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Dan-Air (Dan Air Services Limited) was an airline based in the United Kingdom and a wholly owned
subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...
of London
shipbroking Shipbroking is a financial service, which forms part of the global shipping industry. Shipbrokers are specialist intermediaries/negotiators (i.e. brokers) between shipowners and charterers who use ships to transport cargo, or between buyers and ...
firm Davies and Newman. It was started in 1953 with a single aircraft. Initially, it operated cargo and passenger charter flights from Southend (1953–1955) and
Blackbushe Blackbushe Airport is an operational general aviation airport in the civil parish of Yateley in the north-east corner of the English county of Hampshire. Built during the Second World War, Blackbushe is north of the A30 road between Camberley ...
airports (1955–1960) using a variety of piston-engined aircraft before moving to a new base at Gatwick Airport in 1960, followed by expansion into inclusive tour (IT) charter flights and all-year round scheduled services. The introduction of two de Havilland Comet series 4 jet aircraft in 1966 made Dan-Air the second British independent airline after British United Airways to begin sustained jet operations. The early 1970s saw the acquisition of a pair of
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
long-haul jets for use on affinity group and Advance Booking Charter flights to Canada and the United States. In 1973, Dan-Air became the first British airline to operate the Boeing 727 trijet. By the mid-1970s, it had become Britain's largest independent airline, both in terms of passengers carried and fleet size, operating the country's largest charter fleet. This was also the time a Dan-Air staff member, Yvonne Pope Sintes became Britain's and Europe's first female jet
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
. By the early 1980s, the airline had also become the leading operator of fixed wing oil industry support flights, operating a fleet of 13
Hawker Siddeley 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorption by Hawker Siddeley. ...
turboprops between bases on the
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
mainland and the
Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...
under contract to firms involved in North Sea oil exploration. In 1983, Dan-Air was the first airline to launch commercial operations with British Aerospace 146 regional jet. The acquisition of an Airbus A300 in 1986 marked Dan-Air's
widebody A wide-body aircraft, also known as a twin-aisle aircraft, is an airliner with a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles with seven or more seats abreast. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabin ...
debut and the late 1980s saw a major expansion of their scheduled activities, including the introduction of two-class services on trunk routes. Passenger numbers peaked in 1989 at 6.2 million (1.8 million on scheduled services). Lack of vertical integration with a
tour operator A tour operator is a business that typically combines and organizes accommodations, meals, sightseeing and transportation components, in order to create a package tour. They advertise and produce brochures to promote their products, holidays and ...
, and an inefficient fleet mix dominated by ageing Boeing 727s and
BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111/BAC 1-11) was an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-se ...
s made Dan-Air uncompetitive, resulting in increasing marginalisation and growing financial difficulties as well as a change in
senior management Senior management, executive management, upper management, or a management is generally individuals at the highest level of management of an organization who have the day-to-day tasks of managing that organization—sometimes a company or a corpor ...
and
strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art ...
by the early 1990s. Following unsuccessful attempts to merge Dan-Air with a competitor, the ailing airline was sold to British Airways in 1992 for the nominal sum of £1.


History


Beginning

Dan-Air's parent Davies and Newman had been engaged in shipbroking in the City of London since 1922. It subsequently diversified into air charter broking from an office at London's Baltic Mercantile and Shipping Exchange. Amongst Davies and Newman's clients for whom it acted as an air charter broker was a small airline called Meredith Air Transport. Meredith was formed in 1952 as a small ''ad hoc'' charter operator and flew a single
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
out of
Southend Airport Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
, where it also had its head office. When Meredith's only aircraft suffered a mishap while taking off from Jerusalem's
Atarot Airport Jerusalem International Airport ( he, נמל התעופה ירושלים, ar, مطار القدس الدولي) , (also Kalandia Airport, Qalandia Airport, and Atarot Airport) is a regional airport, currently not in use, located between Jerusale ...
on Christmas Eve 1952 that damaged the aircraft's tailwheel, this caused major disruption to the company's business. As a result, Meredith soon found itself in financial difficulties. Davies and Newman agreed to take a debenture on Meredith's aircraft in return for extending financial assistance. When Meredith's financial problems worsened and the debenture became due for repayment, Davies & Newman took over the aircraft together with a six-month contract to operate a series of charter flights between Southend and West Berlin's Tempelhof Airport that formed part of the second ''Little Berlin Airlift''.''Flying to the sun – A history of Britain's holiday airlines: 5. The struggle to become established – Dan-Air'', Woodley, C., The History Press, Stroud, 2016, p. 46 Dan-Air began commercial air services in the United Kingdom in May 1953 with the aircraft it had taken over from Meredith Air Transport, a single
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
bearing the registration G-AMSU. The fledgling airline received its air operator's certificate on 23 May 1953. Dan-Air derived its name from its parent's initials, Davies, And, Newman. The company was incorporated on 21 May 1953 as Dan Air Services Limited, with a capital of £5,000. To emphasise that this was a British rather than a
Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...
company, the airline's aircraft displayed the
suffix In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns, adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can carry ...
"London" with the Dan-Air name on both sides of the fuselage. This convention was followed until a year before Dan-Air's takeover by British Airways, when the "London" suffix was dropped from fuselage titles. Dan-Air's first commercial service – an ''ad hoc'' charter flight from Southend via Manchester to Shannon – occurred in June 1953. Operations initially continued from Meredith's old base at Southend Airport, where Meredith managed Dan-Air's operations for the first six months. (Following the end of Meredith's contract to manage Dan-Air's operations at Southend, Meredith Air Transport changed its name to
African Air Safaris African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
on 29 November 1954.)


Areas of commercial activity

Dan-Air operated inclusive tour (IT) charter flights, regional short-haul scheduled services, transatlantic and other worldwide affinity group/Advanced Booking Charters (ABC flights), oil industry support flights and ''ad hoc'' operations including all-cargo services from London Gatwick, other British airports and
Tegel Airport Berlin Tegel "Otto Lilienthal" Airport (german: link=no, Flughafen Berlin-Tegel „Otto Lilienthal“) was the primary international airport of Berlin, the federal capital of Germany. The airport was named after aviation pioneer Otto Lilientha ...
in West Berlin.


