Monarch Airlines, simply known as Monarch, was a British charter and scheduled airline founded by Bill Hodgson and Don Peacock and financed by the Swiss Sergio Mantegazza family. The company later became a low-cost airline"Monarch Airlines Profile.". CAPA. Retrieved on 14 October 2017."Contact Us – Press Office." Monarch Airlines, Retrieved: 6 November 2010. in 2004 before abandoning charter flying completely. The airline's headquarters were based at London–Luton, and it had operating bases at Birmingham, Leeds/Bradford, London–Gatwick and Manchester.
When Monarch entered administration in 2017, it was the biggest airline collapse in UK history up to that point, leaving nearly 100,000 passengers and holidaymakers stranded. However, on 23 September 2019, Thomas Cook also collapsed, leaving 150,000 people stranded, and went on to become the largest UK airline ever to collapse. The airline held a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Type A Operating Licence. This licence allowed Monarch to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.
History
1960s
On 5 June 1967, Monarch Airlines was established by a pair of British businessmen, Bill Hodgson and Don Peacock, both of whom had previously been directors at the airline British Eagle.Hooker, Lucy. "Monarch's rise and fall charts British holiday trends." BBC News, 3 October 2017. Unlike typical airlines at the time, Monarch was founded with the express intent of conveying British holidaymakers to tourism hotspots and desirable getaway destinations throughout Europe. Particularly at a time when air travel was traditionally feasible only to the rich, Monarch took another unusual step. The airline's ambition was to promote the service towards the demands and needs of the average family, rather than it being marketed solely for wealthier clients.
The business was operated as a subsidiary of Globus Getaway Holdings and received financial backing from the Swiss Sergio Mantegazza family.Flight International 11 April 1968, p. 543.Maslen Airliner World July 2008, p. 33. At the time of Monarch's inception, the Mantegazza family were the owners of UK-based tour operator Cosmos Tours.Brown Eager to See Monarch Reigning. Travel Trade Gazette Archive issue, 16 February 2007.Maslen Airliner World July 2008, p. 32. Sister company Engineering Limited (which would later become Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited) performed maintenance on the company's aircraft."History." Monarch Aircraft Engineering, Retrieved: 26 October 2017. On 5 April 1968, Monarch commenced commercial airline operations. Monarch conducted a charter flight from Luton Airport, London to Madrid, Spain, using a Bristol 175 Britannia 300 turboprop formerly operated by British airline company Caledonian Airways.Flying the nation for 40 years! Were you one of our first passengers? Monarch Airlines, 3 March 2008.Flight International 10 April 1969, p. 583.
The airline's initial fleet comprised a pair of Bristol Britannias (both ex-Caledonian Airways) serviced in a single hangar at Luton. During 1969, the firm's second year of operation, Monarch was able to acquire additional Britannias from the administrators of troubled airline British Eagle.Hales-Dutton Air International February 2010, p. 48. Shortly after, the airliner reached a milestone in the form of 250,000 passengers carried within a 12-month period, which at that point was operating an expanded fleet of six Britannias.
1970s
During 1971, Monarch entered the jet age, having completed arrangements for the acquisition of an initial batch of three Boeing 720B jetliners to its fleet.Stroud Flight International 18 May 1972, Supplement p. 33. The airline's first commercial jet service took to the air on 13 December 1971. Co-founder Bob Hodgson later praised the low noise levels of the turbofan-powered Boeing 720B, favourably referring to them as being "whispering giants". The introduction of the company's first jet aircraft type also coincided with the adoption of a revised livery.
By the 1970s, there was a strong demand amongst the wider British population for the package holiday format, to which Monarch was able to capitalise upon greatly. During 1972, the airline recorded having carried 500,000 passengers with the space of a single year for the first time. However, during the 1970s energy crisis, in which the price of oil spiked dramatically, many airlines experienced periods of considerable financial hardship. One of Monarch's rivals in the package holiday sector, Court Line, was forced into receivership. While the company took on several former staff from Court Line, Monarch itself was not immune to these difficulties either.
By 1976, Monarch had transitioned to an all-jet fleet, following the sale of the airline's last Britannia to Greek cargo charter airline Afrek on 21 May of that year.Stroud Flight International 9 April 1977, p. 969. Two years earlier, the airline had retired its last passenger-configured Britannia, which operated the type's final commercial passenger flight in Europe on 9 October 1974.photo caption Flight International, 17 October 1974, p. 515 The changeover to an all-jet fleet was brought about as a result of (first) the acquisition of a further two second-hand Boeing 720Bs, as well as (second) the addition of a pair of BAC One-Eleven 500s, sourced from (first) British Caledonian and (second) the administrators of the failed Court Line respectively.
1980s
At the end of 1980, Monarch Airlines took delivery of its first new jet aircraft, a pair of Boeing 737-200 Advanced. Monarch acquired the aircraft on an operating lease from Bavaria Leasing (then a unit of Hapag Lloyd Airlines)."New operators for Boeing 737", Flight International, 18 October 1980, p. 1493 One of the newly delivered 737s operated from Tegel Airport in then West Berlin (in the days before the German reunification) at the beginning of the 1981 summer season. The Berlin-based aircraft operated short to medium-haul charter flights to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands under contract to Flug-Union Berlin, at the time one of West Berlin's leading package tour operators. Monarch had taken over Flug-Union Berlin's charter programme from Laker Airways. The addition of the 737s expanded Monarch's fleet to 11 jet aircraft, comprising one Boeing 707-320C, five Boeing 720Bs, three BAC One-Eleven 500s and two Boeing 737-200 Advs.
