British Airways 737-200
 

hi all.i found an old book dating back to 1983 about aircraft movements at heathrow and gatwick and b/a had a few scheduled flights to spain and italy using 737s.i just wondered if the crews were based there or heathrow crews spent a week flying out of gatwick.

Could've been the ex Dan Air crews after BA took them over on a vastly reduced salary.

I think BA shorthaul didn't start their 737 operations (-236) until the late 70s so I suggest that for some years they would have been on principally mainline scheduled service.

IIRC the Danair whatever you like to call it did not happen til the early 90s.

LFH

British Airtours were operating 737s out of LGW at that time - could those aircraft and crews be used on the odd scheduled flight?

Thinking back in fact, I flew from Gatwick to Gibraltar (and return) in a BA 737 in May 1981 and it was a scheduled service, not IT.

The BA flights from Gatwick to Gibraltar were scheduled and were part of the long standing arrangement with Gibair which went back to BEA/Gibraltar Airways days.

Lots of 737-200 schedules out of LGW after the BCAL takeover with Gatwick based crews.

I remember in 1985 taking off behind a BA 737-200 at LGW and landing before it in PMI. The Captain came over slightly agitated asking what these "new" 300 series cruised at. ;)

Not at all sure it's relevant but I think I flew Gatwick- 'Milan-Bergamo' on a BA 737 in the early 1990s, a route I believe they inherited from Dan-Air...can't remember if it was a 737-200 or a CFM powered model

Amazing, the OP asks a question relating to 1983. One answer mentions that it could be ex Dan Air crews after the BA takeover. BA took over Dan Air on 8 November 1992. Another states lots of 737 schedules out of Gatwick after the BCAL takeover. That takeover took place in December 1987, BCAL ceased as a legal entity on 14 April 1988. Now someone else is talking about the 1990s.:ugh:

As we used to be told at school when doing exams over 50 years ago "before answering READ AND UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION"

I added info to chevron's post and, having looked at my log books from 1982 and 1983 can confirm that on the six visits I made to Gatwick during those two years, British Airways, as opposed to British Airtours, 737s were present, between two and four per visit.

I can't comment on how the aircraft and crews were organised. It may be that both Airtours and Airways had common crews at the time. Certainly at that period the vestiges of the 1970s policy of relieving pressure on Heathrow by forcing foreign carriers to use Gatwick were still in being. In an effort to mollify Iberia and the Spanish Government, some BA services to Spain were also moved and it would be these flights the 737s would be used for.

No he doesn't...it says 'going back to 1983' and it's not at all clear what the OP is after, hence I added my misty memory about the curiosity that is 'Milan -Bergamo' post 1992, it seems :-)

I was posted to LGW with my first command on the 737-200 the first summer after the BCal take-over. No logbooks here but think it was '87. All 737 flying was done by BA crews for both the scheduled mainline flights and the Caledonian charters. We had name badges with BA or Caledonian and would swop them as appropriate (I still have mine!). All 1-11s had moved to BHX by then so the sole short-haul aircraft was the 732 and both this and the TriStar did the Caledonian European charters. There were a few (4?) ex British Airtours 732s repainted into Caledonian colours with the high density seating with the rest in BA colours and scheduled seating. We even had two contract flown Guiness Peat 732s to enlarge the fleet and DDV, a 732 which could only be flown by suitably trained crews due to cockpit differences which flew to, I think, FNC. The next winter the GPA aircraft were put on the UK register and flown by BA crews but had a white livery with British Airways on the side.

Flew on a BA mainline schedule service B732 from LGW to LIS in July 1981. I remember the date as it was the day after Charles and Diana's wedding. I believe BA had transferred a number of scheduled services to the Iberian Penisula from LHR to LGW for a period in the early 80's.

I even had the pleasure of there and back to the Gambia ! Some trip !

I think GB airways flew the GIB services as a BA franchise on the 732 ??

737-200
 

Took my first command on the 737-200 at Gatwick, base training started on 11/01/1983 line training started 17/01/83 In the first two weeks had a good mixture of schedule and IT,ranging from Agadir to Stockholm,and numerous points in between Spent the next three years operating from Manc Birmingham and Gatwick Spent so much time in my car between the three bases that I changed to the 747 ,10 happy years on the100/200/400

hi csman.i am a bit of a scheduling freak and like to work out were aircraft and crews work and slip in the timetables.and you mention stockholm and it was this working into gatwick that spiked my interest as a 737 arrives from stkhlm late morning and returns to stkhm mid afternoon so as there was,nt an earlier departure to stkhlm so that this a/c came from lhr and returned to lhr i just wondered if the crew slipped and how did the crew return to lhw.its just my little interest. wow

wayoutwest
 

The info that you requested,from my logbook,the flight operated Gatwick -Copenhagen Stockholm .Night stopped and returned the same routeing Aircraft was a Gatwick based aircraft flown by a Gatwick based crew

many thanks csman,

OK, I dug out my logbooks and from 89 to 92 Gatwick based crews on BA 737-200 operated to the following destinations in no particular order:-
EDDF LPPT LPFR LSGG EHAM EKCH LEMD LIMJ ESSA LEBL LXGB LIML LEMG EGJJ LIRN LIME LEPA and maybe some more I've missed and forgotten with advancing senility.