Freddie Laker
Sir Freddie Laker | |
---|---|
Born | Frederick Alfred Laker 6 August 1922 Canterbury, Kent, England |
Died | 9 February 2006 Hollywood, Florida, U.S. | (aged 83)
Occupation(s) | Founder and chairman of Laker Airways, adviser of Virgin Atlantic |
Spouses | Joan Laker (m. 1942–1968)Rose Marie Black
(m. 1968–1975)Patricia Gates (m. 1975–1982)Jacqueline Harvey
(m. 1985–2006) |
Children | 4 |
Sir Frederick Alfred Laker (6 August 1922 – 9 February 2006) was an English airline entrepreneur, best known for founding Laker Airways in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982. Known as Freddie Laker, he was one of the first airline owners to adopt the "low cost / no-frills" airline business model that has since proven to be successful worldwide when employed by companies such as Ryanair, Southwest Airlines, easyJet, Norwegian Air, and AirAsia.
Biography
Laker came from
He then worked briefly for British European Airways (BEA) and London Aero Motor Services (LAMS).[2] Having borrowed £38,000 from a wealthy friend to top up his own savings of £4,500, he subsequently went into business as a war-surplus aircraft dealer. The Soviet blockade of West Berlin in 1948–49, during which all available aircraft were needed to fly essential supplies into West Berlin, allowed his business to flourish, as this provided more than a year's work for his planes and employees almost immediately. During this period Laker often flew the aircraft himself.[3]
By 1954, Channel Air Bridge, his second airline venture, was flying cars and their owners in Bristol Freighters from Southend Airport (Rochford) to Calais.
In 1958, he sold Air Charter, Aviation Traders and Channel Air Bridge to Airwork. All three companies joined the Airwork group in 1959. Following the Airwork–Hunting-Clan merger in 1960, he became managing director of British United Airways.[4][5]
He left
He was
He received an honorary degree from the University of Strathclyde in 1981.
Laker divided his final years between his waterfront home in Princess Isle,
Business ventures
Throughout his working life Laker was involved in a number of aviation-related business ventures. Even when he was working for others, his decisions had far-reaching strategic consequences for the business that employed him.[citation needed]
Early business ventures
Laker's early post-war business ventures (prior to 1960) included:
Aviation Traders
Freddie Laker founded Aviation Traders in October 1947.[2] It was based at Southend Airport, Essex, England and specialised in converting numerous war-surplus bombers and transporters into freighters. This included the conversion of Handley Page Halifax bombers into freighters, six of which were sold to Bond Air Services, an early post-war British independent[nb 1] airline. Bond Air Services based these planes at Wunstorf aerodrome in West Germany to carry essential supplies into West Berlin during the Berlin Blockade of 1948–49. Bond Air Services furthermore contracted Aviation Traders to service these planes. In return, Aviation Traders got half of Bond Air Services' freight charges.[8]
Following the end of the
In addition, Aviation Traders re-engined Argonauts, BOAC's Canadian-built
In 1951, Aviation Traders (Engineering), a sister company of Aviation Traders, won a contract from Bristol Aircraft to manufacture wing centre sections for Bristol Freighters. Between the beginning of 1952 and the end of 1955, Aviation Traders (Engineering) built 50 wing sections for Bristol Aircraft.[12]
In 1958, Laker announced his decision to sell both Aviation Traders and Air Charter to Airwork for £600,000 cash plus a further £200,000, subject to the valuation of stock.[4] The deal became effective in January 1959, when Aviation Traders and Air Charter joined the Airwork group.[5]
Air Charter
This was his first airline venture, which he took over in 1951.[13][14] Since its inception in 1947, Air Charter had been based at London's old Croydon Airport.[5] The airline participated in the 1948–49 Berlin Airlift. (Following the end of the Airlift in 1949, Laker sold the Air Charter Yorks that were still airworthy to other independent airlines, two of which were acquired by Dan-Air in 1956).[9])
On 14 April 1955, Air Charter inaugurated its first vehicle ferry service between Southend and
In 1958, Laker announced his decision to sell both Air Charter and Aviation Traders to Airwork for £600,000 cash plus a further £200,000, subject to the valuation of stock.[4]
In January 1959, Air Charter became a subsidiary of the Airwork group.[5]
Following a rationalisation of Air Charter's flight crew and ground staff in February 1959, Laker decided to transfer all vehicle ferry services along with the Bristol 170 fleet to the newly formed Channel Air Bridge.[5]
Air Charter was absorbed into British United Airways in June 1960, as a result of Airwork's merger with Hunting-Clan and several other contemporary, British independent operators.[13]
Channel Air Bridge
His second airline venture began flying cars and their owners across the
At the end of 1958, he sold Channel Air Bridge together with his other two companies – Air Charter and Aviation Traders – to Airwork. All three officially became part of the Airwork group in January 1959. In June 1960 Airwork and Hunting-Clan merged to form British United Airways. Channel Air Bridge continued operating under its own identity for more than two years.[4][5]
On 1 January 1963, Channel Air Bridge merged with Silver City Airways, which had pioneered commercial cross-Channel vehicle ferry flights in 1948.[15] The merged entity traded as British United Air Ferries.[15]
In the meantime, Laker had been appointed British United's managing director.
