Skyways (British airline)

Skyways Limited was an early post-World War II British airline formed in 1946 that soon became well-established as the biggest operator of non-scheduled air services in Europe.

[5] Following the airline's liquidation in 1950 and transfer of the bankrupt carrier's assets to a new company incorporating the name Skyways, control passed to the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation (LAC) in 1952.

[2] A number of financial reorganisations during the 1950s provided the funds for a major expansion of Skyways's activities and fleet, culminating in the buyout of the company in 1961 by Eric Rylands, LAC's former co-owner and managing director.

[11][12] Loss of a major freight contract that had accounted for 75% of Skyways's revenue, a failed investment in a regional Caribbean airline and an expensive aircraft lease led to renewed financial difficulties in 1962.

Financial difficulties following a period of expansion during the second half of the 1970s led to the cessation of operations in 1980, resulting in the final disappearance of the Skyways name from the UK air transport scene.

[1][2] Following the end of World War II, the Skyways name was transferred to a newly formed airline operating worldwide, non-scheduled passenger and cargo flights.

However, the Ministry of Civil Aviation's refusal to grant private airlines access to Northolt together with Langley's lack of Customs facilities necessitated a stop at Manston before leaving the UK.

The latter were complemented by 'aerial cruises' from Northolt to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria via Lisbon, which launched on 15 June 1947 at a frequency of three return flights per week.

[12][16][18][19] Other areas of activity in which Skyways engaged during its formative years included a growing number of ad hoc passenger and cargo charter flights carrying car manufacturers' executives and various types of freight.

[19] Some examples of their freight contracts include the transport of three Fordson tractors from Dunsfold to Kuwait, fruit from Italy to UK in Lancastrians, and milk from Northern Ireland to Liverpool in 1947.

A service was also established using a Lancastrian to fly twice weekly between Singapore and Hong Kong, taking five and a half hours, against BOAC's two days with an overnight in Bangkok.

[20] The rapid growth in business resulted in a major expansion of the fleet and workforce that saw the acquisition of additional Yorks and Lancastrians as well as several DC-4s[nb 3] and DC-3s providing employment for more than 1,600 (350 aircrew and 1,300 ground staff).

The new maintenance division initially traded as Samlesbury Engineering Ltd.[10] As the late 1940s' boom turned to bust, Skyways began selling aircraft and laying off staff.

Management attempted to deal with this situation by putting the airline into voluntary liquidation in March 1950 and transferring the remaining assets to a new company bearing the Skyways name on the last day of that month.

This takeover resulted in the combined group's headquarters and main operating base relocating to Bovingdon and the award in June 1952 of a new War Office contract to transport 4,000 troops, their dependents and civilian defence personnel between the UK, Bermuda and Jamaica.

This provided the maintenance support for Skyways's new operating base at that airport with sufficient space for the overhaul of the entire LAC fleet, which mainly consisted of Yorks and Lancastrians.

In December of that year, Skyways's parent company, LAC, changed ownership as a result of being taken over by British Aviation Services (BAS), the owners of rival independent airlines Britavia and Silver City Airways.

As this situation had become untenable, Skyways's holding company, Eric Rylands Ltd, decided to sell back to BOAC its shares in Bahamas Airways.

That year, Skyways also launched scheduled passenger services between London Heathrow and Tunis, utilising the refurbished Hermes aircraft that had originally been allocated to the unsuccessful joint venture in the Bahamas.

[nb 9] Although the airline's Yorks were by then nearing the end of their service lives, they were still kept busy ferrying spare parts around the world on behalf of BOAC and Pan Am.

This resulted in Skyways' ownership passing to Euravia (London) Ltd, a newly formed British independent airline concentrating on IT and group charter flights from Luton.

[1][3][6][7][10][29][30][31] In October 1962, Euravia (London) took over Skyways for a nominal £1, including four Yorks and three Constellations[nb 10] but excluding the Coach-Air operation, which remained a separate entity.

This reorganisation led by Eric Rylands resulted in acquisition of a further three DC-3s and an expansion into North Sea oil industry passenger and cargo charters, including the stationing of an aircraft at Aberdeen Airport.