BOAC - how were they allowed to behave as they did?

[S7Paul]

In addition to the impact BOAC and BEA had on the aircraft manufacturers, there were also a lot of underhand tactics aimed at forcing their competitors (such as British Eagle) out of business. Again, their behaviours were condoned/supported by the Governments at the time.

[Eric Mc]

It's easy to blame the customers for not being supportive of some of these designs. But don't forget that the manufacturers were not used to actually building airliners to suit a market. They were used to building airliners to perceived requirements of the state owned airlines or to requirements laid out by Air Ministry departments or the Board of Trade or the Brabazon Committee. That is the main reason why so many different types of British airliners were built in tiny numbers.

Another reason they were built in tiny numbers was because the aircraft companies often didn't have the capacity to make more than about 30 or 40 airliners per year. If the DID receive decent order (such as in the case of the Viscount), they struggled to match the demand.

[Ayahuasca]

Can I suggest that a more topical and worthy target of your admirable and righteous anger could be UK authorities going after Rolls Royce for bribery related to engine sales?

Has there ever been a major international defence / aerospace sale in the history of the world that did not involve some greasing of wheels?

Don't, whatever you do, investigate US F104 international sales, or Mark Thatcher, or, or or...