Channel Airways might have had some reservations about graduating to turboprop equipment but it didn’t mean that they rushed to get the ex-Tradair Viscount G-APZC out of the hangar and into the skies. After over-wintering at Southend, ‘ZC was test flown on April 3rd 1963 and went into service on April 11th. DC-4 G-ARYY was test-flown a day later on April 4th but slid into the air a few hours ahead of ‘ZC on April 11th to become Channel Airways first revenue-earning 4-engined airliner. The maintenance schedules of the two were, however, very different with the DC-4 service periods based on flying hours and the Viscount on take-off/ landing cycles. This meant that the turbo prop airliner was better suited to the longer routes, such as Southend to the Channel Islands, and ad hoc charters to more distant lands while the DC-4 ran the shorter schedules to Ostend. Indeed, the Southend to Ostend route at the time was one of the World’s busiest scheduled routes and, on peak weekends, up to 50% of the fleet could all be in action at once on this service. With 88 seats available on the DC-4, around 40 on each Dakota and Viking and up to fifty on each Freighter, this meant that almost 350 passengers might be inbound to Southend during peak weekend hours.
Viscount G-APZC had sported a smart blue and white livery with Tradair – not one which could easily be adapted to the green and yellow scheme which had just been applied to the DC-4. Instead, a charismatic new set of colours was adopted: Channel’s golden plumage would be applied to most aircraft joining the fleet for the rest of the airline’s life span. The white upper section of the fuselage stretched down to the bottom of the window line and was bounded by a thin red pin stripe. Two gold pin stripes ran along the top line of the windows from the tail plane to the cockpit. The main part of the fin was in gold with ‘prop jet’ in black, and a white half-arrow. The lower part of the fin was edged in black and inscribed ‘Golden Viscount 707’. Channel Airways titles and the Union flag were carried above the two golden cheat lines.
1963 operations remained predominantly piston-powered but Channel must have enjoyed their new 707 series Viscount as, at the end of the year, seven further Viscounts were bought from BEA at an advantageous price. These were the older 701 series aircraft with construction numbers ranging from #5 (G-ALWF) to #28 (G-AMOO). Delivery was taken over the winter of 1963/ 64 and three were prepared for the Spring season: G-AMOA, G-AMOJ and G-ALWF entered service on March 26th, April 14th and April 18th respectively. G-APZC had been used on some winter schedules and charters but had not been particularly busy. In order to maximise revenue from their new turbo prop fleet, Channel leased four of the 701s out to British Eagle for various periods beginning between December 1963 and May 1964. This was a new venture for the airline and became a feature of their future turboprop and jet operations with regular customers such as BKS, Bahamas Airways, British Eagle, British Midland, Air Ferry and Rousseau Aviation.
Meanwhile, the written-down piston propliners had been parked-up again for the 1963/ 64 winter. Five of the Vikings were permanently withdrawn from use by the end of 1963 but the three ex-Queens Flight aircraft and Tradair’s first two ex-Airwork examples (with the freight doors) soldiered-on. They remained useful on day trips to Beauvais with Channel managing to pack 42 passengers on board. Channel’s oldest Viking, ex-Kuwait Oil Company G-AGRU, operated its last flight in September 1963 but a past passenger, Mr John Bouvy, negotiated to acquire it from Channel and fly it to Soesterberg in Holland where it was to be converted into a restaurant. It departed Southend on January 9th 1964.
The Bristol Freighters also returned to service in 1964 with their 50-seat capacity very useful. The new ‘Golden’ fleet of Viscount 700s proved very popular with travelers on IT flights from Southend to destinations such as Valencia, Palma, Barcelona and Biarritz despite being packed to a capacity of between 65 and 70. The Viscounts would frequently fly scheduled services during the day and IT flights during the evening and night. One series of flights which were very popular at the time were the ‘Bulb Field Day Trips’ operated by Channel on behalf of Clarkson Tours. DC-4 G-ARYY was also a stalwart on the Southend to Benelux routes following emergence from winter hibernation on 8th June 1964. As Channel’s largest aircraft, it offered an indispensable 88 seats or a cargo capacity of 7 tonnes.
