Highland Express planned to officially launch on the day of the Scottish International Airshow in Glasgow on Saturday, 30 May 1987 to Newark and Toronto.

Highland Express cabin crew were specially trained to operate this version of the 747 in time for this inaugural flight and wore the airline's tartan and green uniforms.

Things continued to go wrong when the Toronto route licence was not forthcoming and their sole Boeing 747 was delivered weeks late.

However, after a few weeks the Monday morning flight from Newark to Stansted via Prestwick routed onto Brussels for maintenance with Sabena, returning on a Tuesday.

With passenger numbers not meeting targets and debts mounting, a short-lived service from Gatwick Airport to Newark via Prestwick was launched in November.