Set up at Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1974 to provide scheduled daily Cessna lightplane passenger roundtrips to Minneapolis (MSP) via Brookings. Flights continue until September 1975, when the company goes out of business.
DALAIRLINES: United States (1963-1968). Ted C. Connell forms DAL at Killeen, Texas, in 1963 to provide Beech 18 shuttle service for military personnel stationed at Fort Hood. Permission is received in the summer of 1966 to inaugurate regularly scheduled passenger and cargo services; daily roundtrips commence on August 18 to Dallas and Defidder.
When competing Hood Airlines fails in late 1967, Connell purchases that carrier from bankruptcy proceedings. He then merges DAL into the larger operation and on May 23, 1968, the amalgamated entity emerges not as DAL Airlines but as a new, stronger Hood Airlines.
DALAVIA: Russia (1999-2001). DAK Far Eastern Aviation (Khabarovsk United Air Detachment) is renamed in January 1999. Pavel Sevastyanov is Managing Director and his fleet includes 13 Antonov An-24Bs, 7 An-24Vs, 8 An-26s, 2 An-26Bs, 22 Ilyushin Il-62M, 2 Tupolev Tu-154s, and 20 Tu-154Bs. Orders are outstanding for 2 Tu-204-100s.
As part of its continuing effort to find or augment domestic partners and to develop its presence in the Russian Far East, Aeroflot Russian International Airlines (ARIA) Managing Director Valery Okulov travels to Khabarovsk on May 7. There, he and Managing Director Sev-astyanov sign a strategic agreement. Under its terms, the two begin to jointly operate their fleet and ground facilities in the area, create a common pool of spare parts, stockpile kerosene fuel, and train both flight and ground personnel.
Scheduled destinations, many flown in code-share with ARIA, include Adler/Sochi, Aomori, Chita, Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Kiev, Krasnodar, Mineralye Vody, Moscow, Niigata, Novosibirsk, Okhotsk, Omsk, Petropavlovsk Kamchats, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Utan-Ude, Vladivostok, and Yuzhno Sakhalinsk. Occasional charters continue to be flown to the U. S. and Canada.
It is reported on March 21,2000 that the airline may, in fact, become the first customer to take delivery of the new Tu-214-100 (Tu-204-200).
On April 30, Tu-154B service is resumed from Khabarovsk to Aomori, Japan. Flights to Guangzhou begin on May 20.
It is reported on July 21 that the company will lease a pair of Tu-214s in April and September of 2001, although construction of neither plane is as yet completed. The 8-year, $62-million charter arrangement calls for the airline to pay a substantial amount up front to assist KAPO and ANTK Tupolev to complete assembly of the aircraft, but if all goes as planned, the aircraft will be owned by the airline in 2008. Funding is handled by a regional government guaranteed leasing structure managed by the Financial Leasing Company. Dalcombank establishes a Dal-Com-Avia deposit account product, solely for construction of the aircraft. Deposits will be accepted from individuals, who will receive airfare discounts from Dalavia of 10%-50%, depending on the size of their deposit.
The first Tu-214 is completed in late October. On November 14, it is flown to China via Khabarovsk on its first long-haul flight. Aboard are Dalavia Director General Pavel Sevastyanov, ANTK Tupolev Director General Vasily Alexandrov, KAPO Director General Nail Khairullin, and the plane’s chief designer, Yury Vorobyev.
Twice-weekly An-24 return service is initiated on November 23 from Khabarovsk to Jiamusi, the second largest city in Heilongjiang province after Harbin. Previously flown by China Northern Airlines Company, Ltd., the route had been closed three years earlier. Dalavia will be expanded on April 1, 2001 by the inclusion of Nikolaeusk-NA-Amur Air Enterprise and Vostok Airlines; on May 4, the three will be combined, effective August 1, into Khabarovskavia.
DALLAS EXPRESS AIRLINES: United States (1994-1996). Dallas Express is founded at Dallas (DFW) in the spring of 1994 to provide feed for Southwest Airlines. Revenue operations commence in May with a single Beech 1300. The company suspends operations in September, having transported a total of 4,000 passengers since start-up.
Work is begun on a restructuring of the company that will allow a resumption of services the following March 1. Although resumption occurs on schedule, it is not fiscally successful and the airline shuts down for good in January 1996.
DALMIA-JAIN AIRWAYS, LTD.: India (1946-1953). In July 1946, the Indian National Airways, Ltd. (INA) is acquired by Dalmia-Jain, Ltd., and renamed Dalmia-Jain Airways, Ltd. The carrier, which has pioneered named services in India, simultaneously inaugurates Khyber Indiaman flights from Delhi to Peshawar via Lahore and Rawalpindi. As the summer progresses, the company’s southern route from Delhi via Allahabad, Nagpur, Hyderabad, and Bangalore, to Madras, is turned over to the new Deccan Airways, Ltd.
When India and Pakistan are partitioned, direct Lahore-Ahmedabad service is abandoned in June 1947. The first of six previously ordered Vickers Viking Mk. lBs is delivered to company representatives at England’s Heston airfield on August 8 and is christened Jumna. In November, the Calcutta-Rangoon service halted by INA in 1942 is restarted.
The remainder of the Viking Mk. lBs joins the fleet in 1948, along with a pair of Bristol 170 Wayfarers.