Commercial success

Dan-Air's acquisition of three ex-
RAF Transport Command RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 1967. ...
Avro Yorks in 1954 resulted in establishment of
Dan-Air Engineering Dan Air Engineering Limited was the maintenance arm of Dan-Air, Dan Air Services Limited, itself a subsidiary of Davies and Newman, one of Britain's foremost wholly privately owned, independentindependent from government-owned corporations ship ...
as a sister company at Lasham, a disused war-time airfield in Hampshire, to service its fleet as well as other operators. The acquisition of a second DC-3 in 1954 resulted in Dan-Air moving its main operating base from Southend to Blackbushe the following year. The main base transferred to Gatwick in 1960 when Blackbushe closed to commercial airlines. Dan-Air's arrival at Gatwick in 1960 coincided with the entry into service of three former
Butler Air Transport Butler Air Transport was an Australian airline founded by C. Arthur Butler to operate air transport primarily among New South Wales airports in Australia, from 1934 until 1959.
Airspeed Ambassadors, the airline's first pressurised aircraft. This heralded the beginning of a major expansion into the IT charter market, including its first charter programme from Manchester. Horizon Holidays was one of the first tour operators to contract the airline's aircraft. The Ambassador fleet numbered seven aircraft by the mid-1960s and operated the majority of the company's IT flights until Comets and One-Elevens assumed the bulk of these operations towards the end of the decade. In 1966, Dan-Air introduced its first pair of ex- British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) de Havilland Comet series 4 aircraft, which made it the second British independent airline after British United Airways to start uninterrupted pure jet operations. This marked the beginning of sustained, steady and mostly profitable expansion. By the end of the 1960s, Dan-Air had become Gatwick's third biggest resident operator after British United Airways and
Caledonian Airways Caledonian Airways was a wholly private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British charter airline formed in April 1961. It began with a single 104-seat Douglas DC-7C leased from the Belgian flag carrier Sabena.''Flyi ...
. In October 1970, the US Civil Aeronautics Board granted Dan-Air a foreign carrier permit for a five-year period. This became effective on 5 April 1971 and enabled the airline to operate regular transatlantic affinity group charter flights between Britain and the US. To assist with marketing its transatlantic capacity to affinity group charter organisers in both countries, Dan-Air established a new joint venture named Dan-Air Intercontinental in partnership with CPS Aviation Services as a jointly owned subsidiary. Flights began in late-March 1971 with a Boeing 707-321 that was acquired second-hand from Pan American World Airways (Pan Am). The successful launch of Dan-Air's transatlantic joint venture led to the acquisition of a second 707-321 from Pan Am in 1972, and both aircraft continued to be primarily employed on transatlantic charter flights between Britain, Canada and the US until their retirement in 1978. Dan-Air's parent, Davies and Newman Holdings, became a publicly listed
security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercive change) caused by others, by restraining the freedom of others to act. Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be of persons and social ...
when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange in late 1971. The group was capitalised at £5 million at its stock market debut. This provided the funds to expand its charter business, build a network of regional scheduled services between secondary airports across Europe (with particular emphasis on the United Kingdom and Ireland), enter the transatlantic affinity group/ABC market and establish itself as leading fixed wing operator of oil industry support flights. It let the airline expand its fleet, leading to introduction of the One-Eleven, Boeing 707, Hawker Siddeley 748, Boeing 727,Boeing 737, BAe 146 and, eventually, the Airbus A300. Most were acquired second-hand. In 1972, Dan-Air co-founded Gatwick Handling, a Gatwick-based handling agent, with Laker Airways. Each owned 50% at its inception. By the mid-1970s, Dan-Air had become the second biggest resident operator at Gatwick after British Caledonian. From then on, it operated the largest of the UK independent airlines' fleets as well as Britain's largest charter fleet. Operating a large fleet comprising aircraft of various sizes gave the airline unrivalled flexibility among European charter carriers to meet the requirements of different tour operators. In the UK, Dan-Air was second only to British Airways in fleet size. For most of this period, Dan-Air had more than 50 aircraft, employed about 3,000 and by the end of the 1980s carried 6 million passengers annually, almost one-third on scheduled services. Dan-Air marked the 1980s with a corporate makeover. The first stage entailed a new fleet-wide
livery A livery is an identifying design, such as a uniform, ornament, symbol or insignia that designates ownership or affiliation, often found on an individual or vehicle. Livery will often have elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or ...
. One Boeing 727-100, the airline's first pair of stretched
Boeing 727-200 Advanced The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...
and its first Boeing 737 were first to appear in the new livery. The second stage gave the fleet widebody look interiors as each aircraft underwent maintenance. The final stage changed stationery, ticket wallets, timetable covers, airport signs and baggage tags as well as its logo in advertisements and public relations campaigns. By the time British Airways took over British Caledonian, Dan-Air had become Gatwick's second-largest slot holder, accounting for 16% of
slot Slot, the slot or Slots may refer to: People * Arne Slot (born 1978), Dutch footballer * Gerrie Slot (born 1954), Dutch cyclist * Hanke Bruins Slot (born 1977), Dutch politician * Tonny Bruins Slot (born 1947), Dutch association football coach wh ...
s. Dan-Air provided the chairman of the Gatwick Scheduling Committee while British Caledonian, Gatwick's largest slot holder, provided the
lot Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to: Common meanings Areas * Land lot, an area of land * Parking lot, for automobiles *Backlot, in movie production Sets of items *Lot number, in batch production *Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...
co-ordinator.


