Freddie Laker

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Sir Frederick Alfred Laker (born in 1922 – February 6, 2006) was an English airline pioneer best known for establishing Laker Airways in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982.

Freddie Laker, a company founder who pioneered the "low cost / no-frills" airline business model, which has since been extremely profitable with airlines such as Norwegian Air, Ryanair, easyJet, AirAsia, and WestJet.

Early business ventures

Laker's early postwar industry ventures (prior to 1960) included: Including: a jumbled poem by the author.

In October 1947, Freddie Laker founded Aviation Traders. It was based at Southend Airport, Essex, England, and was specialized in the conversion of multiple war-surplus bombers and transporters into freighters. This involved the conversion of Handley Page bombers into freighters, six of which were sold to Bond Air Services, an early British independent airline. During the Berlin Blockade of 1948–49, Bond Air Services based these planes at Wunstorf aerodrome in West Germany to transport essential supplies into West Berlin. These planes have since been contracted to be operated by Bond Air Services. In exchange, Aviation Traders received half of Bond Air Services' freight costs.

Laker had the majority of the Halifaxes he had supplied to various independent airlines before the Airlift was scrapped at its Southend plants following the 1949 Berlin Airlift. He also converted several DC-4/C-54 Skymaster airframes into Carvairs for various operators around the world.

In addition, Aviation Traders re-engineered Argonauts, BOAC's Canadian-built Canadair North Stars, with unused Rolls-Royce Merlin piston engines that had been converted to carry passengers and freight as part of BOAC's entire fleet of Haltons, as well as several Avro Tudors purchased from the government. The ATL-90 Accountant, the company's all-new aircraft model, also produced an all-new aircraft type.

Aviation Traders (Engineering), a sister company of Aviation Traders, was granted a contract by Bristol Aircraft to produce wing center sections for Bristol Freighters in 1951. Aviation Traders (Engineering) built 50 wing sections for Bristol Aircraft between 1952 and 1955.

Laker revealed in 1958 that he had decided to sell both Aviation Traders and Air Charter to Airwork for £600,000 more, subject to the company's value. The arrangement came into operation in January 1959, when Aviation Traders and Air Charter joined the Airwork group.

This was his first airline venture, which he took over in 1951. Air Charter had been based at London's old Croydon Airport since its inception in 1947. The airline was involved in the Berlin Airlift between 1948 and 1949. (Last year, Laker sold the Air Charter Yorks that were still airworthy to other independent airlines, two of which were purchased by Dan-Air in 1956).

Air Charter launched its first vehicle ferry service between Southend and Calais on April 14, 1955, using a Bristol 170 Mark 32 Super Freighter.

Laker announced in 1958 that he would sell both Air Charter and Aviation Traders to Airwork for £600,000 cash plus, subject to the stock's value.

Air Charter became a subsidiary of the Airwork company in January 1959.

Following a rationalization of Air Charter's flight crew and ground staff in February 1959, Laker decided to move all vehicle ferry operations along with the Bristol 170 fleet to the newly installed Channel Air Bridge.

In June 1960, Air Charter was integrated into British United Airways as a result of Airwork's merger with Hunting-Clan and several other contemporary British independent operators.

In 1954, his second airline venture began operating cars and their passengers across the English Channel, first using a fleet of Bristol Freighter twin-engined, piston-powered planes. These were later extended and eventually superseded by the larger-capacity, four-engined Carvairs. The Carvair's concept was based on the Douglas DC-4 piston-engined airliner. It involved raising the aircraft's cockpit "above" the fuselage in a 747-style bulge in order to add more space for cars and/or passengers on the main deck. It involved also replacing the DC-4's original tail fin with a newly manufactured, larger DC-7 fin, as well as equipping the aircraft with a Bristol Freighter-style cargo door, more robust brakes, and a stronger undercarriage.

He and his two companies, Air Charter and Aviation Traders, sold Channel Air Bridge together with his other two businesses, Air Charter and Aviation Traders, to Airwork at the end of 1958. In January 1959, all three three of the three three Airwork companies became members of the Airwork union. British United Airways and Hunting-Clan merged in June 1960 to form British United Airways. For more than two years, Channel Air Bridge has been operating under its own name.

Channel Air Bridge and Silver City Airways, which had pioneered commercial cross-Channel vehicle ferry flights in 1948, joined Channel Air Bridge on January 1, 1963. British United Air Ferries was the merged entity.

In the meantime, Laker had been appointed as the British United's managing director.

During his tenure (1960–65), British United became the country's only wholly owned, independent airline. It also became the first privately owned airline to re-equip its entire fleet with a new jet aircraft.

When British United placed an order for ten series 200 aircraft in 1961, it became the first customer for the BAC One-Eleven short haul jetliner. Laker had personally discussed the contract with the manufacturer. This was the first time an independent airline had placed an order for brand-new jets. On the airline's scheduled London-Genoa route, the first of the new One-Elevens went into service on April 9, 1965. Laker has also placed an order for Vickers VC10 series 1103 long-distance jets on behalf of British United. Around the end of 1964, the first two aircraft were delivered. (These aircraft differed from other operators' VC10s by having a large cargo door on the left-hand side of the aircraft's first class section, which was located on the plane's first class section). (They had extended wingtips that were marginally bent downwards to reduce the aircraft's cruise drag as well as help it cope with the instability caused by stalling.)

