I remember them one caravelle had the registration I GISA and I beleive another one had a serious engine explosion at Rome which burnt the fusalge and wrote the plane off a very nice striking blue scheme last time saw them at Luton was around 85/86 got picture some where

Yes; Houchin make ground support equipment, including air start compressors and towable generator sets.

They are still around: see Houchin ? ITW GSE

Ah Altair and the SE210 started one day with jump leads off a GPU !!

Wasn't there also an Alitalia subsidiary that flew charters etc in Alitalia colours but with other titles (name ?) and they used Caravelles and DC-9's ? I seem to remember them in LGW and perhaps LTN and STN.

One of these?

https://i.imgur.com/9hIvGtq.jpg
Luton Anorak

https://i.imgur.com/QcVvA5z.jpg
Luton Anorak

and of course the real thing

https://i.imgur.com/VCT2wLC.jpg
Luton Anorak

Love the pictures especially in the background pink courtline tristar was this around 73/74 last time last saw this was when they went bankrupt and parked at Luton waiting for a buyer possible cathypacific great pictures

SAM was a DC6 and Caravelle
the charter operator of Alitalia

Yup! Those are the ones. Thanks for the great photos. I used to love the way the same IT charters seemed to all arrive in as a straggly squadron, no doubt to do with their Holiday company client who wanted all the passengers to be together to make logistics easier.

Next to 2 Alitalia's there seems to be another Caravelle plus another one on the pond.

Another pic...apparently from another div day in 1977:

https://picclick.ie/Airliner-Slide-L...l#&gid=1&pid=1

G-BBEE is interesting...pretty sure it was the first Learjet on the UK register....puzzling to see the Tridents (thought they were CAT 3B by then?)

old tour companies and charter airlines LTN et al
 

some useless info below lol :ok::):)

the LTN tour companies 60's-80s'

CIT for Italy SAM DC-6 Caravelle

and Yugotours were inexadria aviogenex and JAT DC9 TU134 727 707
plus Balkan Holidays and Sunquest used Tarom charters Bulair/Tabso/Balkan
IL-18 TU-154 1-11 400

Belle Air were Air Malta 720B
Lyons Tours British Midland 1-11 500
Cosmos Monarch Britannia's 720B 1-11 737-200 757
Skytours/Riviera/Gaytours/Thomson/Portland and Budget Holidays used
Britannia Britannia's 737-200 707-320C 720B
Clarksons Autair/Court 1-11 400/500 Tristar Dan Air Comet

Lunn Poly/Everyman was LHR using British Eagle Britannia's 1-11 300 707-138B then Dan Air set up the 1-11 400 fleet from LTN 1969

VistaJet Air Spain DC-8 LTN (plus MAN LGW GLA BHX)

LGW main operators were:

CIT SAM as above
Yugotours as above plus Tarom IL-62
Horizon/4S BUA 1-11 500 VC-10 (then Cale//BUA BCAL) then after buy out in 1973 Court 1-11 500 and Air Spain DC-8
Lord Bros Laker 1-11 300 707-138B DC-10 10/30
Global Caledonian 1-11 500 707-320C Cambrian 1-11 400 Dan Air Comet 727-100 BMA 1-11 500
Wings used BUA and Laker
Intasun/Lancaster Air Europe 737-200 757
Enterprise Flair Hickie Borman Martin Rooks Thomas Cook BEA airtours Comet 707-436 Tristar
Pontinental Spantax Coronado
Clarksons Dan Air Comet 727-100

from late 80's
Owners Abroad Air 2000 757
before that a huge program with Dan Air Aviaco

BHX/CDD/EMA
Horizon (midlands) Orion 737-200
British Midland 1-11 500 707-320C

LHR
Swans Tours BKS/Northeast Trident 1E
Sovereign and Silver Wing BEA/BA GibAir mainline fleet Vanguard and Trident
Cambrian 1-11 400
Cadogan BEA/BA/GibAir as above
Enterprise BOAC 747-100 (PMI)

MAN
Clarksons Dan Air Comet 727-100
Arrowsmith British Midland then Laker 1-11 300 707-138B DC-10 10/30
Thomas Cook Dan Air Comet 727-100
Global Caledonian 707-320C 1-11 500 (and GLA too) Dan Air Comet 727-100
Yugotours and Balkan Holidays as above

SEN STN
Leroy and Lyons Tours Channel Airways 1-11 400 Trident 1E Comets
Tom Hill holidays and the travel club upminster Transeuropa Caravelles

also: Spanish airlines
Aviaco was a big player with Caravelle DC8-52 & 63 DC-9 often using Iberia aircraft including their 747
Spantax flew for many holiday companies into all of the UK including BHX and EXT Coronado DC-9 15/32 DC-8 61 DC-10 30
TAE Caravelle and DC-8 32/52

BIA 1-11 400/500 were seen all over and used by many smaller tour Ops.

4 caravelles
 

footie day?

rare for SAM/AZ to have 4 at once for holiday IT's

It was. Recall seeing it depart Heathrow 28L one afternoon in the late 1970s, held low until past T3, then into a near vertical climb to about 2000'.

I also remember the sterling caravelles landing the black smoke comming from there engines while landing was a sight .

Not strictly LTN, but it's then poorer neighbour Stansted, used to have a Scandinvasion every sunday evening when Caravelles of Sterling, 720's of Maersk and DC8's of Sunair (?) which arrived to ferry bus loads of students etc to the UK. It seemed the busiest time of the week at an otherwise empty STN. Did LTN also have some of these aluminium armadas from Scandinavia ? I realise that UK holiday makers were flown out in several aircraft from LTN on behalf of Pontinental etc, but was the reverse with foreigners arriving en masse to savour the delights of 1970s London, also true ?

Boeing Eng:

"....Puzzling to see the Tridents (thought they were CAT3B by then)"

Don't forget that although the aircraft might be certificated for CAT3B operation, that assumes that ABSOLUTELY EVERY component in the system in that specific aircraft is fully serviceable otherwise it is downgraded to CAT1.

Don't forget that every member of the crew has to have been trained in CAT3B operations and also has to be ABSOLUTELY CURRENT to be allowed to operate to CAT3B limits.

I never flew the Trident but it has happened to me on other aircraft that I have been screwed because the aircraft and I were fully current but the first officer was not.

Yep....fully aware of the limitations of Autoland systems (I deal with them every day!) :ok:

My hunch is that there were probably issues with LHR's ILS given the multiple a/c present....

Remember seeing Catair and Minerva caravelles as well at Luton possible ski charters or rugby charters they where the days

They were taken by me on the 14th November 1973 - there were five Caravelle's in total bringing in Italian football supporters for a game at Wembley between Italy and England (a friendly which Italy won 1-0).

I'm absolutely loving this thread, especially the photo of the four Alitalia / SAM Caravelles on the ground at the same time. I do wonder whether future generations will have the same fascination with a photo of four TUI 737s on the ground at the same time! I hope so.