Expansion overseas

Dan-Air's first overseas expansion occurred during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
in 1968 when Frank Tapling, the sales director, visited
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
tour operators to increase utilisation of the growing Comet fleet and take advantage of the fact that all airlines other than those headquartered in the US, the UK and France were banned from West Berlin. Operating out of West Berlin let Dan-Air redeploy capacity left surplus in the UK due to sterling's devaluation and exchange controls which limited passengers to £50 a trip, and to obtain better rates than in the oversupplied UK charter market. The Comets' low acquisition costs also enabled Dan-Air to offer German tour operators with flying programmes from West Berlin keener rates than other Allied charter carriers – chiefly, fellow British independent Laker Airways and US airline Modern Air. 31 March 1968 marked the beginning of Dan-Air's association with
Tegel Tegel () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') in the Berlin borough of Reinickendorf on the shore of Lake Tegel. The Tegel locality, the second largest in area (after Köpenick) of the 96 Berlin districts, also includes the neighbourhood of ''Saatwinkel'' ...
which lasted 25 years. On that day, a Comet 4 left the airport for
Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...
, the first of almost 300 IT flights under contract to West German tour operator Neckermann und Reisen. Dan-Air established its first overseas base at Tegel in 1969. Up to five aircraft were stationed there for over two decades. These initially comprised Comets, One-Elevens, Boeing 707s and 727s. They were later replaced with Boeing 737s, Hawker Siddeley 748s and BAe 146s. The Berlin fleet operated
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
s under contract to tour operators as well as scheduled services to Amsterdam and
Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...
. Gatwick aircraft and crew operated most regular charter flights as well as all scheduled services linking Berlin with Gatwick. At its peak during the late 1970s and early 1980s, Berlin was staffed by 170, mainly local, employees and handled more than 300,000 passengers annually. Dan-Air's Berlin 727s had additional fuselage fuel tanks to fly non-stop to the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
with a full
payload Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...
. At the distance between Berlin and Las Palmas was greater than the shortest transatlantic crossing between Shannon in western Ireland and Gander in eastern Canada. The five-hour flight was the limit of the 727's economically viable non-stop
range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...
. The Berlin 727-100s' enhanced fuel capacity also meant that these aircraft had up to 20 fewer seats compared with their UK counterparts – 131 vs. 151 – to take full advantage of the resulting range increase. This in turn permitted Dan-Air to offer its German charter passengers an improved seat pitch, in line with German tour operators' requirement for a more comfortable seating arrangement as opposed to the then prevailing "high-density" configurations on most UK charter aircraft. Dan-Air operated the first commercial flight to Tegel's new terminal building on 1 November 1974 at 6am with a One-Eleven inbound from Tenerife.


