Bob O’Brien tells how Britannia Airways’ fleet of ‘baby Boeings’ helped meet people’s aspirations to jet to holiday destinations in the Med and beyond.
The tide started going out for British seaside resorts nearly 60 years ago. Brighton was traded for Benidorm, and Blackpool for Barcelona. A trickle of people taking foreign holidays eventually turned into a torrent. Sun, sea and sangria summed up an increasing number of Briton’s holidays in the 1960s and 1970s and Britannia Airways was perfectly placed to fulfil people’s dreams as the first charter airline to embrace the latest generation of jet technology. Government pressure to ‘buy British’ was ignored as the company went on to establish a long-lasting partnership with an American manufacturer.
The 737 became known as the ‘baby Boeing’. It was faster and cheaper to use than previous aircraft on flights to the sun, and enabled the operator to grow and become one of the biggest players in the business.
EARLY DAYS
Britannia Airways began life as Euravia (London) in 1961, before being christened with its more familiar name in August 1964, chosen because of the Bristol Britannia 102s it flew.
The following year it was acquired by successful Canadian entre…