A Vickers 604 Viking IB, with 4 crew and 15 passengers, is lost at Monte Cardo, France, on March 27; there are no survivors. A Vickers 604 Viking IB with 4 crew and 19 passengers is involved in an accident at Palem Airport, New Delhi, on October 8; although the aircraft must be written off, there are no fatalities.
In cooperation with Deccan Airways, Ltd., Dalmia-Jain assumes responsibility for operation of the nation’s night-airmail services from Indian Overseas Airlines, Ltd. for three weeks, beginning on June 10, 1949. Monsoon rains cause the operation to be suspended on June 30.
As the result of proving flights on the northern borders, service to Srinagar, capital of Kashmir and a popular vacation destination via Amritsar and Jammu, is begun in July.
In February 1950, the government of India establishes an Air Transport Inquiry Committee to review the industry.
A DC-3 with 4 crew and 18 passengers suffers a wing failure in turbulence on July 17 and crashes 6 mi. SE of Patharkot, Nepal; there are no survivors. Another Douglas transport has the unenviable task of opening an airlink to the garrison town of Leh on the Indus River, 11,000-ft. up in the mountains.
The first commercial service into Nepal, a route from Calcutta to Katmandu via Patna, begins in 1951.
As the result of parliamentary study, an Air Corporation Bill is passed calling for the nationalization of all Indian airlines.
On August 17, Pakistan bars the company from making flights over Pakistan to Afghanistan.
New Delhi to Karachi service is cut on September 15 because of a gasoline shortage. India-Afghanistan service via Iran is started on November 24, as the airline detours around Pakistan.
A DC-3 is held on the ground at Karachi on December 5 when it is refused refueling. Katmandu, Nepal, becomes a hub on December 23.
A DC-3 with three crew aboard stalls on its climb from Baghdogra on February 8, 1952, and is brought back down; although the damaged plane must be written off, there are no fatalities.
The Air Corporation Bill receives presidential assent on May 28, 1953 and the process of state takeover results in the formal creation of the Indian Airlines Corporation on August 1.
DAMANIA AIRWAYS, LTD.: India (1993-1995). Founded by 33-year-old agri-businessman Pervez Damania at Bombay in early 1993, Damania is capitalized at $8.3 million and equipped with two each Boeing 737-2K9As and B-737-282As leased from TAP-Air Portugal, S. A. Daily revenue operations of “the businessman’s airline” commence in May to Calcutta, Bangalore, Goa, Poona, and Indore.
Another “Baby Boeing” is received from Lisbon in November. Also, in November and December, an Rs 100-million ($3.2-million) stock offering is made to raise funds with which to continue expansion; this fiscal move marks the first time that airline shares are traded on the Indian stock market and it is oversubscribed by 10 times.
During its first 7 months, Damania transports a total of 444,692 passengers. Revenues are $63 million and allow a profit of $4.5 million.
In January 1994, Chairman/Managing Director Damania employs 34 pilots, 866 other workers, and operates 12 services per day from Bombay, including 2 each to Bangalore, Goa, Delhi, Calcutta, and Poona, the latter with a newly received Beech 18. Additionally, a daily roundtrip is offered to Indore.
In April, the new Civil Aviation Ministry secretary, K. Padmanabha-iah, who is also joint chairman/CEO of Air India, Ltd. and Indian Airlines, Ltd., begins a crackdown on safety violations. Cited for technical violations of safety regulations, Damania is ordered to stand down for the month of April, but the order for its service suspension is withdrawn after a week. In May, alcohol service is banned on all Indian domestic service.
Damania announces on July 5 that it will raise $21 million in capital markets to cover the lease of 3 additional B-737-200s, plus smaller aircraft with which to launch a feeder network in western India.
In October, the airline becomes the first in India to avail itself of a new government-created opportunity to import its own oil. To save almost half of its annual cost, the carrier buys an export license on the open market and signs an 8% fee and royalty arrangement with India Oil Corporation, Ltd. for the delivery and storage of the precious product.
Traffic figures are not released, although it is reported that a $900,000 profit is earned. That announcement is incorrect as the company has, since July, lost Rs 40 million ($1.27 million).
On May 22, 1995, the company is taken over by NEPC Airways, Ltd. and renamed Skyline NEPC, Ltd.
DAN AIR/DAN AIR SERVICES, LTD.: United Kingdom (19531992). The charter carrier Dan Air Services, Ltd., is formed in March 1953 at Southend by shipping brokers Davies and Newman, Ltd., later Davies & Newman Holding plc, and this corporate air transport division is registered as an airline on May 21; initial capitalization is ?5,000.
Douglas DC-3 revenue operations begin with an ad hoc charter to Shannon via Manchester in June with the Douglas acquired from Meredith Air Transport, Ltd. Nonscheduled package holiday flights (later known as inclusive-tours) are undertaken during the remainder of the summer from Southend to Calvi, in Corsica.
Enplanements total 4,243.
A second DC-3 is purchased in February 1954 and flights are started to Biarritz, Ostend, Paris, and Pisa. Three Avro York I freighters are obtained in July.
The base of operations is moved to Blackbushe Airport, southwest of London, in January 1955, the same month in which the Yorks begin long-range freight charters to Africa and Asia.
Two more York Is are bought from Air Charter, Ltd. in 1956 in order to fulfill an Air Ministry contract for the carriage of stores from RAF Lyneham-Singapore.
