Caledonian Airways was a wholly private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations charter airline in the United Kingdom formed in April 1961. It began with a single 104-seat Douglas DC-7C leased from the Belgian flag carrier Sabena.Aeroplane (Commercial Aviation Affairs: Caledonian Equipment), Vol. 101, No. 2613, p. 636, Temple Press, London, 16 November 1961Flying to the sun – A history of Britain's holiday airlines: 10. Transatlantic service – Caledonian Airways, Woodley, C., The History Press, Stroud, 2016, p. 147 Caledonian grew rapidly over the coming years to become the leading transatlantic "affinity group" charter operator by the end of the decade. During that period, passenger numbers grew from just 8,000 in 1961 to 800,000 in 1970.Fly me, I'm Freddie!, p. 134 The latter represented 22.7% of all British non-scheduled passengers. It also became Britain's most consistently profitable and financially most secure independent airline of its era, never failing to make a profit in all its ten years of existence.Fly me, I'm Freddie!, p. 131 By the end of 1970, Caledonian operated an all-jet fleet consisting of eleven aircraft and provided employment for over 1,000 workers. At that time, its principal activities included group charters between North America, Europe and the Far East using Boeing 707s, and general charter and inclusive tour (IT) activities in Europe utilising One-Elevens.
In 1970 Caledonian bought British United Airways (BUA), the largest contemporary independent airline and leading private sector scheduled carrier in the United Kingdom,High Risk: The Politics of the Air, pp. 256/7 and rebranded as British Caledonian.
History
Inception Caledonian Airways was the brainchild of Adam Thomson, a former British European Airways (BEA) Viscount pilot and ex-Britavia captain, and John de la Haye, a former BEA flight steward and Cunard Eagle's erstwhile New York office manager.High Risk: The Politics of the Air, pp. 159, 241Fly me, I'm Freddie!, pp. 131/2Jets Monthly (Airline History – The BCal STORY ...: Caledonian Routes), pp. 40/1, Kelsey Publishing Group, Cudham, November 2011
Thomson, de la Haye and three associates started Caledonian Airways from scratch with an initial investment of £54,000 raised from institutional investors on both sides of the Atlantic, many of which had a "Scottish connection".
Initially, Thomson, de la Haye (the airline’s first Chairman) and their associates wanted to incorporate the new airline under the name Scottish Airways. When they found out that BEA had already reserved this name, the company was incorporated as Caledonian Airways (Prestwick) Ltd. at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, Scotland, on 27 April 1961 to conduct worldwide IT and group charter operations, with de la Haye and Thomson being appointed managing and deputy managing director respectively.Jets Monthly (Airline History – The BCal STORY...: Caledonian Routes), p. 41, Kelsey Publishing Group, Cudham, November 2011
De la Haye was responsible for the famous Lion livery and tartan outfits for cabin crew. Later, he helped to pioneer business class, the helicopter link between LGW and LHR and the limousine service - some of these innovations were subsequently copied by other airlines. As the initial driver of branding, the famous Caledonian customer service and route expansion, de la Haye is generally recognized as the brainchild behind the airline’s early years and subsequent success, as described in a lengthy obituary in The Times. During the 70’s and early 80’s, having semi-retired due to ill-health, de la Haye retained the position of consultant to Sir Adam Thomson and fought hard to stop fleet diversification, which ultimately contributed to BCAL’s downfall and sale to BA due to huge costs incurred by operating multiple types of aircraft. A close friend of Herb Kelleher (Southwest Airlines) he recognized very early on that diverse fleets incur huge costs and was a strong proponent of keeping it simple.
Caledonian operated its inaugural flight on 29 November 1961 from Gatwick, the newly formed airline's main operating base, to Barbados.Aeroplane (Commercial Aviation Affairs: Caledonian Starts), Vol. 101, No. 2614, p. 663, Temple Press, London, 23 November 1961High Risk: The Politics of the Air, p. 97Aircraft (Gone but not forgotten ... BRITISH CALEDONIAN), Vol 42, No 12, p. 39, Ian Allan Publishing, Hersham, December 2009 The first revenue service, an immigrant charter under contract to London Transport Executive, operated the following day in the opposite direction.High Risk: The Politics of the Air, p. 103
The first fare-paying passengers to New York departed Glasgow Prestwick on 21 December 1961. They had paid £40 for the return trip.
Other destinations served during the first year of operations included Lourenço Marques.
The initial aircraft type operated was the Douglas DC-7C, the first of which was leased from Sabena in November 1961.Merton-Jones, 1976, p.125-126 This aircraft was lost in a fatal accident in Cameroon in March 1962. It was replaced the following month with another aircraft of the same type leased from the same source.
Caledonian's first two DC-7Cs operated European and long-distance charter flights, carrying mainly tour groups, inclusive tour holidaymakers and members of the British Armed Forces. The Ministry of Defence approved Caledonian as a carrier for trooping flights in early 1962. IT flights to European holiday resorts began during summer 1962.
