Skyways (British airline) (original) (raw)

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Skyways Limited was an early post-World War II British airline formed in 1946 that soon became well-established as the biggest operator of non-scheduled air services in Europe. Its principal activities included the operation of worldwide non-scheduled passenger and cargo services, including trooping and oil industry support flights, inclusive tour (IT) and ad hoc charters for automobile industry executives as well as specialist freight services. The newly formed airline operated its first flight in 1946 with an Avro York that had been chartered by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company to carry oil personnel and freight from Langley to Basra via Manston, Malta, Cairo and Lydda. Skyways was a major civilian participant in the Berlin Airlift and became one of Britain's foremost independent airlines during the 1950s and early 1960s. Following the airline's liquidation in 1950 and transfer of the bankrupt carrier's assets to a new company incorporating the name Skyways, control passed to the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation (LAC) in 1952. LAC's acquisition of Skyways resulted in concentration of the combined group's operations at London Stansted Airport. Low-fare scheduled services commenced in 1953. Launch of the world's first Coach-Air operation in 1955 resulted in a demerger that saw those services transferred to new subsidiary Skyways Coach-Air Limited. A number of financial reorganisations during the 1950s provided the funds for a major expansion of Skyways's activities and fleet, culminating in the buyout of the company in 1961 by Eric Rylands, LAC's former co-owner and managing director. Loss of a major freight contract that had accounted for 75% of Skyways's revenue, a failed investment in a regional Caribbean airline and an expensive aircraft lease led to renewed financial difficulties in 1962. This resulted in Skyways's takeover by newly formed charter operator Euravia the same year. A new Skyways emerged in 1975 when, still under Eric Rylands's stewardship, Skyways Cargo Airline assumed the original Skyways's air freight business. Financial difficulties following a period of expansion during the second half of the 1970s led to the cessation of operations in 1980, resulting in the final disappearance of the Skyways name from the UK air transport scene. (en)

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Skyways (en)

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1962 (xsd:integer)

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worldwide (en)

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9 (xsd:integer)
(en)

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1946 (xsd:integer)

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dbr:Wavell_Wakefield,_1st_Baron_Wakefield_of_Kendal
dbr:Alfred_Critchley
Eric Rylands (en)
Sir Alan Cobham, (en)

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Skyways Limited was an early post-World War II British airline formed in 1946 that soon became well-established as the biggest operator of non-scheduled air services in Europe. Its principal activities included the operation of worldwide non-scheduled passenger and cargo services, including trooping and oil industry support flights, inclusive tour (IT) and ad hoc charters for automobile industry executives as well as specialist freight services. Low-fare scheduled services commenced in 1953. (en)

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Skyways (British airline) (en)

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wikipedia-en:Skyways_(British_airline)?oldid=1111322338&ns=0

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wikipedia-en:Skyways_(British_airline)

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Skyways (en)

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wikipedia-en:Skyways_(British_airline)