In June, the first scheduled (summer-only) DC-3 service is initiated, Blackbushe-Jersey. Between November 16 and December 14, the company’s 2 DC-3s make 11 roundtrip flights to Austria, taking over medicine and bringing to England 350 refugees of the Hungarian Revolution.
To supplement the Douglas transports on the Jersey run, a de Havil-land DH 114 Heron 1B is leased for six months from Overseas Air Transport, Ltd. in June 1957, the same month a Bristol 170 Mk. 31 Freighter is acquired to service additional government contracts awarded during the year.
The final DH 114 Heron 1B service is completed in January 1958. Another Bristol Freighter is delivered on March 31, leaving the next day on a cargo flight to Gibraltar.
May is disastrous as two transports are destroyed in crashes. An Avro 685 York I freighter, with three crew, is destroyed in a hard landing at Luqa Airport, Malta, on May 20; there are no fatalities. Five days later, a second York with five crew is less fortunate when it crashes at Gur-gaon, India, on an all-cargo service (four dead).
A two-year British European Airways Corporation (BEA) allcargo replacement contract is received in 1959 for the state carrier’s London (LHR)-Glasgow (Renfrew) via Manchester night freight route; the first flight is made by a DC-3 on May 25-26 and Yorks will later be added to the service.
Although the government’s Singapore contract is concluded, it is replaced by one for the transport of the Black Knight rocket to its Australian test range. Twelve days are required to deliver the cargo to the Woomera site. Consequently, a third Bristol Freighter is purchased in July to begin the service.
Earlier in the year, a Bristol is converted to a passenger-carrying Wayfarer configuration and is employed with the DC-3s in operating inclusive-tour flights from London (LGW), Manchester, and other local destinations.
Three Airspeed AS.57 Ambassadors are purchased from the Australian airline Butler Air Transport, Ltd. in November; they are the company’s first pressurized airliners.
In January 1960, two DH 104 Dove IBs are acquired, entering service at the beginning of the second quarter. During the spring, several additional BEA scheduled freight contracts are awarded.
In June, Yorks begin flying cargo from London (LGW) to Brussels, Milan, and Rome on behalf of British European Airways Corporation (BEA). Meanwhile, the first Airspeed Ambassador enters company service on March 15; it will be joined by the other two in offering package holiday flights from London (LGW) for the summer season.
After taking over management of Luisgate airfield south of Bristol, the company is allowed to commence scheduled services in April from that point to Liverpool and in May, from Cardiff and Bristol to Jersey. Elsewhere, base operations are transferred from Blackbushe to London (LGW) as of May 31.
Two new routes, one international, are started on July 16: Cardiff and Bristol to Basel and Liverpool to Plymouth via Cardiff and Bristol. A significant increase in inclusive-tour flights occurs during the summer.
A DH Dove 1B extends the Liverpool end of the Plymouth-Liverpool route thrice weekly to Newcastle on January 4, 1961. Scottish Airways, Ltd. , its routes and lone DC-3, are acquired in March from Scottish Aviation at Prestwick and merged; an Ambassador is purchased at the same time.
A Bristol 170 inaugurates the ex-Scottish Prestwick-Isle of Man service on May 27. During the summer, scheduled flights to the Isle of Man are also started from Bristol, Cardiff, Exeter, Plymouth, Staverton, and Swansea. A Liverpool-Newcastle-Dundee frequency is initiated on July 7.
Liverpool-Rotterdam scheduled service is inaugurated in January
1962. Another Ambassador is added in April while a York I is eliminated in November. Bristol and London (LGW) to Ostend flights are also undertaken.
During the winter, British European Airways Corporation (BEA)
Places Argosies on its freight routes, thus ending the need for Dan-Air, Ltd.’s replacement York services.
Two of the last three company York Is are sold in February and May
1963. Another Ambassador is delivered in February and a DC-3 and a DH 114 Heron 1B are received in May, the latter replacing the Dove 1Bs on the Plymouth-Newcastle multistage route on September 18. One of the DH 104s is sold in October. Charter work is now handled almost exclusively by AS.57s and DC-3s.
Enplanements for the year total 115,215 (35,735 scheduled).
One of the three Bristol 170s is sold in January 1964 and the last York I is withdrawn in April, the same month in which the one and only DH 114 Heron 2B is received. Racehorse transport becomes a Bristol specialty and a full slate of tour flights is laid on during the summer.
In the first quarter of 1965, two DC-4s are chartered for six months from Trans World Leasing. The last Dove 1B is sold in February.
During the year, three unprofitable scheduled routes are dropped: Teesside-Cardiff via Chester; Cardiff-Amsterdam via Bristol; and Bristol-Plymouth. With the Heron 2B no longer needed to service these routes, it is sold in September; the DC-4s exit in October.
To replace the returned DC-4s, a DC-7BF is purchased in March 1966 and placed on all-cargo charters to Africa, the Mideast, and Asia.
A chartered Airspeed AS.57 Ambassador 2 with 4 crew and 55 passengers is destroyed on April 14 as the result of a bad landing on a wet runway at Beauvais, France; there are no fatalities. The company’s Piper
PA-23 Apache training aircraft is destroyed in a Godalming crash on September 1 (two dead).
In October, the carrier purchases three de Havilland DH 106 Comet 4s from British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC); two of the
Aircraft have been on hand since May 9 undergoing alterations. When the Comets enter nonscheduled passenger service during the winter, they automatically make Dan-Air, Ltd. the third British jetliner operator. Over the next 14 years, the carrier will come to operate more than half of all Comets manufactured.
