Founded in 1961 as Euravia by British businessman Ted Langton and
aviation consultant J.E.D. Walker, at a time of considerable turmoil for
the independent sector of the British air operators' industry, Britannia
Airways went on to become the world's largest holiday airline.
Just as Court Line evolved from Autair, so Britannia Airways evolved
from Euravia. Both UK airlines had strong links with the travel
industry; Court Line with Clarksons Holidays, and Britannia with the
Thomson Group, in particular the 'Sky Tours' brand. Both were innovative
in their own ways, and both grabbed the UK travel industry by the scruff
of the neck and shook it into the jet age - Court line traveling down
the brasher cheap-and-cheerful road, while Britannia took the more
staid, upmarket route.
By 1972, Britannia had developed to such a degree that it was the
biggest of the British independent charter airlines. It was also a
groundbreaking operation - during the late 1960s, it became the first
charter airline to offer assigned seating, as well as hot in-flight
meals. Prior to the mid-1970s, Britannia, much like other British carter
airlines of the era, had concentrated upon low-cost flights to Spain and
the use of provincial airports to provide its services. The company's
management, however, harbored ambitions to grow beyond this. As a
result, for example, Britannia's 767s began regular charter flights
between Britain and Australia in 1988, a route to New Zealand being
added the following year.
Between 1968 and 1984, Britannia carried nearly forty-two million
passengers, while the company's fleet grew to include twenty-nine Boeing
737s and a pair of 767s. Drawing on the author's in-depth research and
knowledge, as well as firsthand interviews with individuals such as Ted
Langton, the original tour operator who wanted his own airline, and Jed
Williams, who created Britannia, this the full story of one of the most
important airlines in the history of civil aviation.
