a twice daily 360 operation. It must have been quite a journey all the way from Scotland to Heathrow in the shoebox!

After a couple of years on the East Midlands route it was extended to include Wick, making EMA one of the few English airports to ever have a service that far north. And a Cessna Titan was also used for a service which originated in Aberdeen and daystopped at East Midlands. Although it was an Air Ecosse service, it was operated on their behalf by someone else - was it Hawk Aviation (who also did some crew flights for Orion)?

I'n not sure what happened next regarding the links between the airlines operating the routes, but following Air Ecosse’s demise, Peregrine took over the service, using Gulfstream 1s, and eventually upgrading, as others have noted, to the 748. Then as others have said, Aberdeen Airways took over but they didn’t last long.

Once Aberdeen had failed, Business Air took over, using the Saab 340. And eventually they ended up operating a Saab exclusively for British Midland (to Brussels?) and the rest as they say is history.

Everytime I see a BMI Baby 737 en route to Edinburgh I often think of the airlines that have plied the route in the past, and how many more passengers they must be carrying compared to the trusty old Shorts!

Always thought the Bandeirante looked great in Air Ecosse's red, white and gold paint job, but a bit of Air Ecosse lived on in another form after they stopped operating their own aircraft. Some of the ex-Air Ecosse staff moved from ABZ down to GLA to join Malinair in 1986. Malinair then began operating the old Air Ecosse ABZ-GLA-BFS service somehow using Ecosse's route licence and WG flight numbers with Dornier 228s or BN2 Islanders and even the odd leased in Aztec - bit different to the orange A319s on GLA-BFS now!

Quote: One last point is that Business Air/bmi regional has always held its own AOC.

Not meaning to cause confusion with my statement from earlier:O

When bmi regional started flying (bmi regional as a trading name under British Midland Airways Ltd) they got their own AOC, in other words, did not utilise the previous AOC held by Business Air etc. when they started flying out of ABZ in early 2003.

They seem to be doing well and expanding with more planes and route selection - unless you chaps know otherwise...

Inter City
 

Weren't 'Inter City' the scheduled arm of Alidair and the 330's an attempt to move them out of the Viscount-era??

Apologies for the thread creep...:):)

Air Ecosse/Aberdeen Airways
 

See
http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=1129575
and
http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=0239699

Flew Air Ecosse GLA/ABZ late '80s (sure flight originated DUB not BFS)
Also Aberdeen Airways EDI/ABZ/EDI early '90s (part ABZ/EMA route)
I may be wrong, but I'm almost certain both airlines had 'SM' code.

I remember Air Ecosse from the late 70's - 78 or 79 when they started their first schedule service Aberdeen - Wick (can't recall if it then went on up to Sumburgh; or Kirkwall?). Servisair provided support in Wick until Air Ecosse staff were trained and could handle themselves.

The service was often flown by Reg Mulligan(?) who, along with his brother, Paul (a right reprobate!) were the main men as far as I recall. My memory also thinks that Air Ecosse was a subsiduary of Fairflight and that there was a father Mulligan in the background within Fairflight. Another Air Ecosse name from that time was Colin Pollard, a young sales guy who thought frequency would solve everythin; he went onto be Commercial Director of Gill Air but no idea what happened to him after that.

happy days....

Air Ecosse
 

I remember flying from ABZ to Belfast via Glasgow in the mid 80's with Air Ecosse. It was a small 9 seater with one pilot flying it. I got to sit in the First officers seat from ABZ-GLA and my bro got to sit in the FO's seat GLA-BFS. It was great for a 11 yo:ok:

Stu...:D