A third ex-British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Comet 4 is delivered in April 1967, followed by a fourth in October. Meanwhile, in May, Isle of Man to Swansea and Carlisle scheduled flights commence. Two Airspeed Ambassadors are withdrawn during the year.
Completing a training flight, an Airspeed As.57 Ambassador 2 with two crew is destroyed as the result of a bad landing at Manston on September 30, 1968; there are no fatalities.
Two DC-3s are also disposed of during the year. When British Eagle Airways, Ltd. fails in November, Dan-Air, Ltd. scrambles to pick up that carrier’s next year’s contracts with the travel agents Everyman Travel and Lunn-Poly.
Early in 1969, the contracts are awarded and to provide capacity, the airline now purchases two more Comet 4s and a pair of former American Airlines BAC 1-11-401AKs. The latter are placed into service in March from a base at Luton Airport, north of London.
In May, the British Eagle Airways, Ltd. London (LGW)-Newquay route is taken over; the route will prove unprofitable and will be suspended later in the year. The final DC-7BF service is completed in June, after which the freighter is sold.
The first transatlantic charter is flown in October when a Comet 4 takes an inclusive-tour from London (LGW) to Port of Spain, Trinidad. Additional fleet changes include the acquisition of five more Comet 4s and a BAC 1-11-301AG and the withdrawal of the DC-7BF freighter. The BAC 1-11-205 Stalwart is purchased from British Eagle International Airways, Ltd. on October 14.
Passenger bookings reach 509,025; airline employment stands at 800; and a ?200,000 profit is reported.
The fleet at the beginning of 1970 includes 11 Comet 4s and 4 BAC 1-11s; the last Bristol 170 is sold in February. The former British Eagle International Airways, Ltd. BAC 1-11-205 Superb is acquired in March.
As a replacement for its last DC-3, a Nord 262 is purchased from Air Ceylon, Ltd. in June; following upgrade and crew training, it is placed in service on the Newcastle-Bristol via Liverpool and Cardiff route on July 22. At this point, the French-made machine is the only one of its type on the British civil aircraft register.
Meanwhile, on July 3, the carrier’s first major fatal accident occurs. En route from Manchester to Barcelona with 7 crew and 105 tourists, a chartered Comet 4 is believed to have crashed into the sea 18 mi. NE of Barcelona with no survivors. In fact, the wreckage is found in the Montseny Mountains near Gerona, 32 mi. N of Barcelona on July 4. The outcome, however, is the same: no survivors.
On July 6, weekend Newcastle-Carlisle-Isle of Man AS.57 services begin and the final DC-3 service is completed in September. Arriving on a training flight from Newcastle on October 7, a DH 106 Comet 4, with four crew and five passengers, mistakenly makes a wheels-up landing at Woolsington; although the aircraft is damaged beyond repair, there are no fatalities.
On October 29, the U. S. Civil Aeronautics Board grants charter rights from the U. K. to the U. S. To promote the forthcoming American service, a joint marketing arrangement, Dan-Air International, is formed in cooperation with CPS Aviation Services.
On January 1, 1971 , the company purchases the Boeing 707-321 Clipper Splendid from Pan American World Airways (1). It enters service on the new transatlantic affinity group flights at the end of March, the same month in which two DH 106 Comet 4Cs are acquired. The de Havillands are used on charter flights to the Greek and Canary islands.
On May 1, the Avro 748-200 prototype is delivered; it is dispatched to Newcastle to replace the Nord 262 on the Bristol run.
The last AS.57 flight is made Jersey-London (LGW) on September 26 and thereafter the type is retired and withdrawn from the Dan-Air, Ltd. fleet as of November, the same month in which an Avro 748-226 is delivered. A BAC 1-11-414, first flown by Bavaria Fluggesellschaft, mbH. & Co. , is acquired on December 21.
Following its last revenue flight on January 26, 1972, the Nord 262 is withdrawn and in February it is sold to the French operator Rousseau Aviation, S. A.
On February 11, competitor Skyways International, Ltd. is purchased from Sterling Industrial Securities for ?650,000. The arrangement is completed on April 12 and includes four older Hawker Siddley HS 748-100s that are allowed to continue the Skyways Ashford-Beauvais coach-air service under the title Dan-Air Skyways, with a modified green and red livery.
During February and March, Channel Airways, Ltd.’s four Comet 4Bs are purchased. Simultaneously, the failed Berlin-based charter carrier Orientair is acquired along with its contracts for nonscheduled Tenerife flights.
Dan-Air, Ltd. now inaugurates a number of new (including some inherited) “Link City” scheduled routes: London (CTN)-Leeds-Glasgow on April 11; Bournemouth-Newcastle via Birmingham, Liverpool, and Manchester on April 10; Swansea-Jersey and Newcastle-Jersey via Carlisle on May 27; and London (LGW)-Berne on June 5. Meanwhile, in May, a second B-707-321 is received from Pan American World Airways (1) and an Avro 748-232 is added in June.
Skyways International is completely absorbed by early 1973.
In March, three B-727-46s, purchased from Japan Air Lines Company, Ltd. (2) in 1972, are delivered, making Dan-Air, Ltd. the first British operator to fly this American type. The premier trijet revenue flight is made on April 13, Manchester to Alicante; also during April and May, six Comet 4s are withdrawn and two Comet 4Bs are added. By summer, all three Boeings are in service on the tour routes, including the planned ex-Orientair operation to the Canary Islands with a Berlin-based machine equipped with long-range fuel tanks.