British United had an all-jet fleet by the end of the decade, giving it a competitive edge over its current independent rivals.

Laker was also instrumental in the transfer of BOAC's loss-making South American routes to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay to British United. Using its brand-new VC10s, the airline began operating on these routes in November 1964 and was able to make them profitable within five years.

Following an alleged rivalry with British United's chairman Myles Wyatt, Laker decided to leave British United to start his own airline in 1965.

During the intervening postwar years of the twentieth century (post-1960): Laker was involved in the following company ventures:

Laker Airways was established in 1966. This was Laker's third and most prominent airline venture. Laker Airways began commercial airline operations in July with a fleet of two ex-BOAC Bristol Britannias. They were then extended and eventually replaced by a brand-new BAC One-Eleven jetliners, as well as a pair of second-hand Boeing 707 jets.

Laker Airways was both a charter airline and wholesale tour operator at one time. At the time, British (as well as other European) airline rules mandated that charter-based low-price air travel be sold to the public only as a part of an air-hotel package. Tour operators also controlled other major British charter airlines, mainly providing low-priced travel to Mediterranean beach destinations. Laker had been the most profitable as well as the country's best-run charter airline.

Laker Airways pioneered several innovative, cost-saving, as well as profit-enhancing, corporate, and operational techniques.

Laker Airways revealed in 1969 that it planned to buy the BAC Three-Eleven, an all-British widebodied jet powered by two rear-mounted Rolls-Royce RB211 engines. The airline's letter of intention called for four aircraft to be delivered in 1974. These 250-seaters were expected to replace the entire narrow-bodied fleet, which was expected to include two 158-seat Boeing 707s and four 84-seat BAC One-Elevens by that time. Following the project's cancellation in 1971 due to a lack of government funding, Laker opined that this would force him to invest the £3 billion he had planned to invest by 1986 in a fleet of British-built widebodied airliners (including options) on competing international models.

When Laker Airways first introduced its first two McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 series aircraft into commercial airline service in November 1972, it became the first European airline to do so. These were the first UK-registered DC-10s.

Laker Airways operated the world's first Advance Booking Charter (ABC) flight in 1973. It had been the undisputed global ABC flight market leader by the mid-1970s by the mid-1970s.

On September 26, 1977, Laker Airways recorded another industry first when it introduced its first daily Skytrain low-fare scheduled service between London Gatwick and New York John F. Kennedy Airport.

Laker Airways, one of the civil aviation Authority's (CAA), submitted an application on June 15, 1971, a very inexpensive one-way fare to start the first daily transatlantic, low-fare commute between London and New York City, charging an extremely low one-way fare of £32.50 in winter and £37.50 in summer. This was one third of what the major "flag carriers" were charging at the time. The proposed service was supposed to be launched under the Skytrain brand, and it was expected to be operated with 158-seat single-class Boeing 707-138Bs that had been bought secondhand. Skytrain was supposed to be a "walk-on," "walk-off" operation that did not require advance reservations. Rather, seats were to be sold to the traveling public at each end of the route on a "first come, first served" basis.

Laker's request was turned down before the year was over, and Laker appealed against the decision. The appeal was successful, and Laker was eventually granted the right to drive in February 1972.

However, the UK government revoked Laker's licence on March 30, 1972, requiring him to reapply to the CAA, which came into existence on April 1.

During the summer and seven weekly round-trips during the winter, Laker reapplied to the CAA for permission to run eleven weekly Skytrain services between London Gatwick and John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK). The summer schedule was supposed to be operated with Laker's latest DC-10 widebodied jet plane to take advantage of increased demand for his new low-fare service during the peak months of June to September, as well as the DC-10's low break-even load factor of only 52%. According to Laker's original application to the ATLB, the winter schedule was to be carried out with 707 narrowbodies as indicated.

The newly established CAA accepted Laker's request on October 5, 1972, granting a ten-year license. However, Stansted rather than Gatwick as the service's departure/arrival point and limited the number of seats that could be sold in winter to 189 per trip, rather than Gatwick, and the maximum number of passengers a Boeing 707 could carry in a high-density, all-economy configuration. During the so-called "cannon ball" hearings earlier this year, the unexpected departure and arrival times for Laker's Skytrain train and its capacity limit were not meant to jeopardize the planned launch of a full-service scheduled operation, for which the ATLB had already issued the airline a 15-year licence as well as another 15-year license for a daily Gatwick—Los Angeles International Airport full-service scheduled operation.

On January 11, 1973, the UK government branded Laker Airways as a scheduled transatlantic "flag" carrier.

However, the UK's Labour government of that period ruled to withdraw Laker's licence on July 29, 1975, despite significant losses and overcapacity on the North Atlantic as a result of the global energy crisis posed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' oil embargo.

Freddie Laker brought the government to the UK High Court, which reversed the former's decision to withdraw the airline's license for a Skytrain service between London and New York.