The UK feeder services continued to be flown by four Dakotas, G-AHCU, G-AHCV, G-AJIB and G-AMDZ, and the Doves. Two of the C-47s were based at Portsmouth and the other two flew feeder services into Southend from Ipswich and Rochester. The Doves were also well-utilised and could manage a shuttle from Southend to Rochester and back in 20 minutes. Indeed, Channel were noted for their fast turnarounds and, in these pre-Ryanair days, could deplane 70 Viscount passengers and their baggage, reload and be back in the air in 60 minutes.
The variety of types being flown by the airline had expanded, providing a challenge for the engineering department. The Doves were the last of the Gypsy Queen fleet, the Dakotas and G-ARYY were Pratt & Whitney-engined while the Bristol Freighters and Vikings were powered by Hercules radials and the Viscounts, of course, were fitted with Dart turboprops. Ex-Queens Flight Viking G-APOP was supposedly retired on the last day of 1964 but, as the ‘Last of the Vikings’ it re-emerged the following month to operate a charter flight from Southend to Munich. Likewise, the Freighters were reaching the end of the road: G-AIFO was withdrawn in October 1964 while G-AICT carried on for another year, largely on the Ostend service but also shuttling in and out of Rochester’s grass airstrip. The Dakotas, DC-4 and Doves were approaching retirement too. Initially, the fleet was supplemented by another pair of 700 series Viscounts: G-APZB, former Tradair colleague of G-APZC, returned to the fold on November 5th 1964 and ex-Bahamas Airways VP-BBW joined on December 13th ’64. Neither flew a Channel service until 1965 with the latter re-assuming the identity G-APTA and only starting service with Channel in July 1965. The paint on the registration was hardly dry before the Viscount returned, on lease, to Bahamas Airways in October 1965. Much of its subsequent career was as VP-BBW on short leases to Bahamas or as G-APTA on lease to BKS. G-APZB was a similar rental hack having been sold by Tradair to Starways back in November 1962. British Eagle took over Starways on January 1st 1964 but most of the Liverpool company’s fleet remained under the ownership of the Wilson Brothers, the ex-directors of Starways. They formed Aviation Overhauls to maintain, lease and sell airliners owned by both themselves and other operators. G-APZB returned to Eagle, on lease, to operate ex-Starways services alongside (leased) Channel Viscount G-AMOC. Once Aviation Overhauls sold the Viscount 702 to Channel at the end of 1964, it was delivered to Southend on November 5th. It managed to operate a Channel service on January 16th 1965 but promptly returned to British Eagle, on lease, on January 20th. Subsequently, it flew very few miles for Channel owing to further lease spells with Eagle and BKS.
Channel also looked at their route and feeder-line policy in 1964. They decided to continue operating into the grass airfields at Ipswich, Portsmouth and Rochester although an upgrade of the Doves and Dakotas flying the routes would be necessary. Skyways Coach Air had been operating HS.748s from the grass airfield at Lympne since April 1962 and Channel entertained the Hawker Siddeley demonstrator G-ARAY on April 18th 1964 (1). Test flights were made from Southend to Portsmouth and Ipswich; duly satisfied with the performance, Squadron Leader Jones ordered four brand new ex-factory 748s for delivery in autumn 1965. This was unusual for Channel: the airline hadn’t bought a new aircraft since the Miles Aerovan in 1947 and the delivery at the end of summer seemed surprising – possibly it was due to the remaining life span of the Dakotas. In the interim, one of Skyways 748s, G-ARMV, crashed in spectacular fashion at Lympne in an accident which was, at least partly, due to the grass runway surface. Channel were to experience their own excitements when operating HS748s but, in autumn 1965, their main concern was finding gainful employment for the first two aircraft. This called for another of the airline’s snappy leasing deals: G-ATEH arrived at Southend on 29th September 1965 direct from the factory, returned to the factory the same day and left for a 6-month charter to COPA in Panama as HP-416 on October 8th. The second Budgie, G-ATEI, had a C of A issued on November 18th 1965 and departed for Leeward Islands Air Transport as VP-LIN on December 4th, again on a 6-month lease. LIAT had already leased a Skyways 748 earlier in the year and would eventually purchase two of the Channel fleet.
