British Eagle

src: www.britisheagle.net

British Eagle International Airlines is the premier independent UK airline that operated from 1948 until it became liquidated in 1968. It operates scheduled domestic and international and transatlantic scheduled and chartered services for many years.

Video British Eagle

History

Initial creation and operation

Harold Bamberg, a former wartime pilot, formed the airline on April 14, 1948 with a nominal capital of Ã, Â £ 100 as Eagle Aviation Ltd at Aldermaston. The initial fleet consisted of two wartime bombers converted to carry fruit and vegetables. The first aircraft to enter service was Halifax Mk 8 which was converted to civil registration of G-AJBL. It operates Eagle's first commercial flight, carrying cherry cargo from Verona to Bovingdon. This then ferries fruit from Italy and Spain to Covent Garden merchants. It joined the second Halifax, registered G-ALEF and was baptized Red Eagle . Both planes saw extensive service along with the other two during the Berlin Airlift.

The airline acquired Air Freight Ltd with three other Halifaxes in the same year. Eagle acquired three Avro York aircraft in late 1949, followed by eight other aircraft, and used it until early 1955 for passenger and cargo charter. The flight Eagle moved to Luton in 1950. For much of its existence, the company's headquarters is located at 29 Clarges Street, London W1 Central London.

In 1951, Eagle Aviation had won the first regular Government trooping contract, including the first regular contract awarded by the War Office for trooping flights between Britain and Singapore beginning in August 1951. It helped keep its fleet six Halifax and nine busy Avro Yorks and providing employment for 100 people including 12 pilots. The operation moved to Blackbushe Airport in 1952, followed a year later by the launch of a secondary scheduled service in collaboration with British European Airways (BEA), from which Eagle has purchased a large Vickers Viking fleet.

Starting from a scheduled operation

During 1953, the ever-expanding passenger Eagle Aviation charter operation included the first ever air cruise around the Mediterranean. Following Eagle's decision to sell the Yorks to rival the British independent Skyways for £ 160,000, the airline grew from charter to work as a scheduled service from a new base at Blackbushe Airport, using Vickers Vikings. The first was obtained from Crewsair, an independent British rival. Eagle, which at that time had set up Eagle Airways as a new company to run the scheduled business side (leaving Eagle Aviation responsible for all unscheduled operations, including trooping flights), inaugurated the first scheduled service on June 6, 1953 from London (Blackbushe) to Belgrade (via Munich), followed by London - Aalborg and London - Gothenburg. It also began operating domestic flights in the UK and additional international services to western secondary western destinations. Eagle's expansion is supported by 22 Vikings Vikings that have been retained from previous purchases from 37 former BEA examples.

Enter the holiday package market

In 1954, the Ministry of Aviation granted Eagle permission to operate a limited program of a new type of low tariff service incorporating air travel and holiday accommodation abroad at a cost far below the aggregate of each individual component if purchased separately. This new concept allows airlines to avoid regulatory restrictions that prevent private airlines from competing with their state-owned counterparts. It also helps improve fleet utilization.

When Thomas Cook & amp; Child travel agent refused Eagle's offer to take on the role of airline tour operator, Eagle acquired travel agent chain Sir Henry Lunn Ltd. This makes the airline one of the pioneers of the UK holiday package industry and perhaps marks the first opportunity in the UK, an airline being vertically integrated with its own tour operators (ie where airlines own or own a tour operator or both are part of a group integrated trip) British Eagle also acquired the Polytechnic Touring Association in the 1950s and formed Lunn Poly from two institutions in the mid-1960s.

The first inclusive flight (IT) flight Eagle is operated to destinations in Italy and Spain (including Majorca). To make the package more affordable and increase sales, Lunn began offering rental facilities. Between 1955 and 1960, many of the airline's aircraft carry the name of the Eagle Airways operation.

In 1957, the summer IT program included for the first time 15 days, complete packages to Costa Brava, Spain. This combined flight to Perpignan in the South of France with the next coach connection, with prices ranging from Ã, Â £ 32.50 for travel on Monday (Ã, Â £ 36 for weekend trips). 1957 is also the year of Eagle joining IATA.

Branch out

On July 26, 1957, Eagle established a subsidiary abroad, named Eagle Airways (Bermuda) , in preparation for the launch of a transatlantic scheduled service between Bermuda and New York, using the Viscount 800 turboprop plane. Within a year since the launch of the first transatlantic route, the scheduled North Atlantic operations are scheduled to be extended to Montreal, Baltimore, Washington and Nassau.