Scheduled service developments

Dan-Air operated its first seasonal scheduled service during summer 1956 between Blackbushe and Jersey. It operated its first year-round scheduled service in 1960, linking Bristol and Cardiff with Liverpool. That service was inaugurated with a pair of de Havilland Doves. Subsequent changes included extending the service from Bristol to
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
, and replacing Doves with larger
Heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...
s and DC-3s. The resulting route pattern became the foundation of the ''Link City'' network. This linked South West England with the
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
via stops at the commercial centres of the
Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
and the
Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
. DC-3s continued plying all domestic ''Link City'' scheduled routes for the first ten years. The first international scheduled route was launched in 1960, linking Bristol and Cardiff with Basle. Further international scheduled services from Liverpool to Rotterdam, Bristol to Basle via
Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...
as well as from Bristol and Gatwick to Ostend followed during the early 1960s. These were operated with DC-3s and Airspeed Ambassadors. Dan-Air's acquisition of Scottish Airlines and Skyways International in 1961 and 1972 enlarged the scheduled operation. The former brought a passenger-configured DC-3 and a seasonal route linking Prestwick with the Isle of Man. The latter resulted in four additional
HS 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorption by Hawker Siddeley ...
s and year-round services linking Bournemouth with Jersey and
Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...
, as well as seasonal flights linking Gatwick with Clermont-Ferrand and
Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
.''Aviation News – UK and Irish airlines since 1945 (Part 34 an-Air Services'', Vol 64, No 12, p955, HPC Publishing, St Leonards on Sea, December 2002 These aircraft let the airline expand ''Link City'' by adding Bournemouth and reorganising the structure by introducing Bournemouth– Birmingham–Liverpool/Manchester– Newcastle and Luton
Leeds Bradford Leeds Bradford Airport is located in Yeadon, in the City of Leeds Metropolitan District in West Yorkshire, England, about northwest of Leeds city centre, and about northeast from Bradford city centre. It serves Leeds and Bradford and th ...
Glasgow, in April 1972. Schedules offered same-day-returns Monday to Friday. These ex-
Skyways Skyways may refer to: *Skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very ...
HS 748s enabled Dan-Air to open a seasonal Gatwick–
Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...
route in June 1972, the first direct scheduled air link between the UK and the
Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...
capital. The acquisition resulted in the HS 748 becoming the main scheduled aircraft for the next ten years. As a consequence,
748 __NOTOC__ Year 748 ( DCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 748 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calenda ...
s replaced the
Nord 262 Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...
Dan-Air had acquired from Air Ceylon in 1970 as a DC-3 replacement to operate Bristol–Cardiff–Liverpool–Newcastle. In addition, Skyways brought a scheduled route linking Ashford (Lympne) Airport in Kent with
Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...
. This formed part of a London– Paris coach-air service, which
Skyways Skyways may refer to: *Skyway A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very ...
had pioneered in 1955 with DC-3s. Dan-Air continued this service until the early 1980s. When
Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...
closed in 1974, services moved to Lydd. Seven-four-eights, One-Elevens and Vickers Viscounts leased from other operators operated these services. In 1973, Dan-Air added Teesside as a stop to ''Link City'' and inaugurated scheduled services between Teesside and Amsterdam. In 1974, Dan-Air began replacing the 748 with Comets and One-Elevens on its seasonal, scheduled services between Gatwick, Clermont-Ferrand and Montpellier, as well as on its year-round Luton–Leeds–Glasgow schedule, the first time the airline had used jets on scheduled services. The turboprop capacity released enabled re-introduction of scheduled services between Bristol, Cardiff and Amsterdam, as well as the launch of direct scheduled services between Newcastle and the Isle of Man. During April that year, Dan-Air launched a year-round, same-day-return Gatwick–Newcastle jet schedule, the airline's first UK mainland domestic feeder route from Gatwick. This twice-daily service, promoted with British Caledonian, initially utilised Comet 4Bs. From November 1974, BAC One-Eleven 300/400s replaced Comets on one of the rotations. In May 1974, Dan-Air launched a twice-daily Gatwick–Ostend HS 748 service in conjunction with Sabena. One of the two daily round-trips was operated under Sabena flight numbers. In 1975, Dan-Air commenced a year-round scheduled service between Newcastle and Bergen, as well as two new, seasonal scheduled routes linking the Isle of Man with Aberdeen and Gatwick. The latter was the first non-stop scheduled air service between Gatwick and the Isle of Man. Nineteen-seventy-five was also the year the airline converted its seasonal Gatwick–Bern scheduled service into a year-round operation. During that year, the company extended its seasonal scheduled service between Gatwick and Clermont-Ferrand to
Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...
, and introduced One-Eleven jets on its seasonal, Gatwick–Jersey schedule. Nineteen seventy-five furthermore saw the acquisition of two former
Zambia Airways Zambia Airways is the flag carrier of the Republic of Zambia. The airline is based in Lusaka, Zambia with its hub at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. Originally, the airlines was founded in April 1964, however was liquidated by the gover ...
One-Eleven 200s, the first time the firm had acquired jets to be exclusively operated on scheduled services. One aircraft was based at Gatwick, the other at Newcastle. Moreover, 1975 was the year Manchester became the sole stop in the Northwest on ''Link City''. In 1976 Dan-Air commenced a year-round scheduled service between Newcastle and
Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...
. In 1977, Dan-Air launched a scheduled route from Gatwick to
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
. 1978, Dan-Air's silver jubilee, saw the launch of a scheduled service linking Gatwick with Bergen. In November 1979, Dan-Air replaced British Airways as scheduled carrier between Gatwick and Aberdeen, a feeder route for the oil industry. 1979 also saw the launch of a Gatwick– Toulouse scheduled service. In April 1980, Dan-Air took over British Airways's loss-making regional services from Bristol, Cardiff and Newcastle to Belfast and Dublin, as well as from Bristol and Cardiff to Jersey, Guernsey and
Paris Charles de Gaulle Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...
, and from Leeds/Bradford to Guernsey. 1981 saw Dan-Air launch a scheduled route linking Gatwick with
Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
, its first scheduled service from Gatwick to Ireland, as well as a new, seasonal scheduled service linking Newcastle with Jersey and a new, year-round combined Gatwick–Newcastle–Aberdeen weekend schedule. During that year, the airline inaugurated scheduled services between Berlin and
Amsterdam Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the province ...
, the company's first scheduled route from Berlin as well as its first scheduled route not to touch the UK. Furthermore, in November, Dan-Air withdrew its application to the CAA to take over British Airways's
Highland and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 18 ...
scheduled operation. During 1981 and 1982, Dan-Air leased three HS 748s to British Airways to supplement the latter's 748 fleet on Scottish internal routes. The partial liberalisation of the
Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
bilateral agreement during the early 1980s enabled Dan-Air to commence scheduled operations on Gatwick–Dublin in 1982. As the recession began to bite and passengers for ''Link City'' dwindled, the company contracted them to
regional airline A regional airline is a general classification of airline which typically operates scheduled passenger air service, using regional aircraft, between communities lacking sufficient demand or infrastructure to attract mainline flights. In North ...
s operating smaller aircraft. Nineteen eighty-two saw Metropolitan Airways, a subsidiary of Alderney Air Ferries (Holdings), take over Dan-Air's Bournemouth–Cardiff/Birmingham–Manchester–Newcastle schedule. In March 1983, Dan-Air took over British Airways's loss-making Heathrow
Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...
route. This was the first time the airline had operated a scheduled service out of Heathrow. In May 1983, the company flew the world's inaugural BAe 146 scheduled service between Gatwick and Bern, the first commercial jet service into the small airport serving the Swiss capital. The same year, the company started scheduled Gatwick– Zürich flights, the second time it had launched daily scheduled services on a European trunk route. In November 1983, Dan-Air joined Travicom, the computer reservation system (CRS) used at the time by travel agents in the UK. In January 1984, Dan-Air took over
Touraine Air Transport Transport Aérien Transrégional was a French regional airline with its head office on the grounds of Tours Val de Loire Airport in Tours. It was formed in 1968 as Touraine Air Transport (TAT) by M. Marchais. Air France acquired a minority stake ...
's scheduled internal German operation between Berlin and Saarbrücken, the first time the airline had operated a scheduled route entirely within another country. That year also saw Dan-Air assume
British Midland British Midland Airways Limited (trading at various times throughout its history as British Midland, bmi British Midland, bmi or British Midland International) was an airline with its head office in Donington Hall in Castle Donington, close ...
's scheduled route between Gatwick and
Belfast International Airport Belfast International Airport is an airport northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland, is the main airport for the city of Belfast. Until 1983, it was known as ''Aldergrove Airport'', after the nearby village of Aldergrove. In 2018, over 6.2 ...
as well as launch a scheduled Manchester–Zürich service. In May 1984, Dan-Air began stationing an aircraft in Jersey, increasing the frequency of its scheduled service to Gatwick and converting it into a year-round operation. In addition, 1984 was the year Metropolitan took over Dan-Air's remaining ''Link City'' schedules between Bristol, Cardiff, Leeds and Glasgow. In 1985, Dan-Air inaugurated a seasonal scheduled route linking Gatwick with
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
, operated with a BAe 146. Innsbruck was the airline's first scheduled destination in Austria, which began receiving commercial jetliners on a scheduled basis for the first time. Nineteen eighty-five was also the year Dan-Air launched a year-round Manchester–Newcastle– Oslo scheduled route, the company's first scheduled services to the Norwegian capital. In 1986, Dan-Air launched a year-round non-stop Manchester–Amsterdam scheduled service. In 1987, Dan-Air began a scheduled service between Gatwick and
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, its first scheduled service on a main trunk route between the UK and the Iberian peninsula. The same year, the airline joined the
International Air Transport Association The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff ...
(IATA) as a Trade Association member. Following British Airways's takeover of British Caledonian in December 1987, Dan-Air's scheduled services transferred to Texas Air's '' SystemOne'' CRS. In 1988, Dan-Air commenced scheduled services between Gatwick and Madrid. Towards the end of that year, the airline also assumed the former British Caledonian routes from Gatwick to Paris Charles de Gaulle, Manchester, Aberdeen and Nice, gaining access to some of Gatwick's most important feeder routes, as well as some of the densest and most lucrative short-haul European trunk routes. At the start of the 1988–1989 winter timetable, Dan-Air became a two-class scheduled airline when, under the stewardship of Vic Sheppard, it introduced its ''Class Elite'' business class between Gatwick and Paris and between Gatwick and Nice on three refurbished One-Eleven 500s. Sheppard had joined Dan-Air from British Caledonian. In 1989, Dan-Air introduced ''Class Elite'' on all scheduled flights from Gatwick to Dublin, Zürich, Lisbon, Madrid and Toulouse. In 1990, Dan-Air introduced year-round two-class scheduled services from Gatwick to Tegel and Vienna. Gatwick–Tegel was Dan-Air's first scheduled link between its main UK base and its long-established overseas base. At the start of the 1990–1991 winter timetable, the firm replaced one of the two Berlin HS 748 turboprops with larger BAe 146 jets on Berlin–Amsterdam and introduced direct scheduled services linking Berlin with Manchester and Newcastle via Amsterdam. In addition, the company took over the Gatwick–Amsterdam feeder route from British Airways. Following Air Europe's demise at the end of the first week of March 1991, Dan-Air began assuming most of the failed carrier's scheduled routes from Gatwick, starting with Gatwick– Brussels and Gatwick–Oslo. Dan-Air's rival's collapse also enabled it to increase frequencies and introduce larger aircraft on the busy Gatwick –
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
and Gatwick–Manchester routes. At the start of the 1991–1992 winter timetable, Dan-Air increased the frequency of its Gatwick – Charles de Gaulle Airport services to nine return flights per day and Gatwick–Manchester to eight daily returns. The airline replaced BAC One-Eleven 500s with Boeing 737s on both routes. From then on, Dan-Air carried more scheduled passengers than British Caledonian had ever carried in one year throughout its existence. The expansion of Dan-Air's scheduled operation at Gatwick continued throughout 1992, resulting in the resumption of former Air Europe routes to Stockholm Arlanda in February and Rome Fiumicino in April. In addition, Dan-Air launched Gatwick– Athens in March and re-launched Gatwick– Barcelona in May. During that period, Dan-Air became Gatwick's largest resident, short-haul scheduled operator controlling 18% of all slots, and 21% of all morning peak time slots between 8am and 9am.''Chairman's progress report on implementation of Dan-Air's scheduled service strategy'', James, D.N., 1991 EGM, Gatwick Hilton Hotel, October 1991 In addition to scheduled services on its own account, Dan-Air was also contracted by other airlines to operate scheduled passenger and cargo services. In 1959, British European Airways (BEA) awarded Dan-Air a two-year contract to operate its six-times weekly scheduled freight service between Heathrow, Manchester and Glasgow's old Renfrew Airport using Avro York freighters. From 1960, BEA awarded Dan-Air additional contracts to operate its freight services from Heathrow to other destinations in the UK and Continental Europe. The airline eventually replaced the DC-3s, which it had used to operate these latter services, with Avro Yorks. For a couple of months starting in October 1968,
Kuwait Airways Kuwait Airways ( ar, الخطوط الجوية الكويتية, ) is the national carrier of Kuwait, with its head office on the grounds of Kuwait International Airport, Al Farwaniyah Governorate. It operates scheduled international services th ...
contracted its entire scheduled operation to Dan-Air, who supplied flight deck crews to man Comets while their own pilots underwent conversion training on the Boeing 707 in the US. During the 1970s, IAS Cargo Airlines sub-contracted Dan-Air to operate Zambia Airways's weekly scheduled Heathrow–
Lusaka Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...
all-cargo service with a small fleet of
707 707 may refer to: * 707 (number), a number * 707 (band), an American rock band * AD 707, a year in the 8th century * 707 BC, a year in the 8th century BC * The 7 July 2005 London bombings, a terrorist attack * 707th Special Mission Unit, a military ...
freighters in hybrid Dan-Air/IAS Cargo Airlines colours.