(1) Channel also hosted a 748 at Southend on July 21st 1965, direct from the Avro factory at Woodhall.
The Channel operations log books for late spring 1965 show flights being operated mostly by Viscount 700 series G-ALWF, G-AMOA, G-AMOC, G-AMOH, G-AMOJ, G-APZB and G-APZC, DC-4 G-ARYY, Dakotas G-AHCU. G-AHCV, G-AMNW and G-AMDZ plus Bristol Freighter G-AICT. The DC-4 was chiefly involved on 80-passenger flights, including Wallace Arnold Coach Air, to and from Jersey and Ostend. With two of the Viscount 701s still leased to Eagle, seven were flying for Channel on regular schedules to Ostend and the Channel Islands as well as longer distance IT routes to Venice, Valencia,Verona, Genoa, Perpignan, Ljubljana and Rheims. The Inclusive Tour work with Clarkson Holidays would continue to keep the Viscounts busy throughout summer ’65. Freighter G-AICT was also pressed into service on the afternoon of May 27th taking 32 passengers outbound. Much of the freight, perhaps surprisingly, appears to have been carried on the DC-4 and Dakotas rather than the Bristol. During May 65, loads of meat were carried on C-47 G-AMNW, confectionery was transported to Jersey on Viscount G-AMOJ , flowers from Guernsey on June 8th but freight wasn’t a priority.
The Dakotas helped-out on cross-channel routes and were employed on feeder services. Out of season, Doves were used on the feeder services with G-AOBZ in action during the quieter months up to April 20th and G-ANVU being reactivated for flights after November 12th. Dakota G-AMDZ had the honour of carrying the Mayor of Ipswich on the short hop from Southend on May 22nd 1965 but, by June 17th , was in disgrace following problems with spark plugs at Guernsey and the dreaded ‘mag drop’. However, along with G-AHCU, it remained very active. On a typical Friday in May, G-AHCU operated four rotations to Ostend and Rotterdam with quick turnarounds the order of the day – one late morning call at Southend took only 17 minutes between arriving on the apron from Ostend and departing again for Rotterdam! G-AMNW also operated on the Ipswich connection plus Ostend and Rotterdam flights. DC-4 G-ARYY continued on Ostend and Channel Islands routes during June ’65 as well as occasional flights to more exotic destinations such as Rimini, Valencia and Palma. Flights were also operated between Manchester and Palma with a brief stop for fuel in Southend. On June 26th G-ARYY managed to depart on six round trips to the Continent including one where an 89th passenger had to be disembarked! By way of complaint,the DC-4 developed hydraulic problems inbound to Southend the following night – but nothing which prevented it from departing for Ostend at 08:55 on June 28th.
On July 2nd 1965 the ex-Bahamas Viscount 702 G-APTA made its first revenue earning flight. It had been sitting at Southend since mid-December and seems to have experienced some issues with engine #4 followed by ‘flap tremble’ on July 3rd. Bugs ironed-out, ‘PTA seems to have settled-in by July 4th. The Viscounts were regularly flying 68+ passengers and could, reputedly, accommodate a load of 71; in comparison, Tradair had operated with 60 seats installed and Cambrian flew with 63. Indeed, Cambrian became customers for G-APTA on July 21st 1965 when the Viscount headed north to Liverpool for a charter flight. Two days later, Viscount G-AMOC headed to Bilbao via Heathrow on a charter for BKS at a ‘figure negotiated by RJ Jones’.
