Category: BAC One-Eleven

TACA: El Centromericano One-Elevens

11/6/2019

TACA had a complicated series of owners throughout its history, however these rarely stopped it from achieving and it was something of a trendsetter during the 50s and 60s as it introduced both the first prop-jets and true-jets in Central America. Its BAC One-Elevens would have long careers with it and form the backbone of its survival and success into the 1980s.

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Red Dragon: Airways International Cymru

14/11/2017

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The 1980s was a time of diverse charter activity in the United Kingdom as various travel companies began to align more closely with their airline service providers and in several instances begin their own carriers. Wales also became involved and in 1983 Red Dragon Travel started its own airline - Airways International Cymru.

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Bahamas Airways Pt2: Swire's Flamingo

19/9/2017

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Bahamas Airways had for many years been rather a thorn in the side of BOAC and by 1968 the British flag carrier was keen to extricate itself from the perenially loss making airline. It succeeded and initially the future looked, literally, bright, however the rebirth was ultimately only a short-lived affair and the Bahamian government was left to look for an alternative.

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Pacific Rockets: Fijian One-Elevens

12/4/2017

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Air Pacific was one of only two customers in the Oceania region to equip itself with Britain's BAC One-Eleven. Though the One-Eleven was a middling success for a declining British civil aviation industry, by the late-1960s, despite heavy pressure from the British government, it could not compete effectively with the new Douglas DC-9 and Boeing 737-200 on a level playing field. Even so Fiji's One-Elevens were some of the last built and being specialist series 475s helped Air Pacific reach its often primitively equipped island destinations.

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Autair-Landor: The Tale of BA's Short One-Elevens

26/11/2016

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British European Airways (BEA) showed almost no interest in the BAC One-Eleven, preferring to stay with its Viscounts and Tridents. Eventually it was forced, almost, to buy One-Eleven 500s however a few short One-Elevens also slipped into the fleet of it and its successor British Airways and would provide sterling service into the 1990s.

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Dan-Air's Stubby Rockets

11/9/2016

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Up until 1983 Dan-Air London never saw the need to operate new aircraft and instead built its fleet on the unwanted cast offs from first line airlines or failed competitors. Given this tendency, and its British origins, it is hardly a surprise therefore that the BAC One-Eleven would become a stalwart of the airline's fleet.

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The First Alohajets: One-Elevens in Hawaii

22/12/2015

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Air travel to Hawaii was booming in the 1960s off the back of non-stop jet services from the US West Coast and the island chains new found statehood. Aloha's Fairchild F-27s had proven excellent but were now too small and the movement everywhere was towards service with jets. Aloha wanted jets too but as a small intra-state airline it had to traverse a few bumps before it could get them.

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British Midland Pt2: Diamond Service

23/7/2015

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British Midland entered the 1980s as a well run and profitable airline. This would only get better when the airline successfully breached the barriers stopping it from really competing with the big boys and finally got rights to services on domestic trunk routes from Heathrow. The 1980s would see much route development as well as replacements for the trusty Viscounts and DC-9s as BMA formed the core of the Airlines of Britain Group.

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Quebecair Pt2: 1970-1980 Charters & Troubles

2/7/2015

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Quebecair entered the 1970s as a well run and respected regional airline focused primarily on scheduled inter-Canadian services. A significant part of the other regional airline's operations since the early 60s had been holiday charters to Florida and Caribbean. Compared to Nordair and PWA, Quebecair had been relatively slow to enter the market. That would change in the 1970s but so would the airline's financial position. Troubling times were ahead...

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Quebecair Pt1: 1946-1970 Rimouski-Jets

1/7/2015

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In 1966, during the regulated era of Canadian aviation, five regional airlines were given the role of supplementing Air Canada and CP Air, which themselves reassigned many of their smaller services to the regionals. Within Quebec (excluding its North-west which was assigned to Nordair) services were operated by Quebecair.