Milestones

Dan-Air claimed to be the first airline to transport a live dolphin. It also laid claim to be the first to introduce disposable catering equipment aboard its aircraft in 1969. Dan-Air ordered its first new aircraft in 1969, a single Handley Page Jetstream to replace the DC-3 assigned to ''Link City''. However, the order lapsed when Handley Page went into liquidation in 1970. Despite the negotiations being at an advanced stage, with the manufacturer's future in doubt, it was difficult to finance the purchase and the order could not be completed. Dan-Air ran its first transatlantic charter flight in October 1969 from Gatwick to Trinidad with a Comet.''Airliner World (The Last of Dan-Air's Comets – Dan-Air and the Comet)'', Key Publishing, Stamford, UK, November 2010, p71 Dan-Air operated a dozen 707 round-the-world charters for German tour operators during the mid-1970s. Dan-Air was one of the first UK airlines to employ female pilots, with five among 550 during 1978. It was also the first UK airline to have a female pilot in command of jet aircraft.
Yvonne Sintes Yvonne Pope Sintes (8 September 1930 – 16 August 2021) was a South African-born British aviator. She was the first female air traffic controller at Gatwick airport and later became Britain's first female commercial airline captain. Early life ...
, who had started her career as an airline pilot with
Morton Air Services Morton Air Services was one of the earliest post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airlines formed in 1945. It mainly operated regional short-haul scheduled services within the British Isles and ...
in 1965,''Aeroplane'' "Yvonne Pope has been appointed a second officer by Morton Air Services ...", Vol 108, No 2774, p30, Temple Press, London, 17 December 1964 joined Dan-Air as a Bristol-based DC-3 first officer in 1969. She gained her command as a captain on the HS 748 fleet before becoming a One-Eleven captain in 1975. Sintes flew One-Elevens and Comets until her retirement in 1980. During its 39-year history, Dan-Air passed several important passenger number milestones. In 1960, Dan-Air carried 100,000 passengers. It carried 500,000 passengers in one year for the first time in 1969. Nineteen seventy-one saw more than 1 million passengers. Nineteen seventy-three was the first year the company carried more than 2 million. Nineteen seventy-seven was the first time with more than 3 million. Four million was reached the following year, the silver jubilee. It took until 1985 to reach 5 million. In 1989, over 6 million flew with Dan-Air, the highest number ever. Nineteen eighty-four was the year Dan-Air carried more than 1 million scheduled passengers for the first time. Between 1966 and 1980, Dan-Air's 38-strong, active Comet fleet carried 8 million passengers.


Financial issues

1989 marked a watershed – it was the first year since the era prior to the decision to introduce jets in the mid-1960s, and the only time apart from a blip in 1981–1982, when the company lost money over a whole 12-month period. The loss of £3 million was in contrast to the profit of £10 million made the year before. Like most charter-focused operators, Dan-Air used to make a loss during the winter because of the seasonal nature of its business. However, this was compensated by the profit it made during the summer, giving a modest profit for the entire financial period. The financial position deteriorated during the early 1990s. It lost £35 million in 1991, its last complete 12-month period, and £24 million during the last six months of its existence until October 1992.


