70-450: MOW may refer to: It is also the IATA designation of Moscow area airports: IATA The International Air Transport Association ( IATA / aɪ ˈ ɑː t ə / ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences that served as
140-447: A Skytrain operation to Miami. By October 1980, Laker introduced fully bookable Super Economy fares on all Skytrain services. These were approximately half its competitors' standard economy fares and significantly lower than those airlines' Super APEX fares. The airline reserved about 60% of its scheduled seats for the new bookable fares. This move marked a major strategic shift in the company's fare structure. Tampa , Florida,
210-481: A British airline in both directions. This was to be marketed under the trademark Globetrain . Cathay Pacific was among airlines attacking Laker's plans. The established transpacific airlines were concerned that Laker was likely to create excess capacity, threatening the profitability as well as long-term viability of these routes. Sir Freddie said Cathay seemed concerned about sharing the Hong Kong – Tokyo route with
280-464: A Rolls-Royce RB211-powered Boeing 747-200B ahead of BCal, which began a four-times-a-week London Gatwick – Hong Kong service via Dubai on 1 August 1980 using a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-30. Laker Airways planned to link its Gatwick – Los Angeles Skytrain with the proposed Gatwick – Hong Kong Skytrain across the Pacific via Honolulu and Tokyo to create the first daily round-the-world through service by
350-494: A bigger aircraft profitably. If the passenger load was greater than 70, the charterer paid for any stops, encouraging operators to keep to 70 passengers. 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. Weight-saving measures adopted to boost
420-421: A conversation with the other aircraft's crew while continuing their climb. The aim was to obtain information about the other aircraft's altitude to encourage that aircraft's crew to climb to their upper cruising altitude as quickly as possible so that Laker's One-Elevens could attain their optimum height in the shortest possible time. This helped Laker's One-Elevens climb faster without using as much power, helping
490-415: A formal ruling barring airlines from serving economy passengers sandwiches with "luxurious" ingredients. The economist Walter Adams observed that the limited service competition permitted by IATA tended to merely divert traffic from one air carrier to another without at the same time enlarging the overall air transport market. From 1956 to 1975, IATA resolutions capped travel agent commissions at 7% of
560-541: A forum for price fixing . According to IATA, as of 2023 it represents 317 airlines, including major carriers, from over 120 countries. The IATA's member airlines account for carrying approximately 82% (2020) of total available seat miles air traffic. IATA supports airline activity and helps formulate industry policy and standards. It is headquartered in Montreal , Canada with executive offices in Geneva , Switzerland. IATA
630-470: A fourth McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 series 10 widebodied jet in 1976 in preparation for the launch of its daily London to New York Skytrain . This aircraft was the DC-10's second prototype , which the airline had acquired direct from MDC at a knock-down price. By that time, the work force had expanded to 1,000. Skytrain was inaugurated between London Gatwick and New York JFK on 26 September 1977. It recorded
700-470: A group company since 1967. It was followed by similar ABC services from Prestwick and a three-times-a-week Gatwick–Toronto ABC operation. The latter was operated under contract to Lord Brothers, the airline's London-based in-house tour operator that had been part of the group since 1968 and changed its name to Laker Air Travel in 1974. A third DC-10 series 10 widebody joined the fleet in April 1974 to maintain
770-590: A joint venture between Barbados businessmen Norman Ricketts and Geoffrey Edwards, who enjoyed the support of the Barbados government, and Laker Airways. Laker Airways initially held a 33% stake in International Caribbean. The aircraft Laker Airways allocated to International Caribbean Airways sported International Caribbean as well as the Barbadian flag on both sides of the forward fuselage in place of Laker and
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#1732852407030840-451: A lower break-even factor compared to the Boeing 707 , an ageing narrow-bodied aircraft whose costs were higher per passenger. The DC-10s also had huge potential to boost the projected profitability of Skytrain . Revised estimates anticipated an average load factor of 70–75% and raised the traffic forecast for the first year of operation to 250,000 passengers each way. This was almost three times
910-428: A number of low fares that would match the lowest fares Laker had proposed. The CAA rejected Cathay Pacific's and Laker's applications, clearing the way for BCal to become the second British scheduled carrier on that route. 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. This caused
980-432: A profit in excess of £2 million in its first year of operation. In early 1979, the airline ordered a further two DC-10 series 10 widebodies as well as five longer range McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 series 30 widebodied aircraft. Laker Airways expanded to Los Angeles (1978). The company acquired two-second-hand Boeing 707-351B narrow-bodied long-haul aircraft from Cathay Pacific to commence non-stop operations to