Acquisition of the first imported airplane

In 1958, Eagle acquired the first three of the last six Douglas DC-6s for long-term charter and unscheduled operations. This is the airline's first aircraft. They are also the first imported aircraft (the first batch of three sourced from the US). This acquisition marks an important change regarding the airline's aircraft carrier purchase policy because new laws are allowed (for the first time) that imported aircraft from overseas - usually American models - can be paid in dollars. Lack of access to foreign exchange to finance the purchase of overseas planes prior to amendments to the law has forced all private UK airlines to complete their fleet either with civilian/former British military aircraft or abroad built-in military surplus military aircraft that has served RAF Transport Command - especially Douglas Dakotas. Their state-owned counterparts should seek Government dispensation to import foreign aircraft, which are only provided when no suitable English alternative is available. These measures have been designed during the early postwar years to conserve as much of the rare dollar-denominated foreign currency reserves as possible.

Pioneered the low tariff scheduled service in the western

Eagle Airways (Bermuda) launched a commercial operation in May 1958 between Bermuda and New York, competing directly with the three most powerful airlines in the world - BOAC, Pan Am and Eastern Air Lines. Other regional services in the western hemisphere followed. Stimulated by low fares, traffic volumes in the Nassau - Miami and Bermuda - JFK sectors grew in such a way that it was possible to run the Viscount four times a day on the first and similar operations, three times a day in the last favorable. This increases Eagle, as well as the overall UK market share on these routes. This success provided the impetus for Eagle Airways (Bermuda) to launch scheduled weekly low fares flights by plane to London with DC-6C configured by all trainers. The use of foreign aircraft listed on the London route allows it to avoid strict licensing provisions (including those listed in the upcoming Civil Aviation Act (License), 1960) as it applies only to British aircraft. The status of Bermuda as a subsequent British colony means that there is no mutual consent of the necessary foreign authority. The new direct Flight Bermuda-London Eagle is a cheaper and faster alternative to the DC-7C BOAC service channeled through New York. However, the license terms that allow Eagle to operate scheduled services on this route require it to share its revenue with BOAC.

In November 1958, Eagle signed up to the Air Transport Advisory Board (ATAC), a contemporary British Government department responsible for air transport economic regulations, for licenses offering low fares on existing and planned scheduled routes to Cyprus, Gibraltar, Malta, Singapore, Bahamas, Caribbean as well as East and West Africa. For example, Eagle's tariff offers  £ 19 to Malta compared to BEA's  £ 52.60 and Singapore's  £ 199 rate compared to the  £ 351 rate charged by BOAC. This marks the first chance that a private UK airline is seeking approval to offer a scheduled tariff that undermines rates issued equivalent of a state-owned airline by a large margin. Low Eagle rates are designed to increase UK market share on airline routes the country has monopolized by stimulating demand. The airline believes that the UK economy as a whole will be profitable if given permission to offer this tariff, as a consequence of additional foreign exchange earnings earned to UK Exchequer resulting from increasing the UK share of total traffic. Losing BEA and BOAC filed objections with ATAC against Eagle's low rate proposal, which was upheld.

Break through even on scheduled operations

After six years of losses, Eagle managed to break even on what is claimed to be the largest network in the UK that operates an independent scheduled service consisting of 12 routes to Europe in 1959. By the late 1950s, all aircraft carrying Eagle Airways my name.

The early 1960s (1960-1963)

After Blackbushe's closure for commercial air traffic in 1960, Eagle moved to London Heathrow base, then known simply as London Airport .

The Eagle along with British United Airways (BUA) - its contemporary independent contender - have successfully lobbied the Government to bring about changes in legislation that has provided a state-owned virtual monopoly partner on scheduled services. This resulted in the 1960 Civil Aviation Act (License), which abolished the BEA and BOAC legal monopolies on scheduled domestic and international scheduled routes and - theoretically - provided equal opportunities for independents to develop such routes with the right themselves. Elang agrees with BUA and Caledonian Airways - an independent new company that then competes with it to get a license to operate a transatlantic scheduled service - that running a fully scheduled operation is the only way to build an airline with a long-term, stable future. He argues that the unscheduled nature of his business - especially trooping, ad hoc charter and IT fly planning - makes forward planning difficult because of extreme seasons and generally low margins. Therefore, Eagle sees its future primarily as a passenger and international cargo transport is scheduled with transatlantic ambitions.

Cunard Era

Cunard Eagle Airways

In March 1960, the Cunard Roasting Company bought a 60% equity stake of £ 30 million, resulting in a name change to Cunard Eagle Airways . The support of the new shareholder enables Cunard Eagle to be Britain's first independent airline to operate a pure jet airliner, resulting from a £ 6 million order for two new Boeing 707-420 passenger aircraft. Orders have been placed (including options on the third aircraft) in the hope of being granted traffic rights for transatlantic scheduled services. The airline took delivery of the first Bristol Britannia aircraft on 5 April 1960 (on lease from Cubana).

The acquisition of Cunard against a controlling stake in Eagle resulted in the appointment of Bamberg as their new aviation director, hoping that his knowledge of the industry would help them to take a significant share of the 1 million people who crossed the Atlantic by air in 1960. This was the first time more passengers chose to make their transatlantic across the air rather than the sea.