In August, a ?1.7-million contract is signed with C. P.S. Jetsave for next year’s transatlantic charters to Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, as well as Trinidad and Barbados. Other new routes opened are from Teesside to Amsterdam, from London (LGW) to Clermont Ferrand and Montpellier, from Newcastle to Bergen, and from Ashford to Jersey.
Four more Comet 4Bs are received in October along with a Comet 4C; three of the five will never enter service. In November, the final Comet 4 service is completed and the aircraft is withdrawn.
Passenger boardings for the year rise 26%, surpassing two million (2,217,000), while cargo traffic skyrockets by 64%.
The workforce in 1974 totals 2,298.
With the delivery of two additional B-727-46s in April, a new color scheme is introduced. On April 20, scheduled Comet 4 service is initiated London (LGW)-Newcastle and, on May 20, a pooled HS 748 London (LGW)-Ostend scheduled route is flown with Sabena Belgian World Airlines, S. A. Inclusive-tour flights are inaugurated from Berlin to the Canary Islands and scheduled service is started from London (LGW) to Newcastle and Bristol, continuing on to Amsterdam.
The airport at Ashford is closed on October 31, requiring movement to nearby Lydd.
Passenger traffic climbs 4% to 2,258,000. Total employment is 2,000 and at the year’s end the fleet numbers 33 aircraft.
During the first quarter of 1975, four ex-Court Line, Ltd. BAC 1-11-518FGs are acquired, together with two BAC 1-11-207AJs, the last two purchased on March 29 from Zambia Airways Corporation. Five former RAF Comet 4Cs are also taken over by the company, converted at Lasham, and placed into service on inclusive-tour operations. In March, Liverpool is dropped from the route network, effectively ending service to Amsterdam. During the year, two Vickers Viscount 700s and an 800 briefly joint the fleet.
On May 24, an Avro 748, based at Aberdeen, inaugurates service to Isle of Man while simultaneously, London (LGW)-Isle of Man flights also begin. During the year, all-cargo night flights are started from London (LGW)-Belfast. A BAC 1-11-509EW is delivered in October, the same month in which the Viscount 800 is withdrawn. The two Viscount 700s depart the fleet in December.
Enplanements for the year jump 13% to 2,507,000. Freight traffic is off by a huge 98% to 31.71 million FTKs.
Employment is increased by 9% in 1976 as the workforce is increased to 2,365.
On January 6, HS 748 Cardiff-Glasgow via Leeds scheduled service is inaugurated. An advance booking U. K. to Africa charter service is begun and the fleet continues to grow as 2 B-707-320Cs, 1 used B-727-100, 1 used BAC 1-11-500, and 8 HS 748s are added.
On behalf of International Weekend, Inc., B-707-321 London (LGW)-Boston charter flights are flown weekly and biweekly between March and November. In a public ceremony on October 28, the Lord Mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne christens one of the BAC 1-11-207s City of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Passenger boardings climb 14% to 2,845,734. Freight traffic skyrockets an almost unbelievable 980% to 60.2 million FTKs.
Operations continue apace in 1977-1978. To fly contracts in support of the growing North Sea oil industry, a base of operations is established at Aberdeen, Scotland, to which 14 HS 748s are assigned for the delivery of workers and supplies to Scatsa and Sumburgh. During this period, HS 748 and BAC 1-11 scheduled service is inaugurated from London (LGW) and Newcastle to Berne, Switzerland.
A Vickers Viscount 810 is acquired in January 1979. Two more One-Elevens are acquired during the first quarter, including a former Bavaria Germanair Fluggesellschaft, mbH. & Co. DASH-515 and the British Caledonian Airways, Ltd. (BCAL) DASH-501 Isle of Arran.
On July 1, the company joins the Royal Mail program known as “Spokes from Speke,” flying an Avro 748 each night from Newcastle to the sorting hub at Liverpool’s Speke Airport and back to Newcastle for distribution.
On July 31, a chartered HS 748-1A, with 3 crew and 44 passengers, fails to become airborne on takeoff from Sumburgh, Shetland Islands, and crashes into the sea 50m. offshore (17 dead). Speculation is that the elevator gust-lock reengaged, causing the crash.
While on final approach to London (LGW) on September 5, a B-707-321 pitches down to -100 degrees in 5 seconds from an altitude of 800 feet; the accident occurs at such a low altitude that there is no in-flight explosion, despite disintegration of its fuel-laden wing.
Removal of the Comets, whose final service was operated the previous October, commences in 1980 as Dan-Air/Dan-Air Services, Ltd. begins in March to take delivery of the first of 10 Boeing 727-200s.
While on initial approach to Tenerife after an April 25 flight from Manchester, Flight 1008, a B-727-64 with 8 crew and 138 passengers, passes the final point (FP) beacon, but continues on to crash into a mountain in the Esperanzo Forest; there are no survivors. A mass funeral for 121 victims of the tragedy is held in Manchester on May 12.
The first of 10 B-737-200s arrives in October and the last of 9 Comet 4Cs operated since 1971 is withdrawn in November 9 following a celebration trip made by 119 passengers from Gatwick Airport.