Causes of decline

Among the reasons for Dan-Air's decline was the lack of vertical integration with a UK tour operator. Dan-Air was the last major independent provider of charter airline seats to numerous large, medium-sized and small tour companies in the UK and overseas, at a time when most UK tour firms had set up their own airlines. These then competed with Dan-Air for the bulk of those operators' business, leading to a decline in rates. This resulted in a decline in Dan-Air's importance as a business partner for these tour operators, reducing its status from main to marginal provider. Another reason was that its fleet contained too many different, incompatible aircraft types. Some of these aircraft were older and less efficient than those operated by competitors such as
Air Europe Air Europe was a wholly privately owned, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airline, established in 1978 under the working title Inter European Airways.Simons It adopted the Air Europe name the following year. Its ...
. Consequently, the Dan-Air fleet was costlier to operate and maintain. The Boeing 727s, which Dan-Air continued to acquire throughout the 1980s, including some on unfavourable leases, proved a financial millstone. Dan-Air's decision to embark on a major expansion into scheduled services from Gatwick at a time when the UK economy was still mired in the
early 1990s recession The early 1990s recession describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the Western world in the early 1990s. The impacts of the recession contributed in part to the 1992 U.S. presidential election victory of Bill Clinton over incu ...
made the financial position worse. The economic conditions in the UK meant that actual revenues fell short of budget in Dan-Air's 1991–1995 business plan, which aimed at sustained profitability by 1995 with a £42 million profit. This meant an injection of £49 million of additional working capital into Dan-Air's
parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
from a successful share issue in 1990 was insufficient to fund the airline's needs. The funds raised through new shares were insufficient to standardise Dan-Air's fleet on the Boeing 737 300/400 series and the Avro RJ115 (marketed but never built). The funds were also insufficient to finance transformation from a cheap-and-cheerful charter carrier with a motley collection of poorly performing, "low visibility" regional scheduled routes into a top quality, "high visibility" mainline short-haul scheduled operator plying trunk routes. Dan-Air's last chairman,
David James Dewi, Dai, Dafydd or David James may refer to: Performers *David James (actor, born 1839) (1839–1893), English stage comic and a founder of London's Vaudeville Theatre *David James (actor, born 1967) (born 1967), Australian presenter of ABC's ''P ...
, said weak marketing and its charter mentality, even after the decision to make high-profile scheduled services the focus of commercial activities, was a reason it failed to achieve results. That meant that instead of making Dan-Air the airline of choice for high- yield business travellers on prime scheduled routes where it had become a major force in the wake of the demise of British Caledonian and Air Europe – such as Gatwick to Paris Charles de Gaulle – through carefully targeted marketing and publicity, Dan-Air continued selling the bulk of its scheduled inventory to consolidators and discount travel agencies, in the way it had sold its charter inventory to package tour operators. The airline saw this as risk minimisation to fill seats on scheduled services. However, Dan-Air surrendered control over its scheduled seats to third parties whose sales were volume-driven. This deprived Dan-Air of the opportunity to boost the profitability of its scheduled operation by concentrating on maximising revenues from high-yield travellers.


Sale to British Airways

Following inconclusive talks with Virgin Atlantic to save Dan-Air in return for an investment of £10 million, the airline was sold to British Airways in 1992. British Airways paid a nominal £1, in return taking on financial commitments of £50 million which included debts of £37 million. For its part, British Airways got 12 of Dan-Air's most modern Boeing 737s, a similar number of short-haul scheduled routes from Gatwick, the Heathrow–Inverness feeder service and about one-fifth of its 2,500 workers. Dan-Air was absorbed into British Airways' Gatwick operation. On 27 November 1992, the company's name was changed from ''Dan Air Services Ltd'' to ''British Airways (European Operations at Gatwick) Ltd''. This remnant of the former Dan-Air formed the nucleus of what British Airways intended to be a low-cost short-haul feeder for its Gatwick long-haul scheduled services, with the aim of helping to return British Airways' loss-making Gatwick operation to sustained profitability.


Corporate affairs


Headquarters

From 1953 to 1987, Dan-Air had its headquarters at the City of London in Bilbao House.


Fleet

It operated the world's largest fleet of de Havilland Comets and was the last in the world to operate them. Dan-Air built a 49-strong Comet fleet between 1966 and 1976.''Airliner World'' "The Last of Dan-Air's Comets – Dan-Air and the Comet & Additional Comets", Key Publishing, Stamford, UK, November 2010, pp69, 71–73 It retired the last example in November 1980. Not all of these
airframe The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system. Airframe design is a field of aerospa ...
s saw actual airline service; some had been exclusively acquired for spares. The Comets commanded a lower price than comparable second-hand jets. They were relatively unused as many previous operators had replaced them with the larger and more economical Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 after only a few years. The airframes had many years of service left and cost a fraction of the similarly sized
BAC One-Eleven 500 The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111/BAC 1-11) was an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-s ...
or Boeing 737-200, which were still scarce second-hand. It allowed the airline to replace most of its piston-engined
airliner An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
s – such as the
Avro York The Avro York was a British transport aircraft developed by Avro during the Second World War. The design was derived from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, several sections of the York and Lancaster being identical. Due to the importance of L ...
, the Bristol 170 Freighter and the
Airspeed AS 57 Ambassador The Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador is a British twin piston-engined airliner that was designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Airspeed Ltd. It was one of the first postwar airliners to be produced. The Ambassador was developed ...
– which had reached or were nearing the end of their lives, relatively cheaply. Dan-Air was the last commercial airline operator of the Ambassador. A small number of this high-winged, twin-engined plane survived in the fleet into the jet era. The last retired in September 1971 after its final JerseyGatwick scheduled service. Dan-Air was the first British operator of the Boeing 727 trijet, at the time the world's best-selling commercial
jetliner A jet airliner or jetliner is an airliner powered by jet engines (passenger jet aircraft). Airliners usually have two or four jet engines; three-engined designs were popular in the 1970s but are less common today. Airliners are commonly clas ...
. The first of three former Japan Airlines Boeing 727-100 series was introduced on 13 April 1973. Among other modifications, the aircraft needed a full stall protection system fitted to meet British civil airworthiness requirements.''Aircraft (Boeing Special – Dream Liners)'', Vol 43, No 2, p21, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, February 2010 Dan-Air's original eight Boeing 727-100s, which entered service between 1973 and 1978, differed from overseas-registered aircraft. Dan-Air's examples featured additional emergency doors each side of the rear fuselage as well as a stall-protection system known as a "
stick pusher A stick pusher is a device installed in some fixed-wing aircraft to prevent the aircraft from entering an aerodynamic stall. Some large fixed-wing aircraft display poor post-stall handling characteristics or are vulnerable to deep stall. To preven ...
". The additional exits were needed for having the aircraft certificated for an increased maximum seating capacity of 150. This necessitated satisfying the British
Civil Aviation Authority A civil aviation authority (CAA) is a national or supranational statutory authority that oversees the regulation of civil aviation, including the maintenance of an aircraft register. Role Due to the inherent dangers in the use of flight vehicles, ...
(CAA) requirement that all passengers could leave within 90 seconds using only half the available exits. Stall protection had been introduced in the light of experience with the stalling characteristics of both civil and military British T-tailed jet aircraft, including the loss of a Hawker Siddeley Trident on a test flight over Norfolk when it entered a
deep stall In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', p. 486. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. This occurs when t ...
. This stall-protection system consisted of a stick pusher, a "nudger" and an independent "shaker" for each pilot. When the aircraft was in danger of stalling it warned the pilots by shaking the control columns as well as correcting
attitude Attitude may refer to: Philosophy and psychology * Attitude (psychology), an individual's predisposed state of mind regarding a value * Metaphysics of presence * Propositional attitude, a relational mental state connecting a person to a pro ...
and altitude, in an attempt to increase air speed and so avert an irrecoverable deep stall. It was estimated that installing stall-protection cost Dan-Air £100,000 per aircraft and up to £1 million for the entire fleet. As well as the Comets and 727s, Dan-Air mainly operated BAC One-Elevens and Hawker Siddeley 748s during its most successful period in the 1970s and 1980s. In May 1983, Dan-Air became the first to put the four-engined BAe 146 regional jetliner into commercial service. The aircraft types below formed part of Dan-Air's fleet at one point or another in the airline's 39-year history: * Airbus A300 B4 * Airspeed Ambassador *
Avro York The Avro York was a British transport aircraft developed by Avro during the Second World War. The design was derived from the Avro Lancaster heavy bomber, several sections of the York and Lancaster being identical. Due to the importance of L ...
*
BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (or BAC-111/BAC 1-11) was an early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Originally conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-se ...
200/300/400/500 series * BAe 146-100/300 *
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
-320/320C * Boeing 727-100/200 Advanced * Boeing 737-200/200 Advanced/300/400 * Bristol Freighter * de Havilland Comet series 4/4B/4C * de Havilland Dove * de Havilland Heron *
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
* Douglas DC-4 * Douglas DC-7 * Handley Page Dart Herald *
Hawker Siddeley 748 The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorption by Hawker Siddeley. ...
series 1/2 *
Nord 262 Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...
*
Piper Apache The Piper PA-23, named Apache and later Aztec, is an American four- to six-seat twin-engined light aircraft aimed at the general-aviation market. The United States Navy and military forces in other countries also used it in small numbers. Origin ...
* Vickers Viscount series 700/800.