In April 1960, the Government approved new Colonial Trainers' tariffs for travel by the British population only on cabotage routes linking the UK with its remaining colonies. Despite being opposed by IATA, British airlines - including British IATA members - were free to introduce them from October 1, 1960 when British authorities controlled ticket prices at both ends. In addition to Eagle, the beneficiaries include BEA, BOAC, BUA, and Skyways.

From October 1, 1960, all the DC-6C trainers on the London - Bermuda - Nassau route were replaced with Britannias featuring a 98 seat layout, three classes of the first 14 classes, 66 economies and 18 Skycoach seats (only for British citizens). Like its predecessor, this is Bermuda-listed. An additional weekly operation of Skycoach using 113 Britannia 310 seats started on October 10, 1960. All revenues - including revenue from first class passengers - are shared with BOAC. The itinerary comes with additional Britannia and DC-6 charters during the height of summer. The operation moved to Heathrow in 1960 as a result of Blackbushe's closure to commercial traffic.

Cunard Line acquired a controlling stake in Eagle in March 1960 which resulted in the creation of a joint venture trade as Cunard Eagle . Founder of Eagle Harold Bamberg was appointed as the airline's aviation director. The new support enabled Cunard Eagle to order two new Boeing 707 jet planes in May 1961. In June 1961, Cunard Eagle became the first independent airline in the UK to be licensed by the newly established Air Transportation Regulatory Agency (ATLB) to operate. scheduled service on the main route of Heathrow - New York JFK, using Boeing 707 jet and turboprop Bristol Britannia with one trip frequency per day. This license is valid for 15 years - from 31 August 1961 to 31 July 1976. The airline also won the right to serve Manchester, Glasgow Prestwick, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and Washington. Passenger transport in the UK domestic sector and letters in all sectors are rejected. Similarly, requests for traffic rights to Toronto, Montreal, Detroit and Chicago were rejected. This decision made the BOAC angry, who lost money at the time. This attracted the Minister of Aviation Peter Thorneycroft, who was empowered to accept or reject ATLB's recommendations and to enforce or cancel an appeal against his decision. The state airlines cited his orders for 45 long distance jets Standard and Super VC10 and a previous ministerial pledge not to allow other British competitors on this route to support his appeal. The appeal was enforced, resulting in the revocation of the Cunard Eagle license in November 1961. Meanwhile the airline acquired two further Britannia aircraft in March and May 1961, both Pacific Air springs.

On February 27, 1962, Cunard Eagle received delivery of its first jet aircraft - Boeing 707-465 carrying the registration of Bermiran VR-BBW. Exactly one month later, on March 27, 1962, the commercial operation of the 707 began, initially completing the Viscount Cunard Eagle Airways (Bermuda) schedule in Bermuda - New York. The JFK was run on an ad hoc basis. This makes Cunard Eagle the first British independent airline to operate jet services with passengers who pay for tickets.

On May 5, 1962, the first airline 707 inaugurated the jet service schedule from London Heathrow to Bermuda and Nassau. The new jet service - marketed as Cunarder Jet in the UK and as London in the west - replaces previous Britannia operations on this route. Cunard Eagle has successfully expanded this service to Miami despite losing its original transatlantic scheduled license and BOAC claims that there is insufficient traffic to guarantee services directly from the UK. The 56% load factor was achieved at the beginning. The inauguration of the first via-plane British service between London and Miami also helped Cunard Eagle improve its 707 utilization.

BOAC-Cunard

BOAC responded to Eagle's move to establish itself as a fully scheduled transatlantic competitor on Heathrow - JFK main route by forming BOAC-Cunard as a new joint venture worth £ 30 million with Cunard Steamship Co. BOAC accounts for 70% of the new company. capital and eight Boeing 707s. Long-term Cunard Eagle operations - including the new two 707 - were absorbed into the BOAC-Cunard prior to delivery of the second 707, in June 1962. BOAC-Cunard rented each spare aircraft capacity to BOAC to add BOAC's flagship fleet at time peak. As part of this deal, BOAC-Cunard also purchased flying hours from BOAC to use the last aircraft in the event of a lack of capacity. This utilization of combined fleet is maximized. The joint fleet use agreement does not cover the Cunard Eagle, trooping and charter operations in Europe.

Although Bamberg was appointed to the BOAC-Cunard board, he became disillusioned with the corporate culture of Cunard. He resigned from the BOAC-Cunard board in 1963 while continuing to become managing director of Cunard Eagle Airways. His growing disappointment with the BOAC-Cunard culture resulted in a decision to reconstruct the Eagle by buying back control from Cunard.