In 1981 , routes and frequencies of scheduled services are maintained as additional inclusive-tour and charter destinations are added, along with the remainder of the new B-727-200 equipment. The Viscount 810 is withdrawn in April.
While descending on a flight from London (LGW) to East Midlands on June 26, an HS 748-2A freighter, with three crew, suffers the loss of its right-hand rear door, which strikes the horizontal tailplane. Out of control, the plane dives to earth, losing its wings in the process; there are no survivors.
On September 30, the last Comet 4C, withdrawn in late 1980, is flown from Lasham to East Fortune, Scotland, where it will serve as a static airport display. Three BAC 1-11-531s, the Poa, Chirripo, and Arenalare purchased from LACSA (Lineas Aereas Costarricenses, S. A.).
Chairman F. E. F. Newman and Managing Director A. J. Snudden oversee a 3,300- employee workforce in 1982.
The former Laker Airways, Ltd. route from London (LGW) to Zurich is taken over in February. The carrier also purchases Laker’s 50% stake in Gatwick Handling, Ltd., adding it to its own 50% share and making the service company a fully owned subsidiary.
A BAC 1-11-515 is leased on March 1 to British Caledonian Airways, Ltd. (BCAL) . Graham Hutchinson becomes managing director at the end of the year.
Orders are placed in 1983 for British Aerospace BAe 146-100 jetliners. A BAC 1-11-401 is sold to Westinghouse Electric on February 3 for use as an executive transport. It is replaced by a pair of former Air Manchester, Ltd. BAC 1-11-416s chartered from their manufacturer.
When the BAe 146-100s begin to arrive in May, they take over the HS 748 services from London (LGW) to Berne and from Newcastle, Cardiff, and Bristol to Amsterdam. At this point, one of the two BAC 1-11-416s is returned. Passenger traffic for the year totals 3,495,000.
Invited in by the Saarland government, the carrier inaugurates scheduled BAe (HS) 748 flights between Saarbrucken and West Berlin on January 9, 1984, taking over from TAT (Touraine Air Transport S. A.).
The number of employees jumps 4.5% to 2,953 and the fleet comprises 48 aircraft, including 9 B-727-200s, 19 BAe (BAC) 1-11s, 9 BAe (HS) 748s, 6 B-737-200s, and 3 BAe 146-100s. An order is placed for a B-737-3Q8 and, on March 28, a BAC 1-11-525 is leased from TAROM (Transporturile Aerlene Romane, S. A.).
Freight traffic accelerates 41.7% to 2.3 million FTKs as enplanements skyrocket 24.2% to 4.6 million. The year’s net profit is $4.6 million.
During the winter of 1985, BAe 146-100 charter flights are inaugurated to Innsbruck. New BAe 146 test services are flown from Berlin-Amsterdam via Saarbrucken. As one BAe (BAC) 1-11-400 is retired, one each Airbus A300B4-203 (leased from Hapag-Lloyd Flugge-sellschaft, mbH), B-737-3Q8, and B-727-200A join the fleet.
Passenger boardings rise 8.9% to 5,007,000 and freight traffic skyrockets 85% to 4.28 million FTKs. Unfortunately, the net profit dips to $1.58 million.
The workforce is increased by 7.6% in 1986 to 3,150.
During the winter ski season, BAe 146 charters are launched from the U. K. to Innsbruck, Chamber, and Berne.
In the spring, thrice-weekly scheduled service is inaugurated to the former. A second A300B4 to replace the first, is leased from Hapag Lloyd Fluggesellschaft, mbH. and placed in service, and one HS 748 is retired.
In November, the company agrees to a U. K. Equal Opportunities Commission demand that it stop refusing to recruit male flight attendants. Customer bookings climb 6% to 5,309,000 and cargo jumps again, up 35.8% to 2.75 million FTKs.
The employee population is enhanced a further 3.8% in 1987 to 3,580 and the last BAC 1-11-400 is withdrawn in November. Passenger boardings rise 3.2% to 5,481,000 and freight climbs 8.2% to 2.98 million FTKs.
The workforce is cut 7.3% in 1988 to 3,320 and the fleet now includes 1 owned Airbus Industrie A300B4-203, 4 B-727-46s, 100s, 7 B-727-200s, 11 BAC 1-11-500s, 6 BAC 1-11-200/300/400s, 5 B-737-200s, 1 B-737-3Q8, 15 BAe 748-B2s, and 3 BAe 146-100s. Orders are outstanding for 1 B-737-3Q8, 2 B-737-4Q8s, 1 A300B4, and 1 BAe 146-300. The wholly owned subsidiary Sheawater Insurance Co., Ltd., is incorporated on February 22.
On September 10, 20 members of the Inverness Baptist community, led by Rev. William Freel, become involved in a debate with the airline, which has mixed up their bookings on a flight to London with connection to the Holy Land. Dan Air at day’s end arranges a special charter that transports the group to London (LHR), where it is able to link up with other Baptists flying to Tel Aviv.
Class Elite business-passenger oriented scheduled service is launched to the sound of bagpipes in October over a route from London (LGW) to Paris. Customer bookings move ahead by 6% to 5,804,000 and cargo climbs 28.2% to 3.82 million FTKs. Revenues total $602 million and allow profits of $16.9 million (operating) and $17.1 million (net).
The payroll is increased by 5.3% in 1989 to 4,135 and the fleet now includes 46 aircraft. Class Elite flights are initiated to Vienna in May and Berlin in July.
