[23][24] Alternatively, weight saved as a result of limiting free baggage could be traded for reduced fuel consumption on shorter routes well within the BAC One-Eleven's range by making the aircraft lighter, even with a full load of passengers.

[nb 2] Weight-saving measures adopted to boost the BAC One-Eleven's range stood Laker Airways in good stead when the airline introduced the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10.

The airline concluded it could fly non-stop from the UK to any point east of the Rockies by keeping the baggage limit at 40 lb (18 kg) and reducing single-class seating from 380[nb 3] to 345.

A Laker Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-10 series 10[28] was one of four widebodies that were specially flown in for the pre-inauguration of the then-new terminal building at Berlin's Tegel Airport on 23 October 1974.

(A British Airways (BA) Lockheed L-1011 Tristar 1,[29] a Pan Am Boeing 747-100[30] and an Air France Airbus A300 B2[28] were the other widebodies specially flown in on that day to mark this occasion.

)[31] The early 1970s saw the airline and its owner battle with aviation authorities in the UK and US to gain approval for a low-cost, "no frills" transatlantic service to link London and New York daily during the peak summer period from May to September and four times a week during the remainder of the year.

Both aircraft replaced Bristol Britannias[nb 5] on the airline's long-haul flights, an increasing number of which were affinity group charters to North America, primarily the US.

Freddie Laker’s visit did not succeed in convincing the Australian authorities of his proposal's merits as a result of lobbying from BOAC and Qantas, both of which were estimated to have lost £11 million in revenue due to competition from charter airlines on the Kangaroo route.

[54] With the arrival of the series 30 DC-10s, Intasun owner Harry Goodman recognised that long-haul charters to new destinations were now available and approached Laker with a number of possibilities from the Caribbean to Florida.

During the early to mid-1970s, the airline ran low-key advertising on hoardings and public transport in London, Manchester and other large British cities under the motto "Take a Laker".

The success of Laker Airways's transatlantic ABC flights resulted in an application to launch an Australian low-fare operation from Gatwick and/or Luxembourg to Sydney and Melbourne.

This decision was the result of successful lobbying by Qantas, which had exerted pressure on its government to protect the long-established duopoly it shared with British Airways on the Kangaroo route under a joint revenue-sharing agreement.

These comments prompted Sir Freddie to retort that the Australian transport minister still thought the earth was flat, and that it had not come to his attention that Australia already had a number of regional airlines covering the whole of the country.

A race ensued when BCal, Laker and Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's de facto "flag carrier", filed their applications with the CAA in London.

[76] However, Hong Kong's Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA) refused to endorse BCal because many felt upset that Cathay Pacific was excluded from one of the world's most lucrative routes.

BCal needed to develop its connecting traffic at Gatwick by growing the European network to include Germany, Switzerland, Scandinavia and Southern Europe to help it increase loads on flights to Africa, South America and the US as well as improve profitability.

[87][88] By the time the CAA awarded Laker these licences, the airline was experiencing financial difficulties and had to dispose of three A300 widebodies to cut costs by reducing the number of aircraft types as well as its overall size.

[nb 19][91][92][93] Laker introduced a short-lived scheduled service between Manchester and Zürich during 1981, which it operated at one flight per day in each direction using a newly delivered A300 widebody.

[94][95][96] Laker Airways sought to strengthen its position as a transatlantic airline by applying to the CAA and the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) for licences to serve additional US cities under the Bermuda II UK-US accord.

[97] Both the CAA and the CAB approved the application to commence daily Skytrain services from Gatwick, Manchester and Prestwick to Chicago, Detroit, Oakland, Seattle and Washington DC.

[nb 20] As long ago as June 1971, when Skytrain was first announced, it was revealed that Laker Airways had net assets of £1.68 million and tax equalisation reserves of £450,000.

[nb 21][10][99] However, the fact that the airline's ultimate holding company was in an off-shore tax haven outside the jurisdiction of UK law increased lenders' risk to get their money back.

Laker Airways needed to position itself to take advantage of additional opportunities to expand its business to maintain its status as Britain's second largest independent airline and third principal long-haul operator.

[101][102] Although the Laker Airways fleet contained a greater proportion of modern widebodied aircraft than most of its competitors, which made it cheaper to operate and maintain, the airline felt the sudden tripling of the price of crude oil in the aftermath of the Shah of Iran's fall from power.

[101][102] Laker Airways needed to pay the high spot market oil prices because it could not hedge its future supplies by negotiating fixed-rate, forward purchases.

[102][104][105] The Skytrain concept was flawed, as it required high year-round loads to make money at discount prices,[106] even though Laker Airways had lower costs and a simpler organisation.

[111][112] It has also been suggested that Laker experienced a downturn after passengers began avoiding the DC-10 due to the series of high-profile fatal accidents that befell the type at the end of the 1970s.

McDonnell Douglas and GE did not proceed with the rescue, and Laker Airways collapsed in the early morning of 5 February 1982 with debts of £270 million, the largest corporate failure in Britain.

The total amount contributed by all parties enabled Laker to pay off his outstanding debts of $69 million, permitted BA to proceed with its own privatisation,[how?]

The aircraft made an emergency landing at Hanover Airport because of an electrical fire in an aerial tuning unit in the forward cabin area behind the flight deck.