During his tenure (1960–65), British United became Britain's biggest wholly privately owned, independent airline. It also became the UK's first independent airline to re-equip its entire fleet with new jet aircraft.
In 1961,
By the end of that decade, British United had an all-jet fleet, which gave it a competitive edge over its contemporary independent rivals.
Laker was furthermore instrumental in securing the transfer of the traffic rights for BOAC's loss-making South American routes to Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay to British United. The airline commenced service on these routes in November 1964 using its brand-new VC10s and managed to make them profitable within five years.
In 1965, Laker decided to leave British United to set up his own airline following an alleged disagreement with British United's chairman Myles Wyatt.[11][19][20]
Subsequent business ventures
Laker was involved in the following business ventures during the later postwar years of the 20th century (post-1960):
Laker Airways
Laker Airways was formed in 1966. This was Laker's third and most prominent airline venture. Laker Airways commenced commercial airline operations that July with a fleet of two ex-BOAC Bristol Britannias. These were subsequently supplemented and eventually replaced with a brand-new fleet of BAC One-Eleven jetliners as well as a pair of second-hand Boeing 707 jets.
Initially, Laker Airways was a
Laker Airways pioneered many new, cost-saving as well as profit-enhancing, commercial concepts and operational techniques.
In 1969, Laker Airways announced its intention to buy the proposed
Laker Airways eventually became the first independent British airline to actually operate widebodied equipment when it introduced its first two McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 series aircraft into commercial airline service in November 1972, the first European operator to do so.[23] These aircraft were the first UK-registered DC-10s.
In 1973, Laker Airways operated the world's first Advance Booking Charter (ABC) flight. By the mid-1970s it had become the undisputed, global ABC flight market leader.
Skytrain
On 15 June 1971,
The ATLB rejected Laker's application before the year was out, and Laker appealed against the ruling. The appeal was successful, and the ATLB eventually granted Laker the requested licence in February 1972.[31]
However, on 30 March 1972, the UK government revoked Laker's licence and instructed him to reapply to the CAA, which came into being on 1 April 1972.[31]
Laker duly reapplied to the CAA for permission to operate eleven weekly Skytrain services each way between London Gatwick and New York's
The newly formed CAA approved Laker's application on 5 October 1972, granting a ten-year licence. However, it specified
The UK government designated Laker Airways as a scheduled transatlantic UK "flag" carrier on 11 January 1973.[31][32]
However, under intense pressure from the established airlines, including Laker's archrival and next-door Gatwick neighbour BCal, against a backdrop of huge losses and overcapacity on the
Freddie Laker took the government to the UK High Court, which overturned the latter's decision to revoke the airline's licence for a Skytrain service between London and New York.[36]
It took another two years until Laker gained final approval, including a reciprocal permit from the relevant US authorities, which was granted for a one-year experimental period on 13 June 1977 by US President Jimmy Carter[3][32] – to commence Skytrain.
In the meantime,
Laker's long-running Skytrain application was finally granted in 1977 upon designating the airline as the second UK flag carrier between London and New York under the then just-concluded Bermuda II UK-US air agreement.[41][43] At the last minute prior to the inaugural Skytrain flight from London to New York, Laker also received government permission to use its Gatwick base as the service's UK departure and arrival point, rather than Stansted as originally specified in its licence. The restriction limiting it to 189 seats per aircraft in winter was lifted as well and the baggage allowance was brought into line with International Air Transport Association (IATA) rules.[24][45]
Skytrain took to the air for the first time on 26 September 1977 when the inaugural flight departed London Gatwick for New York JFK. This flight carried 272 passengers on one of the airline's 345-seat McDonnell Douglas DC-10 widebodied aircraft. The fares charged at the time were £59 (equivalent to £390 in 2021) one-way from London and $135 (equivalent to £892 in 2021) one-way from New York.[24][45]
Skytrain was originally envisaged to achieve a 50% load factor in winter. By summer 1978, the actual load factor was 80%.[3]
After unsuccessfully trying to block Laker through government regulation, the incumbent giant lines, British Airways,
Laker claimed that Skytrain helped to grow passenger numbers for all airlines in the London—New York market, citing statistics comparing passenger numbers for the July—September peak season in 1977 with those of the corresponding period in 1976 as evidence. These had shown that in the days before Skytrain, total traffic between London and New York for the aforesaid period in 1977 was down 2% on the same period in 1976. He contrasted these figures with those comparing the October—December 1977 off-peak period with the corresponding 1976 off-peak period. The latter set of figures had shown a 30% increase, boosted by "Skytrain", which launched on 26 September 1977.