Passenger boardings increase 8.1% to 6,276,000, but freight climbs only a slight 0.7% to 3.63 million FTKs.
Company employment is cut by 5.4% in 1990 to 3,910. Business class is introduced on several routes, including new ones from London (LGW) to Vienna and to Berlin (Tegal Airport). Beginning in late June, the company contracts with Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. to provide discount airfares within the U. K. for Virgin’s arriving transatlantic passengers.
In July, Davies & Newman approach company-rescue specialist David James, who has saved 80 companies from bankruptcy, to take over its management and save the airline. James agrees to start work in November but, by October 18, the airline is 12 hours away from financial collapse. Notified of the situation while in Los Angeles, James flies back the same day and, overnight, is able to negotiate ?40 million ($72 million) in extended credit.
The final A300B4 is retired in October, the last of 10 B-727-100/200s is withdrawn in November, and in December, four-times-per-week service is initiated from Manchester to Goteborg, Sweden.
Customer bookings slide 6.1% to 5,892,000 and cargo drops by 4% to 3.48 million FTKs.
The employee population declines 45.7% in 1991 to 2,123 and the fleet now includes 2 BAe (BAC) 1-11-509EWs, 1 each 1-11-515FB, 1-11-517FE, and 1-11-520FN, 4 1-11-518FGs, 2 1-11-531FSs, 2 each BAe 146-100s and 146-300s, 1 each B-727-46, B-727-212, and B-727-2D3A, 2 B-727-217As, 1 each B-727-230A, B-727-264A, B-727-264A, B-727-276A, 2 B-727-277As, 1 each B-737-2E7A, B-737-2U4A, and B-737-210A, 2 B-737-3Q8s, 3 B-737-4Q8s, 3 BAe (HS) 748-B1s, and 3 BAe (HS) 748-B2s. Orders are outstanding for 2 BAe 146-300s, 3 B-737-4Q8s, and 3 B-737-4S3s. The B-727-46 is leased to SAM (So-ciedad Aeronautica de Medellin, S. A.) in Columbia and one B-727-276A is chartered to Sun Country Air Lines in the U. S.
The demise of Air Europe, Ltd. will provide the opportunity for some expansion and, indeed, keep the older company from going under itself. Weekly flights are launched in January from Manchester to Innsbruck.
The Western response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, Operation Desert Storm, is unleashed at the end of the month. Scheduled traffic for the carrier declines by 35% and revenues are off by 60%. Still, income is generated at the beginning of February by the sale of the company’s engineering unit to FLS Aerospace of Denmark for ?27.5 million.
On March 1, daily service is inaugurated from London (LGW) to Amsterdam and from Manchester to Paris (CDG). By April, traffic is back to its 1990 level. Other scheduled markets are opened at Oslo, Brussels, and Gibraltar and a BAe 146-200 is leased during July.
In October, a ?49.3 million ($85 million) refinancing occurs. Recession and the Gulf crisis cause passenger boardings to plunge another 17.6% to 4,857,751 and freight falls 12.5% further to 3.05 million FTKs.
Airline employment in 1992 stands at 2,150.
In January, security guards must be called to maintain order on a company B-727-276A at Geneva after its captain agrees to delay departure with 140 passengers and wait three hours for 46 others caught in a traffic jam while returning from a horror movie festival.
Six weekly return flights begin on February 26 from London (LGW) to Stockholm (Arlanda Airport).
CEO David N. James becomes chairman on March 1 and is succeeded by Cathay Pacific Airways (Pty.), Ltd.’s former European general manager, John Olsen.
At the beginning of the summer schedule, orders are placed for six BAe 146-300s for delivery the following year. Meanwhile, two of the new type arrive under lease and help to inaugurate the company’s summer schedule.
On March 2, daily flights commence from London (LGW) to Athens. The Stockholm frequencies are doubled on March 29 and new daily Gatwick to Rome roundtrips commence on April 3. Six daily return flights from London (LGW) to Barcelona are started on May 5.
The Athens route is extended in June to Istanbul and Cairo while the last of five BAe 146-100s is withdrawn in July.
After two years of decline, the carrier is unable to maintain fiscal viability and, in late September, suspends its shares on the London Stock Exchange and begins looking for another rescue similar to the previous year’s. Simultaneously, the last of 20 HS 748s first operated in 1971 departs the fleet.
Both Virgin Atlantic Airways, Ltd. and British Airways, Ltd. (2)
Review the company and, for the symbolic figure of ?1 sterling, the company is purchased by British Airways on October 30. It is allowed to operate through the end of the year as preparations are made to turn its assets over to British Airways Regional, Ltd.
Customer bookings for the final year are down another 11.2% to 4,110,456, but cargo grows 10.4% to 4.06 million FTKs.
There is an unofficial website at Http://www. concentric. net/ ~mchallen/danair. htm.
DANAIR, A. S.: Denmark (1971-1997). Danair, A. S. is formed at Copenhagen as Denmark’s primary domestic passenger airline and as a consortium enterprise in February 1971. Shareholding is held by SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) (57%), Maersk Air, A. S. (38%), and Cimber Air, A. S. (5%). The carrier itself does not actually fly any services, as they are scheduled by the partners, which supply both aircraft and flight crews as required. When operations begin on November 1, SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) dedicates a Douglas DC-9-21, Maersk Air, A. S. a Boeing 737-2L9, and Cimber Air, A. S. a VFW-614. Chairman Frede Ahlgreen Eriksen and his 18 employees initially schedule flights to Billund, Esbjerg, Karup, Odense, Skrydstrup, Stauning, Sonderborg, Thisted, and the Faroe Islands.