Laker took final authorization, which was provided by US President Jimmy Carter for a one-year experimental period on June 13, 1977, to begin Skytrain.

In the meantime, Peter Shore, the former Minister of Trade, had a look at the government's aviation policy and announced a new "spheres of influence" policy in 1976 that abolished dual designation for British airlines on all long-haul routes. BA and BCal were no longer allowed to run competitive scheduled services on the same long-haul routes, and the latter was forced to withdraw from the London—New York—Los Angeles routes, resulting in the suspension of BCal's Gatwick—JFK and Gatwick—Los Angeles licences as a result of BCal's new aviation policy. Edmund Dell, Peter Shore's replacement, renounced the original Bermuda air services deal of 1946 and began bilateral talks with his American counterparts on a new air services agreement, which resulted in the 1977 Bermuda II treaty.

The long-running Skytrain project in Laker was finally accepted in 1977 after the airline was designated as the second UK flag carrier between London and New York under the then-concluded Bermuda II UK-US air agreement. Laker also received government permission to use its Gatwick base as the service's departure and landing point, rather than Stansted as originally stated in its charter. The ban limiting it to 189 seats per aircraft in winter was lifted, as well as the baggage allowance, which was updated to comply with International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines.

On September 26, 1977, Skytrain returned to the air for the first time. This flight carried 272 passengers on board one of McDonnell Douglas DC-10 widebodied aircraft, which was one of the airline's 345-seat Boeing Douglas DC-10 widebodied aircraft. At the time, the fare was £59 (equivalent to £390 in 2021) one-way from London to $1892 in 2021, or £892 in 2021) one-way from New York.

In winter, Skytrain was expected to have a 50% load factor. The true load factor was 80 percent by summer 1978.

After unsuccessfully attempting to stop Laker by government legislation, the three remaining giant lines, British Airways, Pan Am, and TWA all matched Laker's standby fares and regulations for at least a portion of their economy-class seats. Pan Am also introduced "budget," where a traveler could book a seat at the time of purchase but only for travel within a three-day travel "window," with a specific flight and date confirmed by the airline a week before departure.

According to Laker, Skytrain helped increase passenger numbers for all airlines in the London—New York market in 1977, compared passenger numbers from the 1977–1990 peak season to those of the corresponding period in 1976. These had shown that in the days before Skytrain, total traffic between London and New York during the aforesaid period in 1977 was down by 2% compared to the same period in 1976. He compared the figures from October to December 1977 off-peak period with those from 1976 off-peak. The former series of figures showed a 30 percent rise, boosted by "Skytrain," which was released on September 26, 1977.

An increase of 31.8% (37,902 passengers) for both airlines in October 1977 to those of the same month in 1976 had been shown. Laker's "Skytrain" contributed to 15% (17,501 passengers) of the overall increase, while competing services of rival airlines accounted for the remaining 16.8% (20,401 passengers). The latter included IATA members British Airways, Pan Am, and TWA, which had initially opposed "Skytrain" but then matched its low fares. (Statistics for November and December 1977, as well as January—June 1978, showed that overall monthly growth in the London—New York market was stagnant for the remainder of this period, although Skytrain managed to increase its share of the total monthly increase to 50% and hold this position until the end of the year).

Skytrain's first year of operation resulted in increasing expansion in terms of new routes and higher frequencies over the coming years.

Freddie Laker himself became renowned among the public ("the forgotten man's hero") and was named one of Margaret Thatcher's "golden boys" of industry (along with Sir Clive Sinclair and Sir Alan Sugar). The future Conservative Prime Minister was a self-confessed "Freddie Laker fan."

However, it was James Callaghan's "pro-union" Labour government that awarded Laker his knighthood for services to the airline industry in 1978, rather than Margaret Thatcher's subsequent "pro-business" Conservative administration (although the former chief of the opposition).

The airline placed orders for additional McDonnell Douglas DC-10 widebodies, including the company's first order for five longer-range series-30 aircraft required for its Los Angeles flights as Skytrain expanded to other British and American gateways. These were produced from December 1979 to support the increasing number of destinations and frequencies.

The airline was also one of the early buyers of the first Airbus A300, purchasing ten of these widebodies in 1979 and having plans to deploy them on a new network of intra-European Skytrain routes in a major way.

Skytrain came to an end on the day the airline went into receivership at the Midland Bank's behest.

The company went bankrupt in 1982, owing to a total debt of over £250 million (equivalent to £938.62 million in 2021). On February 5, 1982, the airline made its last flight on the airline's last flight before it went into receivership.

Several reasons contributed to what was described as the country's biggest corporate failure at the time:

Laker was stunned and almost immediately attempted to relaunch the airline with help from one of the country's greatest conglomerates, 'Tiny' Rowland, the airline's managing director, and the music band The Police, who had used the airline to tour America in their formative years).

However, despite Rowland's pledge of support being described as "adequate" by Laker, the attempt was ultimately ineffective due to their inability to obtain the required licenses.

Laker, who now lives in the Bahamas, got off the ground in the early 1990s, moving his refounded company's base to Freeport. Laker Airways operated from there until it was closed in 2005. It was Laker's last airline venture.

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