A closer analysis comparing the figures for October 1977 with those of the same month in 1976 had shown an increase of 31.8% (37,902 passengers) for all airlines. A further breakdown of these figures had shown that Laker's "Skytrain" accounted for 15% (17,501 passengers) of the overall increase while competing services of rival airlines accounted for the remaining 16.8% (20,401 passengers). The latter included IATA members British Airways, Pan Am, and TWA, which had initially opposed "Skytrain" but subsequently matched its low fares.[nb 2] (Statistics for November and December 1977, as well as for January—June 1978, had also shown that the overall monthly growth in the London—New York market was maintained at that level for the remainder of this period while Skytrain managed to grow its share of the overall monthly increase to 50% and keep up this performance until the end of the period.)[3]
Skytrain became a financial success in its first year of operation,[46] leading to further expansion over the coming years, in terms of new routes as well as additional frequencies.
As a result of his clever publicity stunts to market the then brand-new London—New York Skytrain service, Freddie Laker himself became popular with the public ("the forgotten man's hero" was a self-confessed "Freddie Laker fan".
However, it was
As Skytrain expanded to other British and U.S. gateways, the airline placed orders for additional McDonnell Douglas DC-10 widebodies, including the company's first order for five longer-range series-30 aircraft required for its Los Angeles flights. These were delivered from December 1979 onwards to support its growing number of destinations and frequencies.
The airline also became one of the early buyers of the first Airbus airliner, the A300, ordering ten of these widebodies in 1979 and had plans to deploy the aircraft on a new network of intra-European Skytrain routes.
Skytrain came to an end the day the airline went into receivership at the behest of the Midland Bank on 5 February 1982.
Collapse and the end of Skytrain
In 1982, the company went bankrupt, owing over £250 million (equivalent to £938.62 million in 2021). The airline made its last flight on 5 February 1982, the day it went into receivership.
There were numerous reasons for what was termed the biggest corporate failure in Britain at the time:
- Laker Airways had expanded too quickly in the late 1970s and early 1980s when it took delivery of a large fleet of brand-new DC-10 and A300 widebodies, which had been bought with US funds borrowed at too high a rate of interest. Subsequent devaluations of sterling meant increased costs in servicing the debt.
- The company was undercapitalised and did not enjoy the financial backup of any significant assets, which seriously undermined its ability to withstand a concerted and prolonged campaign to put it out of business at the depth of the 1981–82 recession at the hands of its financially stronger competitors.
- Laker Airways incurred a revenue loss estimated at £13 Chicago O'Hare in May 1979.[49]
- Some passengers may also have perceived the DC-10 as unsafe as a result of a string of fatal accidents involving the aircraft within a short timespan during the late 1970s (including the aforementioned 1979 American Airlines crash at Chicago O'Hare, and the previous 1974 crash of a Turkish Airlines DC10 at Beauvais, near Paris).
- The implications of the strategic decision to build its business on discount travellers only.
- The conspiracy of large airlines throughout Europe and North America, which were aggressively price-matching Laker Airways even at the expense of massive losses. This charge, which was brought to court as the largest aviation antitrust case in history, was later settled out of court.UTA for conspiracy to put his airline out of business by predatory pricing. They settled out of court for US$50 million, with British Airways later agreeing to contribute a further $35 million. British Airways also reached a separate out-of-court agreement with Sir Freddie personally for £8 million.
- Aggressive, non-profitable price dropping in Australia by Qantas, which later went on to enjoy a monopoly and pushed east/west airline prices through the roof.[citation needed]
- Fallout from the company's demise descended into litigation, which delayed the privatisation of British Airways.[50]
Laker Airways Mark II
Laker was undaunted and almost immediately attempted to relaunch the airline with assistance from one of Britain's titans of industry, Tiny Rowland, the Managing Director of Lonrho, plc – one of the nation's largest conglomerates – and on the back of a strong public following (a relief fund gathered over £1 million, including a benefit concert in San Francisco by the music band The Police, who had used the airline to tour America in their formative years).