Two Caledonian Airways Douglas DC-7Cs appeared at the Biggin Hill Air Fair in May 1963; one to carry travel trade invitees on a special flight around the English south coast; the other to be viewed by the public while on static display at the airfield.Flying to the sun – A history of Britain's holiday airlines: 5. The Struggle to Become Established – Caledonian Airways, Woodley, C., The History Press, Stroud, 2016, p. 75
The DC-7C continued to be the main type flown during the early years. The last example was sold in September 1966.High Risk: The Politics of the Air, p. 166
The airline was emphasising its Scottish roots for marketing purposes by adding the tagline "The Scottish International Airline" immediately behind the Caledonian name on both sides of the aircraft's fuselage, and by its female flight attendants wearing tartan uniforms. The company also sought to attract customers by providing an inflight service that was superior to what most other contemporary charter airlines offered, including complimentary meals, drinks and free overnight bags.Fly me, I'm Freddie!, pp. 133/4
Max Wilson, the chairman of the Overseas Visitors' Club, one of the airline's main group charterers, became Caledonian's first majority shareholder.
In late 1963, the Donaldson Line, a Scottish shipping company, took a 25% minority stake in Caledonian by subscribing to new shares worth £32,000. This provided the resources to expand the airline's freighting activities and to add a pair of DC-6Bs to its fleet in time for the following year's European summer charter season. At the 1963 Biggin Hill Air Fair, Caledonian participated with two of its DC-7Cs. One of the newly acquired DC-6Bs could be viewed by the public while on static display at the 1964 Biggin Hill Air Fair.
Attaining market leadership in transatlantic affinity group charters
On 20 May 1963, the US Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), with Chairman and Managing Director John de la Haye as lead negotiator, granted Caledonian a foreign [air] carrier permit for a three-year period under Section 402 of the US Federal Aviation Act. It became effective on 17 June 1963 when it was signed by President John F. Kennedy, making Caledonian the first overseas charter carrier to obtain this permit. The so-called Caledonian Case established a precedent and constituted the legal basis for all airlines that had always wanted to operate charters to and from the US and Canada, but had been unable to overcome the objections of the established airlines, such as Pan Am and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), prior to the enactment of this law.Fly me, I'm Freddie!, p. 132 Caledonian's US breakthrough led to it being granted Canadian affinity group charter permission as well. The UK Air Transport Licensing Board (ATLB) licensed Caledonian to begin North Atlantic IT charters in September 1964.
Caledonian's transatlantic growth strategy focused on taking advantage of strong ethnic ties of overseas Scottish communities in North America to the land of their ancestors and an obscure International Air Transport Association (IATA) resolution dating from 1953. Under this resolution, airlines were permitted to offer cut-price charter tariffs if these were negotiated with an individual representing a distinct group that shared a common affinity among its members prior to the application for charter transportation.modelled on a similar, 1930s scheme for coach and bus operators The way independent charter operators like Caledonian, who were not IATA members, interpreted that resolution was that it applied to closed groups only whose primary purpose of travel was their common interest or kinship, rather than securing cheap air fares for its members.High Risk: The Politics of the Air, p. 164 IATA imposed further restrictions on airlines seeking to exploit this loophole by insisting that any agent booking these flights had their commission capped at 5%, that the affinity group's membership could not exceed 20,000 and that those seeking to avail themselves of these offers must have been members for at least six months prior to the commencement of travel. These restrictions were designed to protect IATA members' transatlantic scheduled traffic by preventing non-members from undercutting them.Fly me, I'm Freddie!, pp. 132/3
To comply with IATA's arbitrary transatlantic charter rules, Caledonian and other independent charter operators insisted that anyone who wanted a cheap transatlantic charter flight needed to be a bona fide member of an affinity group, and that the prospective traveller needed to be a member of such an organisation for a minimum period of six months. As a result, clubs and associations with names like Friends of Clan Albion, Anglo-Scottish-American Group, Anglo-American Families Association, Rose and Maple Amity Club, Paisley Buddies, British American Club, Canadian US Pacific Association etc. sprang up on both sides of the Atlantic.
As the charterer was responsible for paying for the aircraft's entire capacity regardless of whether all seats were filled, there was a great temptation to let people, who were not eligible to travel under the affinity group rules, take the seats of other, eligible travellers who had cancelled their bookings. As a result, there were numerous occasions on which the airlines got into trouble with the authorities on both sides of the Atlantic. This made the system increasingly unworkable.Fly me, I'm Freddie!, p. 139
In 1967, Caledonian gained Presidential approval to carry passengers from 19 European countries to the US and to operate IT charters from the US to the UK, following authorisation by the CAB. Confirmation by the White House of the CAB's decision to let Caledonian fly US-originating charter passengers to Britain made it at the time the only airline permitted to cater to the IT market on both sides of the Atlantic.
In 1968, the CAB agreed to expand Caledonian's US IT charter authority to enable it to operate circle-tour charters between 19 European points and the US, with flights commencing the following year.
By 1969, more charter passengers were crossing the Atlantic with Caledonian than those flying on the transatlantic scheduled services of Aer Lingus, El Al, Sabena or Swissair.High Risk: The Politics of the Air, p. 216