What now defunct airlines have you flown on?
Discussion
I think I flew with Air Malta a few years ago, having learned from here it's now bust.
Monarch has already been mentioned, but an interesting tidbit (to me) that I was on either their penultimate or last ever flight, landed after midnight and it was in the news the following morning. Was a bit tense at one point if they were going to go bust before we left Spain!
Monarch has already been mentioned, but an interesting tidbit (to me) that I was on either their penultimate or last ever flight, landed after midnight and it was in the news the following morning. Was a bit tense at one point if they were going to go bust before we left Spain!
My first ever flight was on Aberdeen Airlines on a Gulfstream from Manchester to Aberdeen.
My (senior) colleague and I missed our return flight and he stumped up (and claimed on expenses) for a flight to Heathrow and then the shuttle back up to MCR.
Flew Suckling Air from Manchester to Norwich a few times on a tiny Dornier where you were given the option of checking your bag or taking it as carry-on - didn't make any difference because they took it off you and stuck it in the hold with the checked bags anyway!
Even smaller though was the Jetstream J31 (at least it seemed smaller) that I flew on with Love Air (??!!??) from Birmingham to Le Havre which had an interesting toilet arrangement! (I would struggle to explain.)
Otherwise, quite a few of those already mentioned. British Midland when they operated their Liverpool to Heathrow shuttle - nice breakfast, ISTR.
Flew TWA on a 727 once on an internal connection in the US; Air UK (affectionately known as Air Yuck) from Aberdeen to Norwich (stopped at Edinburgh and Humberside on the way).
The two I flew on the most often were Northwest to MSP to visit Mrs FTR when we first got together, it's just not the same now it's Delta and FlyBe who were a regular part of my commute to Paris (from Southampton) when I was working over there, although I did mix it up with the Eurostar. I remember being on the train home and overhearing some folks saying that FlyBe had gone bust that day. They did keep plugging on a bit after that, but it wasn't for long!
Fortunately for me, my contract finished just before they went under.
My (senior) colleague and I missed our return flight and he stumped up (and claimed on expenses) for a flight to Heathrow and then the shuttle back up to MCR.
Flew Suckling Air from Manchester to Norwich a few times on a tiny Dornier where you were given the option of checking your bag or taking it as carry-on - didn't make any difference because they took it off you and stuck it in the hold with the checked bags anyway!
Even smaller though was the Jetstream J31 (at least it seemed smaller) that I flew on with Love Air (??!!??) from Birmingham to Le Havre which had an interesting toilet arrangement! (I would struggle to explain.)
Otherwise, quite a few of those already mentioned. British Midland when they operated their Liverpool to Heathrow shuttle - nice breakfast, ISTR.
Flew TWA on a 727 once on an internal connection in the US; Air UK (affectionately known as Air Yuck) from Aberdeen to Norwich (stopped at Edinburgh and Humberside on the way).
The two I flew on the most often were Northwest to MSP to visit Mrs FTR when we first got together, it's just not the same now it's Delta and FlyBe who were a regular part of my commute to Paris (from Southampton) when I was working over there, although I did mix it up with the Eurostar. I remember being on the train home and overhearing some folks saying that FlyBe had gone bust that day. They did keep plugging on a bit after that, but it wasn't for long!
Fortunately for me, my contract finished just before they went under.
I have a great fondness for old British and Irish airlines. So many of the ones that existed when I first became interested in aeroplanes in the mid 1960s are long gone.
What I find interesting is the family tree of these airlines - many of which were subject to mergers, splits, rebrandings etc and how many of them still exist in much modified form even today.
Somebody mentioned Aer Arann earlier. They are still around - and still flying Islanders.
What I find interesting is the family tree of these airlines - many of which were subject to mergers, splits, rebrandings etc and how many of them still exist in much modified form even today.
Somebody mentioned Aer Arann earlier. They are still around - and still flying Islanders.
I didn't know that BAE was an airline 
I presume you meant BEA.
In reality, these airlines didn't really disappear - they were merged - along with BOAC, Cambrian, Northeast and a bunch of BEA subsidiaries (BEA Scotland, BEA Channel Islands, BEA Helicopters) into the new British Airways in 1974. It took nearly ten years for the identities of those individual airlines to be fully absorbed into BA.
I loved the colours of the pre-merger airlines -
Northeast and Cambrian shared similar colours because they were part of the British Air Services group - which was actually owned by the government through BEA anyway - so by 1970/71 part of the bringing together of the individual components of British Airways set up was already under way.
I presume you meant BEA.
In reality, these airlines didn't really disappear - they were merged - along with BOAC, Cambrian, Northeast and a bunch of BEA subsidiaries (BEA Scotland, BEA Channel Islands, BEA Helicopters) into the new British Airways in 1974. It took nearly ten years for the identities of those individual airlines to be fully absorbed into BA.