Company reconstitution

After raising its ownership to 60% in February 1963, on August 9, the airline's official name was changed to British Eagle International Airlines Ltd (the name Bamberg has granted the new parent company on March 1st). It has a full paid share capital of Ã, Â £ 1,000,000. Early equipment includes Vickers Viscount and Bristol Britannia turboprop aircraft. From September 16th, a new livery featuring the full English Eagle name on the company's aircraft was adopted. This is a legal requirement following BEA's rejection of Bamberg's original plan to incorporate the abbreviations of BEI into new livery to avoid confusion among them.

Launch of a competitive UK domestic scheduled service

In November 1963, the British Eagle launched a daily scheduled service between London Heathrow and Glasgow Renfrew with 103-seater, two Britannia. The London - Glasgow premiere service - operated by former BOAC Britannia 310 Enterprise - was followed by two classroom Britannia services each day from Heathrow to Edinburgh and Belfast the next day. Two Britannia planes were hired from BOAC to provide additional capacity. This is the first time an independent airline has been allowed to compete with companies on major domestic routes in the United Kingdom and only the fourth time there has been direct competition between private airlines and state-owned airlines on domestic routes everywhere. It is also the first time that scheduled airlines offer separate first-class cabins on UK domestic routes. Since the British Eagle is limited to one round trip every day on every route, it seeks to distinguish itself from BEA. While BEA serves this route with 132-seat Vickers Vanguards in the configuration of all travelers with minimal onboard catering, the British Eagle provides full catering on all flights. This includes high quality wines as well as the use of Wedgwood china and high quality glassware in first class. The English Eagle distinguishes itself by introducing assigned seats and "trickle loading". The first is the first for domestic airlines scheduled in the UK while the airline claims to have started the latter in the UK as well. Although the British Eagle provides a standby aircraft to maintain the integrity of its schedule, flights are given time to provide eight hours of work per day for one aircraft to maximize utilization. The BEA, whose frequency is unrestricted, responds to challenges on three of its most important domestic routes by scheduling additional flights departing and arriving at the same time or within 10 minutes of the scheduled departure and arrival times of its rivals. It has the effect of "rolling" the British Eagle flight. The BEA's response also includes the introduction of trickle loading and the introduction of a complete onboard caterer as well as a separate first-class cabin.

Starways acquisition

On December 31, 1963, the British Eagle took over Starways based in Liverpool. This gave it access to the fast-growing regional network of routes from Liverpool - including the busy London route - and some IT contracts from locally based tour operators. The British Eagle's ability to control an important Liverpool-London route strengthens its position in the UK internal air travel market in general and on the main domestic routes of Heathrow in particular. Starways fleet - two Vickers Viscounts, three Douglas DC-4s and three DC-3 - are not included in the takeover and then discarded. In contrast, to provide sufficient capacity to operate the airline's combined airline program, British Eagle purchased an additional three Viscount 700. Despite losing Ã, Â £ 80,000 during its first year of operations, the re-formed airlines gradually regain profitability.

The years later and closing (1964-1968)

In January 1964, the airline acquired two Britannia aircraft (ex-Transcontinental SA) for modifications to cargo. After modification, they entered service in July 1964 to support British Blue Steel missile equipment and personnel to the Woomera Test Range in Australia.

Starways Integration

On January 1, 1964, British Eagle - Starways began operating the Liverpool - Heathrow route with a frequency of three flights each day in every direction. Two of them did not stop, using Britannia and Viscounts. Additional Viscount services are channeled through Chester. On the same day, the new airline combines the assumption of a former Starways operation between Liverpool and Glasgow. The remaining Starways route was taken over by April 1st. At that time, the joint Eagle - Starways fleet consisted of 18 aircraft, consisting of 10 Britons, five Viscounts and three DC - 6s. Of these, three Viscount were placed in Liverpool.

Temporary withdrawal of UK domestic services

In October 1964, the British Eagle had collected a deficit of £ 300,000 on its domestic scheduled operation. Load factor on the Belfast route averaged only 13%. The continual rejection of the British Eagle's request for increased frequency led to a decision by Bamberg to suspend its domestic airline operations on February 20, 1965.

Return to profitability

The British Eagle's financial and traffic results for 1964 were published in early 1965. This shows that after removing losses of up to Ã, Â £ 350,000 for the development of domestic scheduled services, the airline earned an operating surplus of Ã, £ 853,700. Retained earnings of Ã, £ 101,500. It represents 2% of the total assets used (Ã, Â £ 4.9 million), after allowing depreciation and other expenses. This set of numbers marks the first profitable period after reconstitution.