The Dakotas trundled-on, largely reliably with G-AMDZ and G-AMNW handling the bulk of the Southend work during July 1965. Their cross-channel flights supplemented other fleet members, sometimes carrying freight, and their Southend feeder services to and from Rochester and Ipswich continued. G-AJIB was rolled-out for a flight from Southend on July 23rd but returned with a loss of power on the starboard engine. G-AMDZ was substituted. DC-4 G-ARYY also had engine problems when in the Channel Islands on July 16th and was ferried empty to Southend on 3 engines. The issue with #2 Pratt & Whitney was resolved and ‘YY was back in action and heading for Ostend on 18th July.
The 1965 season had been a successful one with the 700 series Viscounts performing well alongside a selection of relaible piston-engined airliners such as the DC-4, C-47s and the Bristol Freighter. The formula was due to change slightly for the following season but the established principles of the airline would remain much the same.
Early in 1966, HS748 G-ATEJ arrived from the Avro factory at Woodhall and made its first money-making flight on February 21st with a Southend to Guernsey flight. HS748 G-ATEK arrived on March 28th and made its debut on the same route two days later. Supposedly DC-3 replacements, the new arrivals meant that G-AJIB’s flight on October 13th 1965 would be its last while G-AMNW would retire on February 11th 1966 following a final service between Rotterdam and Southend. G-AHCV would appear only briefly in 1966, making its last flight on April 12th between Ostend and Southend. G-AHCU would continue until the end of the ’66 season, making its last flight on October 16th. The venerable G-AMDZ would survive longer, emerging briefly as a 748 replacement in 1967. HS748s G-ATEH and G-ATEI had been leased-out until the 1966 season and returned off-hire in May. The four HS748s were equipped to seat 58 passengers and were painted in Channel’s golden-fin colour scheme first seen on the Viscount 700 fleet.
The biggest news for 1966 was that Channel were due to buy Continental Airlines 11-strong fleet of Viscount 812s and an accompanying spares package for a total of 3 million pounds. The first three airliners were due to arrive for the 1966 summer season and N244V reached Southend via Keflavik on April 29th. Continental had outfitted the Viscounts with only 52 seats as part of their ‘First Class’ Golden Carpet service. Channel equipped the 812s with seats for 82 passengers….but kept the golden image. When first with Continental, their Viscounts had emulated the airline’s red/ white/ blue scheme as used on their DC-3s, Convairs and DC-7s. However, the arrival of jet equipment, in the form of Boeing 707s, led to the addition of a golden tail fin to complement the ‘Gold Carpet’ service being promoted. Continental’s insignia was a ‘Thunderbird’ and, by 1960, this was also rendered in gold with a gold surrounding oval frame. The message ‘fly the jet with the golden tail’ was being promoted from 1959 onwards (2). By 1962, Continental were painting much of their fleet in the definitive gold and white scheme: gold fin with black band, white fuselage upper ending below the windows, gold pin stripes above the windows, a black cockpit surround and gold ‘thunderbird’ on the nose. This is very similar to the colour scheme Channel had adopted for their very first Viscount, G-APZC, when it was acquired from Tradair for the 1963 season. Given the dates, Continental can’t have copied Channel but, likewise, Channel didn’t just adopt the ‘golden scheme’ when the American Viscounts arrived in 1966; they had already been using it for three years. When G-ATUE/ N244V reached Southend, a thin red pin stripe was added along the lower edge of the white. The Thunderbird on the nose had been removed (later to be replaced by Channel’s eagle) and Channel titles and the Union flag were added. Following an inaugural return service between Southend and Ostend, the new acquisition was displayed at the Biggin Hill Air Fair for three days from May 14th 1966. It is difficult to brush-off the similarity between the Channel and Continental colour schemes as coincidence – possibly Channel Airways’ PR Department saw images of the new Continental livery back in 1962 and though, ‘Gold, that’s a good idea’. Either way, the Viscount 812 scheme became the default for the future fleet: new HS748s, BAC 1-11s, Tridents and even second-hand Doves and Herons were appropriately painted. Only the later Comets were different – and not in a good way!