During 1981, new stations opened at Gatwick, Glasgow, Manchester and Berlin TegelBerlin Airport Company, April 1981 Monthly Timetable Booklet for Berlin Tempelhof and Berlin Tegel Airports, Berlin Airport Company, West Berlin, 1981 making it the first time Monarch Airlines carried a million passengers in a single year. 1981 was also the year Monarch became the first charter airline to order the Boeing 757-200, a high-capacity medium-haul single-aisle plane powered by Rolls-Royce RB211-535C engines. Monarch's 757 order represented a significant change for a small airline. The first delivered 757 entered service in the spring of 1983, coinciding with the introduction of an updated livery, the third in the airline's history. During the mid-1980s, sister company Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited opened several new facilities at Luton to expand the firm's maintenance capabilities. Amongst other things, it enabled the 757 fleet to be maintained in-house.
During spring 1985, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) awarded Monarch licences to commence scheduled services to Málaga, Menorca and Tenerife. These licences allowed the airline to launch its first-ever scheduled service from Luton to Menorca on 5 July 1986, under the brand name "Monarch crown service". This event signified the first time in which Monarch was in direct competition with rival airlines, rather than just as a component of a tour operator.
During 1986, Monarch acquired their first Boeing 737-300 airliner. From November 1988, four of Monarch's 737-300s were leased out to Euroberlin France, a Berlin Tegel-based Franco-German joint venture airline that was 51% owned by Air France and 49% by Lufthansa.Berlin Airport Company, November 1988 Monthly Timetable Booklet for Berlin Tempelhof and Berlin Tegel Airports, Berlin Airport Company, West Berlin, 1988 Apart from the aircraft itself, Monarch Airlines also provided the flight deck crew and maintenance support (through sister company Monarch Aircraft Engineering) for this airline. By 1990, seven 737-300s are assigned to the Euroberlin wet lease.Berlin Airport Company, November 1989 Monthly Timetable Booklet for Berlin Tempelhof and Berlin Tegel Airports, Berlin Airport Company, West Berlin, 1989.
On 1 May 1988, Monarch operated the first ETOPS Transatlantic operation under CAA regulations. The Boeing 757-200ER G-MONJ operated Luton to Orlando via Gander with 235 passengers. This operation became the first British-operated twin-jet ever to cross the North Atlantic with passengers. Since then, this feat has become commonplace for North Atlantic crossings. That same year, Monarch Airlines reached another milestone; the firm carried more than two million passengers within a year.
In 1989 into 1990, Monarch damp leased two Boeing 757 aircraft (G-DRJC and G-MOND) to Australian Airlines (TN) during a pilots' strike. These aircraft were crewed by Monarch pilots with Australian Airlines Flight Attendants and served primarily on east-coast services.
1990s In 1990, Monarch introduced the Airbus A300-600R, its first wide-body aircraft type. Monarch also opened a new purpose-built headquarters that housed the airline's Boeing 757 flight simulator at its Luton base. During the early 1990s, the company operated several Boeing 767-300ER wide-body aircraft on behalf of Alitalia Team, a subsidiary of Italy's flag carrier, under a wet-lease arrangement similar to a previous deal Monarch formed with Euroberlin France. In 1993, Monarch Airlines introduced the Airbus A320 aircraft followed by the larger Airbus A321 in 1997. The Airbus A320 replaced the airline's fleet of Boeing 737-300s.
After 1995, Monarch came under increasing pressure from newly formed budget airlines. It would eventually stop all charter flying ten years later. This announcement was in response to customers abandoning Monarch's offering of package tours in favour of independent tours on seat-only low-cost airlines.
During May 1997, Monarch Airlines launched a new scheduled route between Gibraltar and Luton, with additional flights to Gibraltar by the company established from Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester. Monarch continued to operate flights on the Gibraltar-Luton route until the firm's collapse."Monarch Marks 20 Years of London Luton to Gibraltar Services." Gibraltar Airport, Retrieved: 27 October 2017. During the late 1990s, a new in-flight service referred to as Monarch Plus, included pre-booked seats, free headsets and improved dining options, such as duck breast instead of turkey stroganoff, for an additional £30 per person.Tisdall, Nigel. "Tenerife: The parts lager doesn't reach." Telegraph, 1 May 1999.
During 1998, Monarch Airlines leased a pair of McDonnell Douglas MD-11 wide-body aircraft from American airline World Airways for its long-haul operations. This lease was interim for the delivery of a pair of new Airbus A330-200 wide-body aircraft. Following the arrival of the A330 in 1999,"Long-range workout, Monarch – long haul charters", Flight International, 17–23 November 1999, p. 44"Long-range workout, Monarch long haul charters", Flight International, 17–23 November 1999, p. 45. Monarch opted to return the leased MD-11s to World Airways. The adoption of the A330 wide-bodies permitted Monarch to serve long-haul charter destinations with a two class seating configuration, which was another first for the airline.
2000s