UK limited domestic service launch

Following the suspension of British Eagle operations scheduled on three major domestic routes from Heathrow to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast, BUA applied to ATLB for this license to be transferred to itself. BUA wants to operate the former British Eagle route with the new BAC One-Elevens from Gatwick base with the same frequency (10-12 trips per week). He argues that the proposed service is primarily intended as a domestic feeder for unscheduled and scheduled international operations at Gatwick, that it is supported by contemporary Government policies that prioritize the development of the airport to increase utilization and enable it to become profitable, and that it will reduce congestion at Heathrow. Further BUA believes that the use of different London terminals serving different catch areas will divert little traffic from BEA, thus minimizing the competitive impact on the company. In addition to requesting the lifting and transfer of British Eagle licenses for London - Glasgow, London - Edinburgh and London - Belfast, BUA is also looking for licensed scheduled services for London - Birmingham and London - Manchester (to operate from Gatwick as well).

The BUA's effort to free British Eagles from its license to operate scheduled services on three major UK domestic routes resulted in the final decision to resume operations at Heathrow - Glasgow on July 5, 1965, with the frequency of three return flights per day. Two of them operate non-stop while remaining channeled through Liverpool. Incorporating its license for unlimited frequencies between Heathrow and Liverpool, a maximum of two return flights each day at Heathrow - Glasgow as well as 17 weekly Liverpool - round-trip Glasgow, allowing the British Eagle to operate the Heathrow - Glasgow route at a higher frequency.

Prepare to restart jet operations

In early 1965, the British Eagle had a fleet of 24 turboprop aircraft in service, consisting of 17 Bristol Britannia 300 - out of a total of 23 eventually operated - and seven Vickers Viscount 700s. By the end of that year, airline turnover increased 37% to nearly £ 12m and net income had recovered to £ 350,000. In addition, Bamberg announced orders for three 300 One-Elevens series including three further options, heralding the Eagle comeback as a jet operator.

Part of the return strategy is to give London passengers a better experience with check in facilities in Knightsbridge, it requires a coach service to Heathrow, this results in the acquisition of Rickards Coaches and the purchase of twenty new luxury coaches, around 9,000 passengers a week using the service.

In late 1965, the British Eagle ordered two Boeing 707-320Cs. The aircraft, to be delivered in early 1967, is primarily intended for passenger and cargo charters to the Far East and Australia. To avoid paying the 14% tax the UK Government has imposed on new imported foreign aircraft to protect competing British models, the airline will need to persuade the Trade Council that there is no alternative home to grow. It also cited a previous Board decision to approve the BOAC application for the exemption of import duty on two new Boeing 707-336Cs as a precedent. Although offered a mixed traffic version of the Super VC10 and acknowledging that the appeal of superior aircraft passengers, the English Eagles likes 707-320C due to greater charge and reach. This makes the 707 a more attractive aircraft for the type of charter operation imaginable.

Aden evacuation

The British Eagle played a role in the British evacuation of Aden in 1967. "From Barren Rocks to the Living Stones" notes how one of his fleets, a Britannia, intended to flee to the Far East was overrun in a short time when an emergency increased.

Future fleet plan

The British Eagle plan was developed in early 1966 for future fleet requirements aimed at having 25 aircraft operating by the end of the decade, envisioning the operation of 15 jet planes - including two widebodies - and 10 turboprop aircraft. The first consists of two Boeing 747 transport planes, five 707-320C for passenger and cargo transport and eight BAC One-Elevens - the last three are Quick Change (QC) models that can be used as passengers or freight carriers. The latter consists of 10 Britons. The end of a number of Defense Department contracts in 1966 saw airlines with excess aircraft and two Britons sold to Air Spain.

Inauguration of Heathrow's first domestic jet schedule

A simultaneous arrival in Glasgow from the first BEA Comet 4B revenue service and the British Eagle BAC One-Eleven proving the flight from Heathrow on May 2, 1966 to coincide with the opening of the new Abbotsinch Airport in the city. The event was followed by Heathrow's first delivery service - Glasgow One-Eleven's first British Eagle on May 9, making it the second independent British airline after the BUA to operate scheduled jet services on domestic routes. Although the BUA service preceded the BEA and British Eagle for four months, this opportunity marked the first time jets were used to operate scheduled services on the domestic trunk route from Heathrow. It also marked the first time a parallel jet competition was introduced on the UK domestic route, as well as the fourth time the competition was introduced anywhere. British Eagle initially operates a scheduled domestic jet service with a pair of 200 One-Elevens series leased from Central African Airways, pending delivery of the first three British One-Eleven 300 ships between late May and July. British Eagle markets 79 seats, all Heathrow services - Glasgow One-Eleven jet as a better and faster alternative to BEA Comet 4B services and as a more time-consuming option than BUA's Gatwick - Glasgow InterJet Services One-Eleven.

New business opportunity

In addition to operating the new One-Elevens on scheduled and non-scheduled services, the British Eagle also offers new short-range jets to other carriers under contract. This is primarily a wet rental. KLM, Scandinavian Airlines, and Swissair are among the most prominent wet rental customers in the airline. In 1966, the number of annual passengers increased to 944,488 (up from 153,000 in 1963) while earnings had reached Ã, Â £ 585,000.

