The good old days in Air UK Ops
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Joined: Oct 1999
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The good old days in Air UK Ops
Its not often that I post a msg on this site, but sale of Buzz and the demise of KLMuk has made me think about my days at Air UK.
I started as an Ops "boy" (even at the age of 21) who spent his day running around the room with a chingraph and telex paper, writing mvts up on the board (ah, the good old days) and trying to avoid being hit by a stray pen or telephone (which one Controller would often launch if a duty pax manager would ring and demand that her flight was not cancelled - just ask Crewing!). Waking the Controller up in the morning, post night shift, was also a hazardous job!
I left after just three years to join the dizzy heights of the charter world and longhaul flights. However, I never regained the desire to see my airline succeed in a demanding market. I think that we all cared and wanted to see the company do well but the management let us and our customers down. There were and still are people working in STN who have worked, indeed grafted, for Air UK for many years and I wish you all well and all the best for the future whatever it holds for you.
As for me, I've jumped ship again (the Germans were coming this time) and decided to become one of those annoying people who make Crewing's life hell, and I don't mean cabin crew! Mind you, I was once told that if I ever refused a duty I'd be linched and so to this day I'm wary of getting on the wrong side of the Crewing shift!
Cheers to you all.
P.S. One of the controllers was writing a book about the history of Air UK, does anyone know if he finished it?
I started as an Ops "boy" (even at the age of 21) who spent his day running around the room with a chingraph and telex paper, writing mvts up on the board (ah, the good old days) and trying to avoid being hit by a stray pen or telephone (which one Controller would often launch if a duty pax manager would ring and demand that her flight was not cancelled - just ask Crewing!). Waking the Controller up in the morning, post night shift, was also a hazardous job!
I left after just three years to join the dizzy heights of the charter world and longhaul flights. However, I never regained the desire to see my airline succeed in a demanding market. I think that we all cared and wanted to see the company do well but the management let us and our customers down. There were and still are people working in STN who have worked, indeed grafted, for Air UK for many years and I wish you all well and all the best for the future whatever it holds for you.
As for me, I've jumped ship again (the Germans were coming this time) and decided to become one of those annoying people who make Crewing's life hell, and I don't mean cabin crew! Mind you, I was once told that if I ever refused a duty I'd be linched and so to this day I'm wary of getting on the wrong side of the Crewing shift!
Cheers to you all.
P.S. One of the controllers was writing a book about the history of Air UK, does anyone know if he finished it?
