They were common at EGCC in the '60s. I well remember their twin Avons rattling the peace of the Bollin Valley woods as they blasted Paris-wards off 24.

One day, passing the 06 threshold in the school bus (the Wilmslow road crossed close to the western end of 24 in those pre-tunnel days, with gates closed to road traffic for 06 arrivals) we saw a Caravelle had run off the end of the runway and was axle-deep in the mud. I seem to recall it took some time to move.

As an aside I saw my first VC10 from that bus, a diversion from Heathrow (East African I think) landing on 06 as we waited at the gates.

My late former boss at SAS Manchester, (Willie Mason), told me that the first ever SAS Caravelle to land there deployed it's chute in flamboyant fashion. Was it a statement, or simply that there wasn't much runway there way back when?

Saw a Swissair Caravelle stream the chut on landing T lhr in mid 60s. Even then i imagine Atc not impressed as several go arounds. Not sure why it did it as stopedwell short of western end of 28L . Fo slid down a rope from bbc door to go and inspect while fire and maintenance vehicles headed for it so perhaps had a prob with brakes after landing

Just done a little research and my one and only flight on a Caravelle, a series 12 was the last flight by Air Inter on August 3rd 1991.

F-GCVK , Nantes to Paris Orly, lined up at 1614 and arrived at 1650. Seat 18D.

"My late former boss at SAS Manchester, (Willie Mason), told me that the first ever SAS Caravelle to land there deployed it's chute in flamboyant fashion. Was it a statement, or simply that there wasn't much runway there way back when?"

Probably quite short back then. Since the mostly prop era of the mid '60s it's been considerably extended at both ends in several stages to the couple of miles it is today.

Pleased to note that 25 years on it still exists as a ground trainer

https://www.planespotters.net/photo/...uper-caravelle

I'm with SSD in remembering the Caravelle's appearances at Ringway. When I stalked the terraces in the '70's they were frequent enough but stood out from other types both on the ground and airborne. The AF evening arrival was usually a Caravelle along with regular Sunday appearances by Sterling. The holiday charters accounted for the bulk of appearances with Aviaco being the front runner along with JAT. Infrequent visits uncluded Transavia and Transeuropa, the French Air Charter International and an Italian outfit that used to stand in for Alitalia, (SAM I think). I'm not sure if Spantax and Balair used to operate Caravelles into Ringway as well. The only chutes I saw streamed were AF's.

After reading this thread I got my Classic Civil Airliners Guide from 1920-1964 out. Suprisingly there is not a section on the Caravelle but there is a section on the Vickers Viscount V.708 and oddly it features the Air France version. F-BGNK was, in fact, the first Viscount to be built and the first to be exported. It first flew on 11th March 1953 and delivered on18th May.

Unfortunately it crashed fatally during a crew training flight on 12th December 1956 near Paris killing the five Air France crew.

Fifth production Viscount (MSN 8, first Air France V.708), preceded by a batch of V.701s for BEA.

Slap on the wrist for the editor, David Donald, required then!

I also remember Altair of Italy operating some Caravelle III's into Manchester 1981-1983 ish?

PS: Anyone interested in purchasing said Caravelle book by John Wegg in English? PM me.

SAM, like a number of European charter operators of the era, were a subsidiary of the national carrier, Alitalia in this case, using a hand-me-down fleet with minimal livery modifications. Employed on holiday flights in peak season, much of their off-season work would often come, as apparently here, from chartering back to their mainstream owner. Air Charter were the same with Air France, and likewise Aviaco with Iberia.

Transeuropa had a substantial holiday flight programme from Spain into Manchester for Harry Goodman's Intasun holiday brand, in the period before he started in-house operator Air Europe. Knowing Goodman they had probably just managed to undercut Dan-Air by a pound or two. There was a further Spanish Caravelle charter operator called TAE, who were notably rare, and generally just did odd subcharters.

Neither Spantax nor Balair had Caravelles, though I can see the latter running their owner Swissair's aircraft under their own flight numbers.

I remember seeing several Caravelles of Italian carrier Altair at Palma in summer 1983. It seemed bizarre that travellers from one Mediterranean country would take package holidays to another.

With its cockpit and engine commonality with the Comet, did the Caravelle ever figure in Dan Air plans? Perhaps the Comets were so readily and cheaply available, that it was just easier to operate this jet type before the 1-11's became available

MEA seems to be the only airline I can think of who operated the Caravelle and Comet side by side

Caravelle needed an FE, same as the Comet, so being a smaller aircraft there would be little cost advantage.

I think Aerolineas Argentinas were the other Comet/Caravelle buyer. Egyptair had several leased long-term from Sterling in the 1970s which ran together when the Tu154s, bought to replace the Comets, were sent back within months and some leased capacity was needed to fill the gap.

Beautiful aircraft, the Caravelle. We did see them occasionally at ABZ:

*Aviaco I'm sure did the early 70s IT flights to PMI with a Caravelle before the DC9
*Hispania in the early 80s (Fri pm when I saw it anyway)
*Sterling
*Minerve (France) - was a one-off flight c1985 for some reason I remember!

There is a tremendous display of old travel agency window aircraft models, including just about every Spanish Caravelle operator, in the long corridors leading to the departure gates at Palma airport. It's been there for a while, in multiple display stands.

Indeed.

Trying to recall whose I saw. Heathrow, Air France and Luxair certainly. Possibly TAP and Tunis Air. Gatwick, CTA, SAM, Transavia, Minerve, ACI, Transeuropa, Hispania, Sterling. Maybe the odd EAS. Altair rings a bell too. Sobelair?

Also, and in my case definitely: Finnair, SAS, Iberia, Austrian, Swissair, Alitalia, Royal Air Maroc, Sabena, JAT ....

My first flights aboard a Caravelle were LHR-BCN and return during the summer of '69. Iberia obviously, who were kind enough to give me ID100 tickets (freebees!) - in those days, the only way to fly!

Then, from 1972 onwards, various flights on Caravelles within Brazil on Cruzeiro do Sul's domestic network. Great days. Lively nights.

The first Caravelle to visit Manchester was F-BHHI on 30 July 1958.

Photo here of an Air France Caravelle towing its brake 'chute at MAN, May 1965,

Just spotted my (grave) error. Would be grave if madam read this :ouch: as I managed to get wedding date wrong by 10 years. For 1981 and 1982, read 1991 and 1992 at Glasgow. Must have been right at the end of its life.