(2) Confirmation from the article ‘A visual history of the Continental Airlines livery’ by Norebbo on the website www.norebbo.com.
The arrival of the more capacious Viscount 812s led to the departure of many of the earlier 700 series aircraft. This was the first time that Channel Airways had sold-on a significant proportion of a fleet – in the past, single aircraft may have been sold but, generally, Channel aircraft were run until sufficiently written-down that the cost of ongoing maintenance exceeded their value. The ex-BEA Viscounts, however, retained value; many had been leased to Cambrian and were now sold to the Welsh airline between January 1965 (G-AMOE) and January 1967 (G-AMOC). Interestingly, the Viscount 707s and 702 which had originated with Tradair and Bahamas Airways (G-APZB, G-APZC and G-APTA) remained with Channel and followed the time-honoured pattern: serving until the 1968 season, then being withdrawn from use at Southend and subsequently scrapped. The shorter range 700s had been ideal for hops across the Channel to Europe or south to the Channel Islands, but the 812s enabled new longer-distance IT services. To fully exploit this, Channel Airways had maintained their links with Clarkson Holidays but also established their own Inclusive Tour holiday company, Mediterranean Holidays. The name encompassed the growth area in holiday flying; the Dutch bulb fields, Ostend and the Channel Islands had lost some of their appeal and routes proving popular included Ibiza, Valencia, Rimini, Tangiers, Palma and Genoa. This didn’t stop Channel from adding further coach-air services to destinations such as Basle and Milan, nor did it stop them from flying for other holiday companies like Thomson’s Riviera Holidays. By the Spring of 1966, the Bristol Freighters had both been withdrawn and, of the Dakotas, only G-AHCU and G-AMDZ remained moderately active.
The Dakota routes to Portsmouth were completely taken over by the HS748s during 1966 and they also provided a new feeder service from East Midlands/ Castle Donington to Southend. Channel had been keen to fly scheduled routes from both East Midlands and Stansted since 1964 but had experienced some resistance from the Air Transport Licensing Board. Eventually, an East Midlands- Stansted- Norwich- Southend licence was granted and this may have, subsequently, inspired the airline’s later ‘East Coast Puddle Jumper’ route. 1966 saw the HS748s operating East Midlands to Southend twice daily, flying feeder services to Ipswich and occasional charters around Britain. The regular HS748 routes between Portsmouth and the Channel Islands were also supplemented by IT charters as far afield as Ljubljana, Rimini, Barcelona and Perpignan. This was probably the peak of their short career with the airline as they eclipsed the Dakotas and Doves on all but the Rochester and Ipswich feeder routes; these grass field destinations, however, remained better suited to the Dakotas which maintained very fast turnarounds. Although the 1966 brochure had promised HS748 prop jets on all feeder services from Portsmouth, Ipswich & Rochester, the latter was wholly unsuited to HS748 operations and Channel Airways decided to abandon the Kent airfield at the end of the 1966 season. G-AMDZ operated the last Dakota flight from Rochester to Southend on October 2nd and Dove G-ANVU the last ever Channel service to the airfield twelve days later.
One aircraft which was continuing a long career with Channel was DC-4 G-ARYY, in use again during 1966 and 1967 summer seasons, predominantly on the Ostend route. It was, however, Mr Adaptable and continued to undertake IT flights, some cargo operations and even government trooping contracts between Germany and the Hebrides. In general, however, Channel had successfully completed the transition from piston-engine to turboprop. The next move would be to pure jet operation – a financial cliff face for a company still 80% family owned.