I loved the colours of the pre-merger airlines -
Northeast and Cambrian shared similar colours because they were part of the British Air Services group - which was actually owned by the government through BEA anyway - so by 1970/71 part of the bringing together of the individual components of British Airways set up was already under way.
Collectors item - Gill Air
Once flew with them from Newcastle to Belfast, around 45 minutes flight and never got much above 4000 feet. It followed the Tyne Valley and went straight over my house in Cumbria.
An eye wateringly expensive flight, over 20 years ago £188 for a day return (I had a quick survey/inspection to do in the centre of Belfast)
Once flew with them from Newcastle to Belfast, around 45 minutes flight and never got much above 4000 feet. It followed the Tyne Valley and went straight over my house in Cumbria.
An eye wateringly expensive flight, over 20 years ago £188 for a day return (I had a quick survey/inspection to do in the centre of Belfast)
Britannia morphed into Thomas Cook (as they were owned by Thomas Cook anyway). I was on one Thomas Cook branded flight but all the food trolleys still had "Britannia " embosed on them.
They still survive, in a way, but they are now part of the Tui group and the aircraft carry Tui branding.
Britannia had started life as Euravia, operating Lockheed Constellations. They changed their name to Britannia when they bought second hand Britannias.
Britannia was also the first UK airline to operate Boeing 737s.
They still survive, in a way, but they are now part of the Tui group and the aircraft carry Tui branding.
Britannia had started life as Euravia, operating Lockheed Constellations. They changed their name to Britannia when they bought second hand Britannias.
Britannia was also the first UK airline to operate Boeing 737s.
Eric Mc said:
Britannia morphed into Thomas Cook (as they were owned by Thomas Cook anyway). I was on one Thomas Cook branded flight but all the food trolleys still had "Britannia " embosed on them.
They still survive, in a way, but they are now part of the Tui group and the aircraft carry Tui branding.
Britannia had started life as Euravia, operating Lockheed Constellations. They changed their name to Britannia when they bought second hand Britannias.
Britannia was also the first UK airline to operate Boeing 737s.
Thomson rather than Thomas Cook surely?They still survive, in a way, but they are now part of the Tui group and the aircraft carry Tui branding.
Britannia had started life as Euravia, operating Lockheed Constellations. They changed their name to Britannia when they bought second hand Britannias.
Britannia was also the first UK airline to operate Boeing 737s.
Great pics, but the reg on that 737 is totally on the wrong plane! If the civil Vulcans didn't already have appropriate regs on them...
A few duplicates and a fair few not yet mentioned....TWA, British Caledonian, Zambia Airlines, BOAC, Comair, Go!, Sabena, Air Zaire, Pan Am, East African Airlines, AVNA,Air Guinee,Monarch, Olympic, United Air (South African variant!), Air Botswana, Brittannia & Suidwes Lugdiens.....
You may get the theme that many of the more obscure were southern african airlines - some seriously shonky planes flown from DC3's, Viscounts to some I can't recall but the loudest and most likely to fall apart was an exceptionally rough Ilyushin 18...
Might be imagining it but pretty sure I flew in a Dan Air comet in the late 70's..... couldn't swear to it though...
You may get the theme that many of the more obscure were southern african airlines - some seriously shonky planes flown from DC3's, Viscounts to some I can't recall but the loudest and most likely to fall apart was an exceptionally rough Ilyushin 18...
Might be imagining it but pretty sure I flew in a Dan Air comet in the late 70's..... couldn't swear to it though...
Edited by Tim-D on Tuesday 23 April 21:10
Tim-D said:
A few duplicates and a fair few not yet mentioned....TWA, British Caledonian, Zambia Airlines, BOAC, Comair, Go!, Sabena, Air Zaire, Pan Am, East African Airlines, AVNA,Air Guinee,Monarch, Olympic, United Air (South African variant!), Air Botswana, Brittannia & Suidwes Lugdiens.....
You may get the theme that many of the more obscure were southern african airlines - some seriously shonky planes flown from DC3's, Viscounts to some I can't recall but the loudest and most likely to fall apart was an exceptionally rough Ilyushin 18...
Might be imagining it but pretty sure I flew in a Dan Air comet in the late 70's..... couldn't swear to it though...
Dan Air retired their last Comet in 1980 so they were still in service in the late 70s.You may get the theme that many of the more obscure were southern african airlines - some seriously shonky planes flown from DC3's, Viscounts to some I can't recall but the loudest and most likely to fall apart was an exceptionally rough Ilyushin 18...
Might be imagining it but pretty sure I flew in a Dan Air comet in the late 70's..... couldn't swear to it though...
Edited by Tim-D on Tuesday 23 April 21:10
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