However despite Rowland’s offer of funding being described as “adequate” by Laker, the attempt was unsuccessful due to their failure to secure the necessary licensing.
Laker, by now living in the
Legacy
Laker was the 2002 recipient of the Tony Jannus Award for his distinguished contributions to commercial air transportation. He is remembered for his famous advice to fellow airline entrepreneurs Richard Branson, of Virgin Atlantic, and Stelios Haji-Ioannou, of easyJet, to "sue the bastards", a reference to the bullying tactics of British Airways in trying to force upstarts out of business.
Virgin Atlantic had earlier named one of its Boeing 747s The Spirit of Sir Freddie. In addition, Malaysia's low-cost, long-haul carrier AirAsia X named its first Airbus A330 Semangat Sir Freddie in homage to the pioneer of "no-frills" air travel. The third plane to be named in spirit after Freddie Laker happens to be a Boeing 737 MAX that belongs to Norwegian Air Shuttle, delivered in May 2017. His name has also recently been applied to a Norwegian Air Sweden Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, with the registration SE-RXZ.
He was also the subject of a musical, Laker!, as performed at Not in Front of the Audience in 1982, and written by Mel Smith and Peter Brewis in reaction to Laker Airways' bankruptcy.
In the 1984 comedy film
In 1988,
When the new passenger terminal at London Southend Airport was opened in 2012, the upstairs bar was named Laker's Bar, and featured a montage of Laker and his airline across the walls. In 2015, the bar was moved into the departure lounge and renamed Laker's Bar & Restaurant, and displays images of Laker and his company like its predecessor.[55]
In June 2017, Norwegian Air International placed Laker's image on the tail of their first 737-8 MAX (EI-FYA). Laker is one of the company's five "British tail fin heroes", joining Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, children's author Roald Dahl, pioneering pilot Amy Johnson and England's World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore.[56][57]
Notes and citations
- Notes
- government-owned corporations
- ^ in addition to BCal
- Citations
- ^ Barker, Dennis (10 February 2006). "Sir Freddie Laker obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ a b Fly me, I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 12
- ^ a b c d e f Cosmopolitan ("I'm Freddie, Fly me!"), Hearst Magazines UK, London, August 1978, pp. 94 ...
- ^ a b c d Fly me, I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 54
- ^ a b c d e f g Airliner World – Britain's Carferry Airlines, Key Publishing, Avenel, NJ, USA, July 2005, p. 34
- ^ Now it's Sir Freddie, Flight International, 10 June 1978, p. 1740
- ^ a b Sir Freddie Laker. B. Ritchie, The Independent, print edition, 11 February 2006
- ^ , I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 16
- ^ a b Aviation News – UK and Irish airlines since 1945 (Part 34 [Dan-Air Services], Vol. 64, No. 12, p.954, HPC Publishing, St. Leonards on Sea, December 2002
- ^ Fly me, I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 38, 49
- ^ a b Armstrong, P. (2005). The Flight of the Accountant: a Romance of Air and Credit, Flight to insolvency
- ^ Fly me, I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 29
- ^ a b Airliner World – The Laker Airways Skytrain, Key Publishing, Avenel, NJ, USA, July 2005, p. 72
- ^ Fly me, I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 27
- ^ a b Airliner World – Britain's Carferry Airlines, Key Publishing, Avenel, NJ, USA, July 2005, pp. 33/4
- ^ C of A for BAC One-Eleven, Flight International, 15 April 1965, p. 553
- ^ Caledonian/BUA, Flight International, 17 June 1971, p. 883
- ^ A little VC10derness — Individual Histories: G-ASIX / A4O-AB
- ^ Aeroplane – British United's expanding universe, Vol. 116, No. 2965, p. 5, Temple Press, London, 14 August 1968
- ^ Fly me, I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 58
- ^ Improving Three-Eleven prospects, Flight International, 13 February 1969, p. 236
- ^ BAC Three-Eleven, Flight International, 20 November 1969, p. 790
- ^ Europe's first wide-body trijet service, Flight International, 30 November 1972, p. 773
- ^ a b c First Skytrain leaves on Monday, Flight International, 24 September 1977, p. 875
- ^ Britain's New Board — Plain Man's Guide to the Air Transport Licensing Board, Flight International, 13 April 1961, p. 471
- ^ Britain's New Board ..., World Airlines Survey ..., Flight International, 13 April 1961, p. 472
- ^ Britain's New Board ..., World Airlines Survey ..., Flight International, 13 April 1961, p. 473