Channel had watched Lufthansa place orders for the Boeing 737-100 in 1965 and also seen United opt for the longer 737-200. The 737 would be able to operate from Southend and, in Channel’s hands, seating capacity would potentially be as high as 135. Lufthansa only received their first aircraft at the end of 1967 and at a cost reputed to be around $3 million. In Britain, Dan Air had started to move from piston-engined Ambassadors and C-54 Skymasters to pure jet operation. Their purchase of two ex-BOAC Comet 4s at the end of 1966 was at a rather more operator-friendly price of 400,000 pounds. Dan Air’s Lasham engineering base modified the Comets to accommodate 106 passengers for IT operations; although this would have appealed to Channel, the Comet was not really suited to operations from Southend. During 1966, Channel’s turboprop upgrade continued with the arrival of the second and third Viscount 812s from Continental: N254V/ G-ATVE on May 19th and N253V/ G-ATVR on June 2nd.
Competing IT operator Britannia Airways had arrangements with many tour operators and its 115+ seat turboprop Britannias were popular with holidaymakers. Britannia had been acquired by the Thomson Organisation in 1965 and the deep pockets of the Canada-based multinational enabled the airline to order brand-new 737-200s, reportedly as a cost of 1.4 million pounds each, for delivery in 1968. The delivery of US aircraft was unpopular with the British government which had lobbied unsuccessfully for Britannia to order a BAC 1-11 fleet. Jack Jones, however, proved more patriotic/ malleable and, in September 1966, ordered four BAC 1-11 400s (3) despite the fact that the British aircraft couldn’t operate out of Southend with a full fuel/ passenger load. Controversial though it may be to say this, the decline of Channel Airways had begun: the astute purchasing of well-maintained older airliners had been replaced by the acquisition of new capital-intensive aircraft. The fallow periods over winter could no longer be endured by parking-up written-down airliners, feeder services into Southend from Ipswich and Rochester were no longer suited to the turboprop HS748s and the sustainability of Southend Airport itself as an operating base was being called into question.
(3) The Chairman’s Statement in the January 1966 timetable mentioned that the airline was negotiating for ‘at least four pure jet airliners such as the BAC One Eleven or the Boeing 737’. In the end Channel ordered the four 1-11s with an option on two more.
Southend’s peak year for footfall was 1967 (4) with 692,000 passengers handled. Demand on Channel’s bread-and-butter route to Ostend was falling and the longer IT routes were not suited to the remaining Viscount 700s (nor 100% to the Viscount 812s). Nonetheless, two more Viscount 812s were welcomed from Continental during February 1967 and both were in service in just over a month. N251V arrived on February 13th and became G-AVHE while N246V arrived on February 19th and commenced work as G-AVHK on March 22nd. The last five American Viscounts also reached Southend in time for the summer season: N245V/ G-AVIW arrived on March 17th, N247V/ G-AVJL on April 9th 1967, N248V/ G-AVJZ on April 15th, N250V/ G-APPC on May 15th and N249V/ G-AVNJ on May 25th 1967. Unfortunately, Viscount G-AVJZ crashed during a test flight for the issue of its C of A on May 3rd 1967. Captain Lamberton, one of Channel’s senior pilots, was at the controls for the take-off; issues were experienced with feathering #4 propeller and the aircraft dipped allowing the starboard wing tip to clip the ground. The out-of-control Viscount careened across the ground, striking an Aviation Traders (Engineering) stores compound. Although the three crew survived, tragically two AT(E)L personnel working in the stores were killed and a third seriously injured.
(4) Planning Authority figures.