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Braniff Jellybeans Pt5: Yellows

19/6/2015

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As with the oranges the yellow Jellybeans made a particularly attractive aircraft combination and also like the oranges two shades were used over the 1965-1971 Jellybean era. In addition like the oranges the two shades, though similar, did look different in service and can be told apart if you know what to look for.

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Braniff Jellybeans Pt4: Oranges

18/6/2015

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Orange is perhaps one of the signature Braniff Jellybean colours, though frankly I think you'd have to be a genius to be able to distinguish between the two different orange shades that were used - at least if you are using only old photos anyway! It's just as well that John Evanich III (JEE3) has done the hard work for us. It's certainly a personal favourite of mine amongst the Braniff fleet.

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Braniff Jellybean Pt3: Red

16/6/2015

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In comparison to the greens and blues red is an easy Jellybean colour since there was only one version used. In fact red didn't even feature as a 'End of the Plain Plane' shade until the 1967 H&G refresh. All the earlier 7 shades were much more pastelly. Despite this late start red would go on to be one of the most popular of the colours used and I must say it does look superb.

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Braniff Jellybeans Pt1: The Greens

14/6/2015

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In 1965 Harding Lawrence was appointed to the Presidency of Braniff International. Up till then it had been a well run but relatively small trunk airline. Lawrence had other ideas and the wild ride that characterised his tenure would change Braniff from an also ran to a colourful and vibrant airline. Unfortunately Lawrence would also prove to be the downfall of Braniff but that wasn't until 1982. First there was the 'End of the Plain Plane' era.

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Court Line: Halcyon Days

13/6/2015

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Court Line started as just another of the small independent airlines fighting for crumbs from BEA's table during the early 1960s but following takeover changed into something altogether brighter. The new swinging garish Court Line was an airline that burnt brightly but also burnt out quickly - a pioneer in IT charters that helped shape the British charter industry, which became such a huge player in the UK aviation scene until low cost airlines arrived. Even in failure it helped shape the industry's practices.

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Channel Airways Pt2: Boom & Bust

3/6/2015

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By the mid 1960s Channel Airways was unusually flush and was for the first time able to begin to acquire new rather than second-hand aircraft. It first did this with the purchase of four HS748s but following hot on their heels would be pure jets. Unfortunately its jet operations combined with a major economic downturn would lead Channel towards its own bankruptcy just months after it celebrated its 25th anniversary.

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Romanian Glasnost: TAROM in the 60s and 70s

29/11/2014

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February 1946 saw the initiation of services by the joint Soviet/Romanian airline TARS which was renamed TAROM in 1954 when the Romanians became full owners. TAROM was unusual amongst Warsaw Pact nations in that it was able to purchase western types (though LOT did have Viscounts). This followed the 1965 coming to power of Nicolae Ceausescu who conducted Romania's foreign policy independently of Russia - not taking part in the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia, establishing diplomatic ties with Israel and West Germany etc. Needless to say Ceausescu's moderate start didn't last but that's another topic.

Within aviation Romania's new independence first became visible in 1968 when One-elevens were ordered for European and Middle-Eastern destinations instead of TU-134s.

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TACA: El Centromericano One-Elevens

Red Dragon: Airways International Cymru

Bahamas Airways Pt2: Swire's Flamingo

Pacific Rockets: Fijian One-Elevens

Autair-Landor: The Tale of BA's Short One-Elevens

Dan-Air's Stubby Rockets

The First Alohajets: One-Elevens in Hawaii

British Midland Pt2: Diamond Service

Quebecair Pt2: 1970-1980 Charters & Troubles

Quebecair Pt1: 1946-1970 Rimouski-Jets

Braniff Jellybeans Pt5: Yellows

Braniff Jellybeans Pt4: Oranges

Braniff Jellybean Pt3: Red

Braniff Jellybeans Pt1: The Greens

Court Line: Halcyon Days

Channel Airways Pt2: Boom & Bust

Romanian Glasnost: TAROM in the 60s and 70s

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