Enhanced corporate reorganization

The end of 1966 also saw the completion of the reorganization of Eagle's group of companies. This resulted in establishing Eagle International Airlines as a new group of holding companies. In addition to British Eagle International Airlines, other subsidiaries include British Eagle (Liverpool) - former Starways, Eagle Aircraft Services, Knightsbridge Air Terminal and Sky Chefs, the group catering company itself. This period further saw Bamberg regain 100% control of the Eagle group, as a result of him making the option to buy back the remaining 40% of Cunard interest in the British Eagle.

Impaired business environment

1967 was a bad year for the UK travel industry. The short Six-Day War between Israel and its Arab neighbors led to temporary surge in oil prices while a military coup in Greece and the restrictions on new access of Spain to Gibraltar resulted in fewer people visiting these places. In addition, the sterling value fell 14.7%, as a result of many Arab countries transferring their sterling balance in London to dollars and transferring them to ZÃÆ'¼rich. These events are responsible for the sharp drop in the annual IT business expansion rate - down to 12% to more than one million passengers after three years of spectacular growth. This in turn leads to the implementation of a large cost reduction program in the British Eagle following an estimated 20% decline in summer vacation projections, as a result of challenging economic conditions. As a result, the number of flightdeck personnel was reduced to 48 (out of a total of 246).

Apps for transatlantic scheduled rights

In 1967, the British Eagle - as well as the BUA, Caledonian, and Transglobe - also applied to ATLB for licenses to operate unscheduled and unscheduled services in competition with BOAC on some remote routes. British Eagle seeks a 15-year license for the London-New York passenger service to be operated with Boeing 707-320Cs from 1 April 1969 between Heathrow or Stansted and JFK at the beginning of two flights returning daily during the summer (April - October) and one round trip per day in winter (November - March). Similar licenses are sought to operate into Los Angeles/San Francisco and Toronto/Montreal with Chicago as intermediate halts. In addition, the airline is seeking licenses for London - Bermuda - Nassau - Kingston/Montego Bay services in mid - Atlantic and Caribbean, with Chicago as a stop between London and Bermuda or Nassau. There are also plans to seek licensing for transatlantic cargo services between London, New York and six other points on the East Coast of the United States, as well as for mixed cargo/cargo services between London and Hong Kong. Since the latter is an unrestricted cabotage route, the British Eagle intends to seek approval for a one-way tariff worth £ 125 that would undermine the existing tariff of Ã, Â £ 83. At the upcoming ATLB trial, British Eagle plans to support his case with detailed traffic statistics showing a sharp decline in UK traffic share over five years on a route divided by a foreign flag operator where BOAC is the only British flag carrier. These figures show that in the case of a transatlantic scheduled air market between England and the United States, American market share rose 10% between 1962 and 1966 while the UK share fell 7% in the period. The British Eagle wants to use these findings to state that licensing the second British airline scheduled on these routes will greatly benefit the British economy by strengthening the overall competitive position of British vis-ÃÆ'-vis overseas rivals in a dollar-generating market and thereby equipping than BOAC damage. The British Eagle app competes with BUA, Caledonian's and Transglobe's. BUA seeks unlimited frequencies across the North Atlantic to destinations in the US and Canada, starting with Gatwick - Belfast - JFK VC10 service three times a week. He also wanted to expand the existing South American route through Lima and the Pacific to Australasia, hoping to turn it into a supersonic operation in the early 1970s. Caledonian searched for transatlantic scheduled services connecting its main operating base at Gatwick and Prestwick in the UK with a number of destinations in the US and Canada, with special emphasis on the West Coast of the United States to utilize a fleet of Boeing 707-320Cs range. Transglobe Airways seeks to operate scheduled passenger/cargo services from the Gatwick base to points on the west coast of the US and Canada.

Caledonian objected to the application of other independent airlines. BOAC opposes all independent apps.

Before the route licensing session begins, BOT directs ATLB to predict all four competing applications to concentrate only on those with reasonable chance of success under existing bilateral arrangements. As far as the British Eagle is concerned, apps looking for licenses for unscheduled/unscheduled services to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Montreal, and Jamaica with Chicago as intermediate stops are inaudible. This was withdrawn before the start of the trial on January 16, 1968.

BUA withdrew its own app but objected to the British Eagle and Caledonian. Transglobe pulls the app as well. The English and Caledonian eagles object to their respective applications.

ATLB heard the application of the British Eagle, the Caledonian counting application and BOAC objection in early 1968. Following the conclusion of a transatlantic scheduled licensing hearing in mid-1968, ATLB rejected the application of the British Eagle and Caledonian. It seems that independent people generally do not have the financial powers to acquire the latest and largest supersonic (SST) aircraft for their proposed services and that these airlines have inadequate economic scale to enable them to compete with BOAC and American carriers on same level. Sports field. It is also felt that it takes a long time for independent people to make this service profitable. In the case of the British Eagle, ATLB was impressed with the complete and competent aviation engineering organization, but questioned its ability to finance the imagined expansion because it deemed the company very short of capital for its existing operations.