Notwithstanding the fatal crash at St.Boniface Down in 1962 and undercarriage mishaps with Viking G-AHPH in 1959 and Viscount G-ATUE in October 1967, 1967 would become Channel’s worst year for safety mishaps. On a bizarre Tuesday in August 1967, Channel aircraft suffered three landing mishaps in different incidents. Viscount 812 G-AVJL suffered undercarriage damage when landing at Basle on August 15th. Following repairs at the Swiss airfield, the Viscount returned to Southend just under three weeks later and went on to a long and productive life with Channel and, subsequently, Alidair. The other two accidents were both at the grass airfield at Portsmouth and both involved HS748s. G-ATEK was flying the Southend to portsmouth leg of the service to Paris and, upon landing at Portsmouth, the airliner wouldn’t slow down adequately on the wet grass. Realising that the 748 wasn’t going to stop in time, the Captain tried to induce a ground loop but, instead, the aircraft ended-up resting on an earth bank at the airport’s northern boundary. None of the nineteen passengers or four crew were injured. The Airport Manager said that the landing speed had been too high, the Captain said that the runway surface was boggy; understandable differences of opinion but, oddly, news of the incident was not passed to the flight incoming from Jersey and Guernsey. The pilot in command of G-ATEH had landed at Portsmouth earlier in the day and knew that it was treacherously wet. His first approach was too high and too fast and, after a couple of touch-down bounces, he elected to go-around again. This time, the landing was firm and right on the centre line. However, braking and change of prop pitch settings failed to slow the HS748 adequately and the airliner ploughed through the north-east perimeter fence, lost its undercarriage and came to rest on an unusually quiet A2030 (5). Again, none of the 62 passengers or four crew were injured. G-ATEH had completed 3037 hours and wouldn’t fly operationally again for Channel. G-ATEK had flown 2631 hours and did get to fly again for Channel for about ten days during April 1968. Both were subsequently sold to LIAT and departed for Antigua in May/ June 1968. In a twist of fate, G-ATEK would return to Southend at the very end of its life when it was owned by Essex resident Sean Hully and broken-up in 1991. Channel’s third HS748, G-ATEJ, was also sold at the end of the 1967 season leaving only G-ATEI in service. The accidents had one expected and one unanticipated result: the predictable result was that, with an increased landing run now stipulated for HS748 wet weather operation, Portsmouth operations were terminated in 1967. Channel flights were, instead, operated on a daily basis from Bournemouth Hurn Airport. The unexpected result was the re-emergence of Dakota G-AMDZ, proving that aging airliners should never be sold! A quick test flight for the Dak on August 25th led to a trip to Ipswich for an engine change and then a return to service for three weeks from September 2nd 1967 as an HS748 replacement. DC-4 G-ARYY made its last flight between Ostend and Southend on September 16th and G-AMDZ made the airline’s last Dakota flight eight days later on the same route. The Company hack, Dove G-ANVU, would now be the only remaining piston-powered aircraft in service – it survived beyond Channel Airways and, today, can be found in the Swedish Air Force Museum.
(5) Details from the Civil Air Accident Report 1/71, published March 1971.
1967 was a year of IT and charter expansion. Clarkson Holidays provided employment early in the season with day trips to the Dutch bulb fields continuing to occupy up to five Viscounts during Spring. Sometimes the Viscounts would remain on the ground at Rotterdam for the duration of the day trip while, on other occasions, they would fly other sectors in the interval. Clarksons also offered day trips with Channel to Paris and it is significant how many people got their first experience of flying, first experience of Europe on this kind of brief holiday. Indeed, Rotterdam remained popular with services flown by Channel from a variety of British airports: Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton.
Channel Airways were also prepared to lease some of their excess Viscount capacity to other operators struggling to make their fortune in the Inclusive Tour sector. Irelfly, a new Dakota operator based out of Shoreham, had ambitions to fly for the tour companies. Hourmont Travel, a substantial Welsh holiday company, had been doing good business from Bristol and Cardiff using the well-established Cambrian Airways since 1964. Cambrian’s Viscounts, many of them ex-Channel 700 series aircraft, had proved tidy and reliable. So, what persuaded Hourmont to contract Irelfly for the ’67 season is anybody’s guess. Irelfly had no suitable aircraft (actually, it had no aircraft at all, te Dakotas were leased from F.H.Mann, late of British Westpoint, and Aviation Overhauls) and it went to Channel to negotiate the lease of two Viscount 812s for use on the Hourmont flights. However, the ambitious Irelfly couldn’t outrun its creditors and it ceased operations in November 1966. Proving that some management teams never learn, Hourmont re-negotiated their 1967 season with another ambitious newcomer with no aircraft – Treffield Aviation. The half million pound deal was signed on the basis that Lord Trefgarne’s company would operate three Channel Viscount 812s. Treffield had some difficulty obtaining an Air Operators Certificate which meant that the early flights were subbed to Channel and British Midland. With additional tour operators supposedly queuing-up to use their services, Treffield leased a Laker Airways Britannia in place of the third Channel Viscount. This pinnacle of optimism lasted until June 1967 when, after a series of disputes, Treffield ceased their operations from the West Country and Castle Donington. Cambrian were brought-in to assist Hourmont, Channel Airways operated the weekend services from Cardiff to Mediterranean destinations and Autair also lent a hand.