Services continue apace in 1972-1974 with Aalborg and Aarhus added as markets. While SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) continues to supply two DC-9-21s, Maersk Air, A. S. alters and increases its contribution by providing four Fokker F-27s. Cimber Air, A. S., having deleted its VFW-614, contributes two Nord 262s.
Enplanements during the latter year are 506,698. The workforce in 1975 stands at 11. Passenger boardings rise a miniscule 1% to 511,816.
The fleet is realigned once again in 1976, this time to an all-jet configuration. Gone are the Fokkers and Nords, replaced by two VFW-614s, a Boeing 737-2L9, and two more DC-9-21s. Customer bookings accelerate a handsome 17% to 627,636.
Enplanements in 1977 total 679,880 and jump by 8% in 1978 to 739,000. Operations continue apace during the remainder of the decade and throughout the 1980s.
During the early 1990s, Chairman Eriksen’s workforce is reduced to nine. While there are no changes in the route, the contributed equipment is revised. SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) still employs DC-9s, but adds McDonnell Douglas MD-80s and Fokker F.27s. Cimber Air, A. S. contributes Avions de Transport Regional ATR42s, while Maersk Air, A. S. provides Boeing 737-2L9s, Shorts 360s, and Fokker 50s.
By 1994, the contributed fleet includes one SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) MD-80, one Cimber Air, A. S. ATR42-320, and one Maersk Air, A. S. Fokker 50.
Operations cease on September 30, 1995. All efforts to resume operations fail and the company is liquidated in 1997.
DANBURY AIRWAYS: United States (1980-1981). Danbury Airways is set up by John Dunning at Danbury, Connecticut, in 1980 to provide scheduled passenger and cargo services to New York (JFK and LGA). Although daily de Havilland Canada DHC-6-200 Twin Otter roundtrips are duly inaugurated, air traffic control (ATC) restrictions imposed in the wake of the summer 1981 PATCO air traffic controllers’ strike restrict the commuter’s income and push it out of business.
DANISH AIR TRANSPORT, A. S.: P. O. Box 80, Vamdrup, DK-6580, Denmark; Phone 45 7558 3777; Fax 45 7558 3772; http:// Www. daa. dk/dat; Code DX; Year Founded 1989. DAT is established by former military pilot Capt. Jesper Rungholm at Copenhagen in 1989. With the assistance of several employees, a Shorts SC-7 Skyvan is imported from Thailand and employed to offer European all-cargo services. During the summer and on weekends, the aircraft is employed to fly sports parachutists.
A second SC-7 is acquired in 1990, as is a contract from DHL Worldwide Express. Managing Director Rungholm’s company now flies general cargo, as well as such priority express as spare automobile parts. A Beech King Air 90 is purchased in 1991, allowing the inauguration of nonscheduled passenger charters. A Fairchild-Swearingen Metro II is leased in 1992.
A total of seven bases are established between 1993-1998, including four in Denmark, two in France, and one at London (CTN) in England. Revenue passenger and cargo flights are operated throughout Europe and into Africa and the CIS. DAT aircraft are reported from Reykjavik in the west to Alma Ata in the east and from the Kirkenes in the north to Dakar in the south.
With the addition of two Beech 1900Cs in 1994-1996, scheduled services are launched between Esbjerg, Aalborg, and Stavanger. Additional cargo contracts are undertaken on behalf of DHL Worldwide Express.
DAT operates one each Beech King Air 90 and Piper PA-23 Aztec from Kolding Airport at Vamdrup; a Beech 1900C and two Cessna 501 Citation Is from Billund; one each all-cargo configured Cessna 208 Caravan I and Shorts SC-7 Skyvan from Copenhagen; and one each Beech 1900C and Embraer EMB-120 Brasilia from Copenhagen.
At London (CTN), the carrier stations one each all-cargo configured Beech King Air 90 and Cessna 406 Caravan II, plus a Beech 1900C passenger-turboprop. A Skyvan freighter is stationed at Le Puy, France, while one each passenger-configured King Air 90 and Super King Air 200 are based at Montpellier.
A new Embraer EMB-120RT Brasilia enters service in January 1998. A second Brasilia is acquired on October 26; equipped with an oversized galley, it operates charters from the company base at Esbjerg. Two SAAB 340As are also acquired, but these are leased to Aurigny Air Service, Ltd. in early 1999.
An ATR42-430 is leased from Cimber Air, A. S. on July 1,2000 and employed to operate replacement flights to Geneva on behalf of Regional Airlines, S. A.
DANUBE AIR, LTD.: Hungary (1990-1992). Danube Air is established at Budapest in March 1990. Laszio Kurtos is named managing director of the charter operation, which is financed by the Austrian company IBU. S. and the FBO Viennair. A Let 410 is leased from CSA (Czechoslovak Airlines) and is employed to operate nonscheduled flights linking the carrier’s base with Vienna.
Plans are made in early 1991 to offer scheduled services to Graz, as well as destinations in northern Italy, Romania, and Bulgaria. Unable to maintain viability in a time of recession, the carrier closes down in 1992.
World History