Bureaucratic obstacles

Meanwhile, the British Eagle's unhappiness over the Government's refusal to exempt it from paying duties on the new Boeing 707-365Cs led to the decision to postpone from February to December 1967 the first aircraft deliveries, swapping the second aircraft delivery position for the first and arranging to take a second delivery in mid 1968. The airline estimates that this delay has spent US $ 1 million in North Atlantic revenue loss. It also shows that this is enough to pay for the task. The unresolved dispute between the British Eagle and the BOT over the payment of the new two new 707-365Cs import duties withdrew the delivery of the first aircraft in early February 1968, with HM Customs demanding £ 440,000 worth of Ã, £ 440,000 before discharging the plane. The dispute was settled with the airline agreeing to pay for the assignment after a registered migrating aircraft operated in the British Eagle Kingdom. This will not be the case for at least another year because the aircraft has been leased to Middle East Airlines (MEA) as of 1 March. British Eagle has operated the aircraft in its own color depending on the results of the application to ATLB for a license to operate scheduled and unscheduled services between London and New York as well as London, Bermuda and Nassau starting April 1, 1969. The Airline has extended the prospect of placing an advanced order for additional two 707-365Cs in case the application is approved and the relevant licenses are granted.

Return to the western hemisphere

In addition to taking the first shipment of a new pair of 707-365Cs ordered directly from Boeing, the British Eagle also began operating two second-hand, shorter-sized 707-138Bs sourced from Qantas. The last aircraft used to operate a new Caribbean charter program. Arrival in Nassau Boeing 707-138B G-AVZZ Endeavor on a pre-prime IT flight in February 1968 marked the return of the airline to the Bahamas capital six years after the transatlantic Cunard Eagle operation has been absorbed into BOAC -Cardard. The service was later expanded to Jamaica, Antigua and Barbados.

20th anniversary

By the time of the 20th anniversary on April 14, 1968, the British Eagle was ranked fourth among the five major contemporary British airlines (behind BEA, BOAC and BUA, and in front of Caledonian). 24 aircraft belonging to the airline include eight jets, six of which are obtained directly from the factory. These include the Boeing 707-365C leased to the MEA and five BAC One-Eleven 300 series. Kleinwort Benson is the owner of 707-365C and two former -138Bs obtained from Qantas, while Kuwait Finance Agency, foreign investment agency of the Kuwaiti government, and British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) each has three and two out of five One-Elevens. British Eagle operates all of these aircraft in lease agreements with their owners. At that time, the company's scheduled service network includes routes from London Heathrow to Liverpool, Glasgow, Newquay, Luxembourg, Dinard, La Baule, Lourdes, Perpignan, Gerona, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Pisa, Rimini, Stuttgart, Innsbruck, Djerba and Tunisia. The company also operates a large number of inclusive tour flights from Heathrow and other UK airports. Lunn Poly is the largest tour operator customer.

Bounced Prospects

The introduction of a foreign exchange limit of  £ 50 per passenger has caused a major contraction in UK holiday tour packages during 1968. It leaves the British Eagle with a surplus charter capacity, especially for the main summer. As with other British independent airlines facing similar problems, such as Dan-Air, Invicta International Airlines and Laker Airways, the British Eagle restored this excess capacity to the emerging market of West Berlin charter, where access is restricted to the US, UK and French. airline. This resulted in the British Eagle putting Bristol Britannia at Berlin's Tegel Airport West during the summer of 1968.

In mid-1968, the BOAC filed an application to ATLB seeking to revoke the Caribbean Caribbean Sea Caribbean charter license for alleged irregularities in the conduct of the tour service. The BOAC complaint includes claims that the British Eagle abuses the terms and conditions of inclusive tour licenses by promoting services as if they were a scheduled service. ATLB was found in support of the BOAC and revoked the British Eagle's Caribbean license at the end of the summer. To avoid British regulatory restrictions, the airline proposes to replace the TI flight between the UK and the Caribbean with scheduled services between Nassau and Luxembourg through Bahamian subsidiaries, Eagle International Airlines (Bahamas) , as ATLB and BOT jurisdictions do not exceed English.

In late summer 1968, the British Eagle issued a redundancy notice to 418 employees in London and Liverpool and announced the closure of Speke's maintenance base. These economic measures were put in place to counter major business downturns, as a result of a significant drop in the IT market after the introduction of stricter foreign exchange regulation rules for overseas travel, the end of the Far Eastern resignation and the Australian migrant contract in March. , and general economic problems.

