note

Founded by Sir Freddie Laker as charter airline operating worldwide. Operations started in July 1966 with Bristol Britannias which it acquired from BOAC. Airline initially focused on its charter business and operated flights from its base at London Gatwick to holiday resorts along Mediterranean Sea and the Canary Islands. In 1968 it established base at West Berlin's Tegel airport and used BAC 111 to fly leisure flights to the Mediterranean. Laker used innovative techniques to save money. It invented charter time-share which it sold to travel operators. Laker also focused on reducing fuel burn by optimizing flight cycle and under-selling its BAC 111s capacity to reduce weight and enabling to non-stop to Canary Islands from London or Berlin using short-range BACs. In November 1972 Laker received its first DC-10-10 which was originally ordered by All Nippon Airways but canceled in favor of Lockheed Tristars. Airline became famous when it introduced first low-cost no-frills charter flights across the Atlantic in April 1974. In September 1977 first scheduled "Skytrain" flight between London Gatwick and New York JFK was operated. With the introduction of longer range DC-10-30s, flights to Miami, Tampa and Los Angeles were added in 1981. The same year first Airbus A300s of which Laker ordered 10 arrived. Laker was launch customer of the type. Plans to introduce transeuropean high density network operating A300s did not materialize because of the authorities did not grant needed permits. Together with severe recession in UK in early 1980s, Laker's extremely high debt to equity ratio and government refusal to grant permits for lucrative Britain - Hong Kong and Australia routes, as well as severe price cuts by its competitors on transatlantic routes put Laker in a difficult financial position and airline had to liquidate.

founded - demised (age)

February 1966 - February 4 1982  (16)

headquarters

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web

base airports

EGKK Gatwick London

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