Accidents and incidents


Fatal accidents

Throughout Dan-Air's 39 years, the airline suffered seven accidents involving the loss of aircraft and lives, three of which killed fare-paying passengers. These accidents were : * 1958 Dan-Air Avro York crash: an Avro York crashed on 25 May 1958 while making a forced landing at
Gurgaon Gurgaon (pronunciation: ʊɽɡãːw, officially named Gurugram (pronunciation: ʊɾʊɡɾaːm, is a city located in the northern Indian state of Haryana. It is situated near the Delhi–Haryana border, about southwest of the nationa ...
, Haryana, India, after an engine had caught fire on an all-cargo flight from Karachi to Delhi. The radio operator was the sole survivor of the five occupants. *A Piper PA-23 Apache 160 (G-ATFZ) operating a positioning/crew flight from Gatwick via Lasham to Bristol below cloud in poor weather crashed on 1 September 1966 at Loxhill, Hascombe, near
Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...
,
Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, England. The aircraft was destroyed and both pilots killed when it hit trees on the top of a hill near Godalming. *
Dan-Air Flight 1903 Dan-Air Flight 1903 was an unscheduled international passenger service from Manchester to Barcelona, operated by Dan Air Services Limited under contract with British tour operator Clarksons Holidays, which arranged for the flight to carry a gr ...
: a de Havilland Comet 4 operating a charter flight from Manchester to Barcelona crashed into a mountain near Arbúcies in Catalonia in north-eastern Spain on 3 July 1970. The aircraft was destroyed and 105 passengers and seven crew died. This was the airline's first accident resulting in fatalities among fare-paying passengers. *
1977 Dan-Air Boeing 707 crash The 1977 Dan-Air/IAS Cargo Boeing 707 crash was a fatal accident involving a Boeing 707-321C cargo aircraft operated by Dan Air Services Limited on behalf of International Aviation Services Limited (trading as IAS Cargo Airlines at the time of ...
: a
Boeing 707-321C The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20 ...
freighter on the last leg of an international cargo flight from Heathrow crashed near
Lusaka Airport Lusaka (; ) is the capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was about 3.3 milli ...
on 14 May 1977. The right-hand horizontal stabiliser — including the elevator assembly — detached during the approach as a result of metal fatigue, causing loss of pitch control. Other factors included the rear spar structure's inadequate fail-safe design, the safety regulator's design assessment and certification process as well as the inspection procedure adopted by the aircraft's operator. The accident killed all six occupants. It sparked a debate on maintenance requirements as well as service life limitations of "geriatric" jets. *
Dan-Air Flight 0034 Dan-Air Flight 0034 was a fatal accident involving a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 series 1 turboprop aircraft operated by Dan-Air Services Limited on an oil industry charter flight from Sumburgh Airport, Shetland Islands, to Aberdeen Airport. The ...
: a Hawker Siddeley 748 series 1 (registration G-BEKF) operating an oil industry support flight crashed on 31 July 1979 at
Sumburgh Airport Sumburgh Airport is the main airport serving Shetland in Scotland. It is located on the southern tip of the mainland, in the parish of Dunrossness, south of Lerwick. The airport is owned by Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) and s ...
in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The aircraft failed to become airborne, ran through the perimeter fence, and crashed into the sea. The accident was due to the elevator gust lock having become re-engaged, preventing the aircraft from rotating into a flying attitude. The aircraft was destroyed and 17 of the 47 on board drowned. * Dan-Air Flight 1008: a
Boeing 727-46 The Boeing 727 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy Boeing 707, 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter f ...
(registration G-BDAN) crashed on 25 April 1980 while preparing to land at Los Rodeos (now Tenerife North Airport), Canary Islands, at the end of a charter flight from Manchester. The aircraft flew into high terrain when it turned the wrong way in a
holding pattern In aviation, holding (or flying a hold) is a maneuver designed to delay an aircraft already in flight while keeping it within a specified airspace. Implementation A holding pattern for instrument flight rules (IFR) aircraft is usually a racet ...
. The aircraft was destroyed and all 146 on board were killed. This accident was the deadliest air disaster involving a British-registered aircraft in terms of loss of life. *
Dan-Air Flight 240 Dan-Air Flight 240 was a fatal accident involving a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 series 2A turboprop aircraft operated by Dan-Air, Dan Air Services Limited on the first stage of a night mail flight from London Gatwick Airport to East Midlands Airport. ...
: on 26 June 1981 a Hawker Siddeley 748 series 2 (registration G-ASPL) on a regular postal flight from Gatwick to East Midlands Airport crashed at
Nailstone Nailstone is a village and civil parish in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England, situated to the west of Leicester and north-east of Market Bosworth. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 521, ...
in
Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
(12 miles from its destination) killing both pilots and the postal assistant on board. The aircraft's right rear door had sprung open in mid-air. It subsequently detached, hit the horizontal tailplane and became stuck on the leading edge. This resulted in a loss of control causing the aircraft to enter a steep dive, during which its wings and tailplane failed as a result of overstressing.


