BEAS is formed at Coventry in 1970 to operate helicopters on agricultural duties, aerial crane work, flight training, executive charter, and passenger and cargo support services in support of the North Sea oil and gas industry.
In 1977, Bristol Helicopters, Ltd. purchases the carrier and operates it as a subsidiary for a year. In 1978, all but the agricultural division is merged into the new parent. Former BEAS Marketing Director David Dollar purchases that division, along with the subsidiary’s fleet of 10 Aerospatiale Alouettes and Lamas and Bell Model 47Gs, reorganizing it into Dollar Helicopters, Ltd.
Forsaking the offshore market, Dollar begins to concentrate on the provision of onshore services. A domestic subsidiary, Black Isle Helicopters, Ltd., is established and the company concentrates on both agricultural work and the transport of fish by air.
Between 1984 and 1994, the company diversifies and its fleet grows to include 22 helicopters by the latter year: 3 Aerospatiale AS-355 Twin Ecureuils, 1 each SA-315B Lama and AS-350B Ecureuil, 10 Bell 206B JetRangers IIs, 6 JetRanger IIIs, and 1 Robinson R-22. Bases are operated at Cumbernauld and Inverness. Although the fish-carrying flights continue from the Orkney Islands off Scotland to the Isle of Man, many other activities are also undertaken: air ambulance, executive charter, forestry, filming, construction, television, pipeline inspection, survey, police support, and load carrying.
In 1990-1993, Dollar accepts a number of foreign contracts, including commissions from the U. A.E., Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. In Pakistan, Bell 206B JetRangers handle liaison and emergency relief duties in the northwest province of Baluchistan on behalf of the UN High Commissioner. In Britain and on the Isle of Man, the carrier begins to provide emergency medical service (EMS) flights for motorcycle and automobile racing events and, at Coventry, air taxi flights for Ford, Jaguar, the Rover Group, and Rolls Royce. Revenues in the latter year total $10 million.
The Lynton Group of Morristown, New Jersey, purchases Dollar in January 1994 for an undisclosed sum. It is reformed into Dollar Air Services, Ltd.
Flights continue until July 1995 when this subsidiary is joined with another Lynton subsidiary, Black Isle Helicopters, Ltd. in a merger with Inverness, Scotland-based PLM Helicopters, Ltd. The combined fleet of PLM-Dollar Group, Ltd.—now the largest onshore helicopter charter operator in the U. K.—includes a mix of 15 Eurocopter AS-315s, AS -350s, and AS -355s, plus Bell 206B JetRangers.
DOLPHIN AIRLINES: United States (1981-1984). A child of the airline industry’s deregulation, this Florida commuter is established at Tampa as Dolphin Airways in the late fall of 1981. Employing 6 Em-braer EMB-110 Bandeirantes, daily scheduled roundtrip flights are inaugurated on December 15, linking the company’s base to 14 cities in Florida, 1 in Georgia, and 1 in South Carolina.
Early in 1982, President/General Manager Richard Derridinger purchases the FBO Tampa Air Center. En route from Tampa to West Palm Beach on August 16, Flight 296, an EMB-110 with 2 crew and 15 passengers, is subjected to a diversion to Cuba by one of the customers, claiming to have a bomb in his briefcase. Unfortunately, Dolphin now runs into serious financial difficulty during this recessionary year and never really gets off the ground.
Enplanements for the first full accounting period are 101,928.
The corporate name is changed in May 1983. Despite an 84% increase in passenger boardings for the year to 187,246, the small regional is forced to cease operations and file for Chapter XI bankruptcy protection on January 18, 1984. All of Dolphin’s assets, debts, and its 6 Em-braer EMB-110 Bandeirantes are now acquired by Provincetown-Boston Airline (PBA).
World History