- ^ a b c Laker's low-fare challenge, Air Transport ..., Flight International, 8 July 1971, p. 42
- ^ a b c Mr Laker's Bargain Basement, Air Transport ..., Flight International, 28 October 1971, p. 674
- ^ a b c Laker's Skytrain approved by Britain, Flight International, 5 October 1972, p. 447
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Skytrain briefing, Flight International, 19 April 1973, p. 608
- ^ a b c d e f Airliner World – The Laker Airways Skytrain, Key Publishing, Avenel, NJ, USA, July 2005, p. 73
- ^ Fly me, I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 171
- ^ British Caledonian granted Atlantic scheduled licence, Flight International, 2 March 1972, p. 311
- ^ Fly me, I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 164, 169/70
- ^ Government loses on Skytrain, Flight International, 25 December 1976, p. 1822
- ^ UK abandons long-haul competition, Flight International, 7 August 1975, p. 173
- ^ UK aviation policy review: first in a long series, Flight International, 21 February 1976, p. 397
- ^ UK aviation policy review: first in a long series, Flight International, 21 February 1976, p. 398
- ^ Britain to end Bermuda Agreement, Flight International, 3 July 1976, p. 4
- ^ a b Bermuda 2 initialled, Flight International, 2 July 1977, p. 5
- ^ Bermuda 2 initialled, Flight International, 2 July 1977, p. 6
- ^ a b Bermuda 2: signed and sealed ..., Flight International, 23 July 1977, p. 254
- ^ North Atlantic fares in turmoil, Flight International, 13 August 1977, p. 465
- ^ a b Fly me, I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, p. 225
- ^ Skytrain profit to top £1 million?, Flight International, 4 March 1978, p. 553
- ^ Fly me, I'm Freddie!, Eglin, R. and Ritchie, B., Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1980, pp. 161–171
- ^ a b Sir Freddie plans a comeback, Flight International, 5 January 1985, p. 4
- ^ Laker claims £13m for DC-10 grounding, Flight International, 27 October 1979, p. 1338
- ^ BA squares up for sale, Flight International, 8 June 1985, p. 21
- ^ a b Laker resurfaces with new Bahamas airline, Flight International, 8–14 April 1992, p. 8
- ^ "Freddie Awards - History". 3 January 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
- ISBN 978-3-319-62600-0. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ^ ISBN 978-81-203-4875-2. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ^ "London Southend Airport - Lakers Bar". Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
- ^ Caswell, Mark. "Freddie Mercury unveiled as Norwegian's latest tail fin hero". Business Traveller.com. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
- ^ Munro, Scott (30 June 2017). "Freddie Mercury's image to appear on Norwegian aircraft". Teamrock.com. Future Publishing Limited. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
References
- Eglin, Roger; Ritchie, Berry (1980). Fly me, I'm Freddie. London, UK: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 0-297-77746-7.
- Dean, W.P. (2008). The ATL-98 Carvair: A Comprehensive History of the Aircraft and All 21 Airframes (1: Corporate History – Freddie Laker Era — [Aviation Traders, Air Charter, BUA], pp. 15–17). Jefferson, N.C., USA: McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-3670-5.
- "Airliner Classics (Sir Freddie Laker – The Man Who Gave Us Skytrain, pp. 76–85)". Stamford, Lincs, UK: Key Publishing. November 2009.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - Airliner World – Britain's Carferry Airlines, January 2004. Avenel, NJ, USA: Key Publishing. (Airliner World online)
- Airliner World – The Laker Airways Skytrain, July 2005. Avenel, NJ, USA: Key Publishing. (Airliner World online)
- Aviation News – UK and Irish airlines since 1945 (Part 34 [Dan-Air Services], Vol. 64, No. 12, December 2002. St. Leonards on Sea, UK: HPC Publishing. (Aviation News online)
External links
- Reuters News announcing his death
- Obituary from BBC News
- Obituary[permanent dead link] from Miami Herald
- Obituary from The Daily Telegraph
- Obituary from The Independent
- Final Interview
- Armstrong, P. (2005). The Flight of the Accountant: a Romance of Air and Credit, Flight to insolvency
- Stansted Airport Consultative Committee, Stansted — The Early Years (1942–1966), Sir Freddie Laker Arrives
- Skytrain: new Laker bid, Flight International, 27 July 1972, p. 116
- Skytrain ..., 'Flight International, 27 July 1972, p. 117
Further reading
- Bristow, A.; Malone, P. (2009). Alan Bristow Helicopter Pioneer: The Autobiography (Chapter 17 — Airline Ego Trip, pp. 233–237, 254–257). Barnsley, UK: Pen & Sword Books. ISBN 978-1-84884-208-3.