Non-fatal incidents

In addition to the fatal accidents listed above, Dan-Air suffered a number of non-fatal incidents, most of which occurred during the early years of the airline's existence in the piston-engined era. These usually damaged the aircraft involved beyond repair but did not cause any loss of lives. There were five incidents that made the headlines of the local and/or international mass media: * In 1971, one of the airline's Comets operating a charter flight carrying
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
migrant workers from Berlin Tegel to Istanbul was "escorted" by Bulgarian
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
into Sofia. The crew flying the aircraft was attempting to take the shortest route to Istanbul when leaving Yugoslav airspace by entering Bulgarian airspace, instead of taking the longer route through Greek airspace. They were not aware of the then
communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
government of Bulgaria's decision not to let any aircraft enter its airspace whose flight had originated or was going to terminate at a West Berlin airport, without stopping en route at another airport outside West Berlin. The aircraft landed safely at Sofia. It was released along with its crew and passengers when the flight's commander paid the fine the Bulgarian authorities had imposed for violating their country's airspace. * In 1973, Somali fighter aircraft forced a Dan-Air Boeing 707 flying through Somali air space en route from London Gatwick to the Seychelles and Mauritius with 83 passengers on board to land at
Mogadishu Airport Aden Adde International Airport ( so, Garoonka Caalamiga Ee Aadan Cadde, ar, مطار آدم عدي الدولي) , formerly known as Mogadishu International Airport, is an international airport serving Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. I ...
. The aircraft was flying through Somali airspace in violation of the prescribed procedure to apply for permission to do so in advance, as a result of an "administrative oversight" on the airline's part. As a consequence of this violation, the aircraft's captain was taken to court and a fine of £600 was imposed on the airline. * In 1974, one of the company's Boeing 727s (a Boeing 727-46, registration: G-BAEF) hit the
localiser An instrument landing system localizer, or simply localizer (LOC), is a system of horizontal guidance in the instrument landing system, which is used to guide aircraft along the axis of the runway. Principle of operation In aviation, a localiz ...
antenna of
Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, Bedfordshire, England, situated east of the town centre, and north of Central London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Ltd (LLAL), a company wholly owned by L ...
's Instrument Landing System while taking off on a charter flight to
Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
, rendering the system inoperative. The aircraft diverted to London Gatwick where it landed safely. * On 30 September 1988, while completing the repair and run-up of the faulty engine that had caused a rejected takeoff due to an engine oil warning at Berlin Tegel, Dan-Air Boeing 727-217Adv. G-BKAG collided with a jetway at the airport's terminal building while maintenance engineers taxied the aircraft back to its stand. This badly injured the ground crew member manning the jetway and ruptured the fully refuelled aircraft's centre wing tank at the left wing root. As a result, a large quantity of
jet fuel Jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF, also abbreviated avtur) is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is colorless to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial a ...
spilled onto the tarmac. The maintenance engineers' failure to pressurise the aircraft's hydraulics had resulted in a complete loss of hydraulic pressure just before reaching the stand, making it impossible to steer the aircraft and rendering the brakes ineffective. * On 2 March 1989, a Dan Air HS 748 mistakenly landed at Langford Lodge Airport instead of the nearby Belfast Aldergrove Airport, the intended destination of the scheduled service from Newcastle. When the aircraft broke cloud over
Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...
on short finals for Aldergrove's runway 07, the pilot in command thought what he had spotted was the correct runway and proceeded to land the plane at what turned out to be the adjacent, privately owned, Langford Lodge airfield, just under a mile short of the
approach Approach may refer to: Aviation *Visual approach *Instrument approach *Final approach Music * ''Approach'' (album), by Von Hertzen Brothers * ''The Approach'', an album by I:Scintilla Other uses *Approach Beach, a gazetted beach in Ting Kau, Ho ...
to runway 07 at Aldergrove.


Notes


References

* * * * * * *
''Airliner World'' online
*
''Aviation News'' online
* * * * *


Further reading

*
''Kelsey Publishing Group'' online
*

)


External links

* ttp://www.danairremembered.com/ Dan Air Remembered
The official Dan Air Staff Association website

Home of the BAC 1–11 on the Web

Dan-Air Boeing 707-321 G-AYSL on the ramp at Berlin Tegel on Christmas Day 1971
The aircraft's colour scheme was the airline's second livery (the first to be applied uniformly, fleet-wide).
Dan-Air de Havilland DH-106 Comet 4C G-AYWX about to touch down at Manchester Ringway during August 1972.
The aircraft's colour scheme was one of several variations of the airline's original livery.
Dan-Air Hawker Siddeley 748 Series 1A/200 G-ARAY parked in front of the passenger terminal at Newcastle Woolsington during 1973.
The aircraft's colour scheme was the interim, hybrid Dan-Air Skyways livery (exclusively applied to ex-Skyways HS 748s).
Dan-Air BAC One-Eleven 207AJ G-ATTP coming in to land at Munich Riem on 15 February 1981
The aircraft's colour scheme was the airline's third, experimental livery.
Dan-Air Boeing 727-2D3 Adv. G-BPND lining up on London Gatwick’s runway 08R on 27 January 1992.
The aircraft's colour scheme was the final version of the airline's fourth and last livery.



{{Airlines of the United Kingdom Defunct airlines of the United Kingdom Airlines established in 1953 Airlines disestablished in 1992 Davies and Newman