Charles Woodley – författare

The end of the Second World War not only brought peace to a war-weary population but also delivered a plethora of surplus transport aircraft, crew and engineers, which could be easily and cheaply repurposed to ‘lift’ the mood of the British population. The dream of sun-drenched beaches in exotic places suddenly became a reality for thousands of pioneering tourists taking advantage of the air-travel revolution of the 1950s. From their humble beginnings flying holidaymakers to campsites in Corsica in war-surplus Dakota aircraft to today’s flights across the globe in wide-bodied Airbuses, Flying To The Sun narrates the development of Britain’s love-hate relationship with holiday charter airlines. Whilst many readers today will be more familiar with names like Ryanair and Easyjet than Clarksons or Dan-Air, this charming book serves as a fond reminder of those enterprising airlines and companies that ushered a new age of travel.

The British Overseas Airways Corporation came into being in 1939 as the successor to the pre-war British Airways and the legendary Imperial Airways, and through the dark days of the Second World War it used flying-boats to maintain air links between Britain, Africa, Australia and the USA. Post-war, flying-boats and converted bombers soon gave way to Lockheed Constellations, Bristol Britannia's, de Havilland Comets, Boeing 707s and Vickers VC-10s, which carried BOAC's name to all points of the globe and established the airline as a supported of the latest in aviation technology.This culminated in an order for the Concorde supersonic airliner, but before BOAC could take delivery of this revolutionary design it was amalgamated with its short-haul counterpart BEA to form British Airways However, in the memories of its passengers and staff, BOAC will remain the airline that lived up to its slogan, 'BOAC takes good care of you'.

The Gatwick story really began when two young men purchased a plot of land near Gatwick Racecourse to develop as a flying field. From these humble beginnings in the 1930s, it has become Britain’s second airport, with 34 million passengers a year passing through the terminals – and this despite it having only a single runway! This lavishly illustrated volume traces its extraordinary early history, including its varied and valuable wartime service under the auspices of the RAF, its subsequent redevelopment in the 1950s and its emergence in the 1960s and beyond – after considerable struggles – as the bustling, modern airport familiar to so many travellers today. It is an unashamedly nostalgic look at this historic airport, its hardworking staff and the iconic planes that have passed through it.

For over seventy years the name Swissair stood for all things Swiss on the airways. The ‘flying arrow’ emblem of Switzerland’s national airline represented a company with deep financial reserves, enabling it to invest in the latest jets and the most modern technology. Yet from the 1970s onwards world events brought about a dramatic reversal in its fortunes. A new strategy of growth through investment in many other airlines misfired when these carriers became a loss-making burden, and the decision of the Swiss population to remain outside the European Economic Area restricted the airline’s opportunities for increasing passenger uptake. By 2001, in the wake of the collapse in traffic following the 9/11 atrocities, the carrier was reliant on government loans for its continued survival, and in 2002 Swissair ceased all operations, its routes and equipment being resurrected by rival Crossair. The humiliation did not end there. In 2007 Swissair’s entire former management board stood trial on charges relating to mismanagement, making false statements, and forgery.Commercial aviation author Charles Woodley has pieced together the story of Swissair’s rise to a glittering reputation for quality and reliability, and the factors leading to its downfall.

During the post-war years, Heathrow Airport became the country’s leading aviation hub. This book examines how this was achieved, from the airport’s opening on 1 January 1946 until the transfer of long-haul services to the Central Area in the late 1950s. This period included the operations of BOAC up to the introduction of the Comet 4, the world’s first commercial jet liner, as well as many foreign airlines that have since ceased to exist.Charles Woodley explores Heathrow’s fascinating story through rare and previously unpublished illustrations and informative text, providing a nostalgic look back at a golden era of aviation history.

In the early 1960s the British airline scene was dominated by the nationalised carriers British European Airways and British Overseas Airways Corporation. The independent sector was mainly composed of small charter companies, under-financed and prone to commercial failure without notice. Two notable exceptions were Airwork Ltd and Hunting-Clan, both of which had secured government troop-carrying contracts. Their shipping-line owners were hungry for the security of scheduled passenger route licences and were convinced that their future lay in amalgamation. In July 1960 these airlines were merged to form British United Airways (BUA), based at London’s new Gatwick Airport. From here, a network of services to Europe, Africa and South America was developed, and pioneering orders for new British-built jets were placed. During 1969 BUA carried 1.4 million passengers and its mainline fleet comprised 16 BAC One-Elevens and 4 VC-10s.In 1969 a report on Britain’s airlines recommended the creation of an even larger ‘second-force’ airline to provide viable competition for BEA and BOAC and the foreign carriers. This would lead to the takeover of BUA by ambitious charter specialist Caledonian Airways and the eventual establishment of British Caledonian Airways, after a decade of growth and innovation by British United Airways had shown the way.

In 1976 a Jersey-based air taxi operator purchased two elderly Dakota aircraft for cargo charters as Air Atlantique. Thus began the saga of an airline that would eventually operate one of the largest fleets of Dakotas in the world, acquire four-engined vintage propliners, diversify into passenger charters and pleasure flying and oil-spill response work, and take over the lease on its Coventry Airport base. From here a fleet of historic aircraft sallied forth to participate in air shows around the UK. The impending retirement of the airline’s founder Mike Collett brought about changes, but the freight charters and pleasure flying continued until new regulations brought passenger flying in the Dakotas to an end. Undaunted, Air Atlantique went on to open an aviation museum and visitor centre at Coventry.This is the story of a unique and much-loved British airline.