If some of the lower level operators were experiencing difficulties moving from piston propliners to turboprop fleets, Channel were faced with financing a move from turboprop to pure jet. Many of the tour companies were requesting jet operations for the 1968 season and airlines such as Britannia and Dan Air had risen to the challenge. Dan Air had also discovered a lucrative sideline – it had broken into the West German IT market with one Comet based in West Berlin for the 1967 season. Indeed, Dan Air had seen passenger numbers grow from 246,801 to 275,304 between 1967 and 1968. While this was substantially below Channel’s numbers, the Southend airline had, over the same period, seen passenger numbers drop from 621,810 to 532,919. While Dan Air decided to specialise in Comet operations and benefit from a market of reasonably cheap second-hand jets, Channel had signed the deal for four brand-new BAC 1-11s in September 1966. The purchase of new airliners hadn’t gone particularly well with the HS748s, the portents for the 1-11s weren’t great, but worse was to follow: in October 1967 Jack Jones signed a deal to buy five Trident 1Es from Hawker Siddeley. The ambitious deal was for the last Trident 1Es to be built, five aircraft which had remained stubbornly unsold and were available at rock bottom prices. The manufacturer is reported to have guaranteed that the aircraft sold to Channel (rebranded as Trident 140s) would be 20% cheaper to operate on a seat/ mile basis than the 1E. Seating would be maximised, extra emergency exits added, engines up-rated and floors strengthened. The initial price tag was, nevertheless, a hefty 8 million pounds which required heavy duty financing but may have left Hawker Siddeley feeling that they had been short-changed. Consequently, when the first two Tridents arrived in summer 1968, they were short on ancillaries such as ground equipment.
The first Channel jet service was flown by BAC 1-11 G-AVGP on June 26th 1967 on an Inclusive Tour between Southend and Palma. The seating configuration on this first 1-11 accommodated 89 passengers but the next three 1-11s were contracted to be 99-seaters. The more capacious version was on its way to becoming a 1-11 series 500 but the version ordered by Channel was officially designated the 408-EF. The extra seating, as with the Trident, required modification with over-wing emergency exits doubled-up on each side.
The arrival of the second 1-11, G-AWEJ in May 1968, coincided with the arrival of the first Trident, G-AVYB. It was also the first summer season following Harold Wilson’s devaluation of the pound in November 1967. Overseas travel became more expensive for the British and the 50-pound currency allowance deterred travel, leading to the expected ramifications for the airline industry. Laker Airways had to buy Arrowsmith Holidays and Lord Brothers Travel to avoid financial embarrassment, British Eagle gave-up the unequal struggle and closed-up shop in November 1968. Channel had made expensive commitments to the UK aircraft industry but now had to reduce their exposure. The delivery of the 99-seat 1-11 G-AWEJ meant that the first, lower capacity 1-11, G-AVGP, could be returned to BAC. The third BAC 1-11 ordered, G-AWGG, was cancelled on 19th June 1968 (6) while the fourth and final 1-11 408-EF, G-AWKJ, was only delivered to Southend in March 1969. It was subsequently painted in a full BUA colour scheme and almost immediately leased to the Gatwick-based airline for six months.
The second Trident, G-AVYE, was delivered in June 1968 but the remaining three on order were cancelled. The penalty costs imposed on Channel amounted to some 300,000 and marked the end of the airline’s foray into brand new airliners.
(6) It was later delivered to Bavaria Flug.
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