Between 1948 and 1950, BOAC operated their Solents on the three-times weekly scheduled service from Southampton to Johannesburg taking a route down the Nile and across East Africa.

[3] The last Solent-operated service on the route departed from Berth 50 at Southampton on 10 November 1950, bringing BOAC's flying-boat operations to an end.

The TEAL Solents could carry 45 passengers and all versions of the type provided a great deal of space and luxury compared with contemporary or modern land-based aircraft.

Several Solents served Aquila Airways on their routes from Southampton to Madeira and the Canary Islands using ex BOAC and TEAL aircraft.

On 15 November 1957, Aquila Airways G-AKNU, a Solent III, crashed near Chessell, Isle of Wight, after it experienced loss of power to two engines.

Soon after, number 3 engine also stopped and around one minute after the radio report, the aircraft crashed into a chalk quarry near Chessell, killing 45 of the 58 people on board.