Bankruptcy and thereafter

The British Eagle and its sister companies stopped trading at midnight on November 6, 1968 because of growing financial problems and went to voluntary liquidation two days later. The last airplane movement that ever existed on the plane was the arrival of Bristol Britannia from Rotterdam at Heathrow the following day. The financial crisis that caused the fall of Britain's second largest contemporary independent airline has been sparked by sterling devaluation and tightening of the existing exchange control regime, which limits the number of foreign exchange exchanges allowed to enter overseas. as well as by the loss of Caribbean corporate licenses. Poor decisions at senior and executive levels, the end of trooping and migrant contracts and economic hardship have made the British Eagle an increasingly unfeasible business.

ATLB and some industry colleagues regard the company as seriously underfunded capital and see this as a major cause of financial instability. Management's refusal to reflect on fundamental changes in the way businesses are run, including changes in top management itself, undermines Hambros Bank's trust, the company's main creditor, in its prospects. This situation led to the withdrawal of Hambros support. At the time of its bankruptcy, the British Eagle operated 25 aircraft and employed a 2,300 staff, including 220 pilots. The failed company owes its creditors £ 5 million; Rolls-Royce and Esso, each owed Ã, £ 630,000 and Ã, £ 300,000, led the list of creditors.

After the collapse of the British Eagle overnight, other airlines moved quickly to take over the scheduled routes left behind. Former rival Cambrian Airways assumes Liverpool-Glasgow and Liverpool-Heathrow routes while BEA is applied to European routes from Heathrow. The BUA adds an additional daily trip between Gatwick and Glasgow and is applied to serve several European routes as well. Dan-Air took over the London-Newquay service, which operated from Gatwick for a season from May 1969. Dan-Air also won a contest for the Trust Trust charter contract for the summer of 1969 against tough competition from BEA. It was originally awarded to the British Eagle and required all Travel Trust's summer charter programs on behalf of its subsidiaries Lunn-Poly and Everyman Travel, a former tour operator inside a bankrupt airline. These contracts provide additional work for four Dan-Air planes - two Comets and two One-Elevens. The latter is the first former American Airlines and One-Elevens aircraft to join the Dan-Air fleet. The refusal of the Heathrow scheduling committee to allow Dan-Air access to the main British Eagle operations base resulted in Dan-Air opening a base in Luton for London's Lunn-Poly/Everyman flight program. In addition to the summer program of 1969, Travel Trust also gave Dan-Air a "time charter" contract for the next three years (1970-1972).

This in turn resulted in Dan-Air acquiring two more One-Elevens which were originally operated by the British Eagle.

In addition to two former British Eagle One-Eleven 300 and Dan-Air from Kuwait Finance to complete the ex-American series of 400 series and two former BOAC Comet 4s fully employed on Lunn-Poly/Everyman charters, other operated jets operator failed/ordered to find new home relatively quickly. In early 1969, Laker Airways leased former Qantas Boeing 707-138Bs from Kleinwort Benson to $ 8,500 a month to replace Britannias on a new series of cross-border cross-border charter flights. Two years later, Laker Airways also purchased One-Eleven 300 from Bahamas Airways which was originally shipped to the British Eagle. BOAC purchased for  £ 4 million British Eagle 707-365C has been leased from Kleinwort Benson (later transferred to MEA). Caledonian acquired the 707-365C originally ordered by the British Eagle and delivered to Airlift International in February 1967.

Maps British Eagle

Details of aircraft and fleets operated

The following aircraft types are part of the fleet for Eagle's 20 years of operations:

• Air Speed ​​Consul
• Auster Autocrat
• Avro Anson
• Avro Lancaster - one lent to Eagle by the Ministry for photography work, Lancaster both purchased for parts for York.
• Avro Lincoln
• Avro York
• Avro 748
• BAC One-Eleven
• Boeing 707
• Bristol Britannia
• Bristol Freighter
• de Havilland Dove
• de Havilland Dragon Rapide
• de Havilland Heron
• Skymaster Douglas C-54
• Douglas Dakota
• Douglas DC-6
• Handley Page Halifax
• Miles Gemini
• Miles Hawk Trainer
• Percival Proctor
• Vickers Valetta
• Vickers Viking
• Vickers Viscount

Fleet in 1950

In August 1950, the fleet of Elang Aviation consisted of five planes.

Fleet in 1958

In April 1958, the Eagle Airways fleet consisted of 19 aircraft.

Fleet in 1962

In April 1962, Cunard Eagle had 12 fleets of aircraft and employed 1,100 people.

Fleet in 1964

In April 1964, the British Eagle fleet comprised 15 planes and 940 people were employed.

Fleet in 1968

In April 1968, the British Eagle fleet consisted of 23 aircraft and 2,500 people employed.

src: abpic.co.uk

Accidents and incidents

Source of the article : Wikipedia