1050-678: A row between the UK and Hong Kong governments. Cathay Pacific began lobbying in the Crown colony as well as in the UK, stressing it had invested millions in the British economy at a time of high unemployment in the UK by placing large orders for Rolls-Royce RB211 -powered Boeing 747s. The UK government allowed Cathay Pacific to join Laker in appealing to John Nott , the UK Secretary of State for Trade and Industry , against
1120-562: A second British scheduled carrier to ease the shortage of seats passengers were experiencing at peak times on the ten-times-a-week monopoly service by BA from Heathrow. A race ensued when BCal, Laker and Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's de facto "flag carrier", filed their applications with the CAA in London. Laker proposed a daily Skytrain linking Gatwick and Hong Kong via Sharjah to be operated with single-class, 380-seat McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30s. At
1190-538: A single fare of £37.50 per seat on each flight to start making money with Skytrain . Sir Freddie announced Skytrain at a press conference at London's Savoy Hotel on 30 June 1971. Laker claimed that there was demand for this kind of service and maintained that it would grow the total number of passengers flying between Britain and the United States each year from 14m to 16m, rather than diverting other airlines' existing passengers. Since approval for Skytrain
1260-536: A week each way. It considered Laker's market growth forecast overoptimistic, its stimulation factors unreal, and its fares intentions vague. In the CAA's opinion, the Australians were unlikely to accept another UK airline without a reciprocal service from a second Australian carrier, and the traffic on the UK–Australia route would not support two additional carriers without a substantial reduction in service frequencies of
1330-600: Is New Distribution Capability (NDC). This will replace the pre-Internet EDIFACT messaging standard, which is still the basis of the global distribution system and travel agent channel, with an XML standard. This will enable the same choices to be offered to high street travel shoppers as are offered to those who book directly through airline websites. A filing with the US Department of Transportation brought over 400 comments. IATA members and all industry stakeholders have agreed to three sequential environmental goals: At
1400-607: Is a recommendation only and therefore not mandatory" while his Transport Canada department listed physical distancing as a prophylactic among the key positive points in a guide prepared for the Canadian aviation industry. IATA states that safety is its highest priority. The main instrument for safety is the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA). IOSA has also been mandated at the state level by several countries. In 2017, aviation posted its safest year ever, surpassing
1470-553: The Chicago Convention in 1944, the international treaty that still governs international air transport. The Chicago Convention did not result in a consensus on the economic regulation of the airline industry. According to Warren Koffler, IATA was formed to fill the resulting void and provide international air carriers with a mechanism to fix prices. In the late 1940s, IATA started holding conferences to fix prices for international air travel. IATA secretary J.G Gazdik stated that
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#17328524070301540-764: The Lockheed L-1011 Tristar . Before offering, on behalf of Mitsui, the aircraft to Laker, McDonnell Douglas had asked British Caledonian (BCal) whether it was interested. BCal was looking for a widebody replacement for its ageing Boeing 707s and Vickers VC10s . BCal rejected this offer because the aircraft had insufficient range to fly non-stop from Gatwick to the distant points on its network. Despite these drawbacks, Laker Airways took two of those five Mitsui (originally intended for ANA) ordered aircraft. The three remaining Mitsui aircraft went to Turkish Airlines . One of these later crashed as Turkish Airlines Flight 981 . The airline concluded it could fly non-stop from
1610-522: The Mediterranean and the Canary Islands were primarily operated with these aircraft. Laker Airways offered 30% discounts to tour operators to charter the airline's aircraft during the winter, when demand was lower, and implemented other promotions to incentivise longer-term use of the aircraft by tour operators. This ensured that the fleet was in use for almost the entire year. August 1968 saw
1680-677: The US West Coast prior to receiving the first of the McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 series 30 aircraft that were on order. Following a public hearing, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) approved Laker's request to operate unrestricted Skytrain services at the beginning of July 1979. This enabled the airline to offer bookable seats, excursion fares and the carriage of cargo in addition to the original, non-bookable Skytrain fare from Gatwick to New York JFK and Los Angeles. With
1750-593: The Union Flag featured by the company's other aircraft. In addition to the weekly Luxembourg–Barbados schedule, which subsequently became twice weekly and was extended to London Gatwick, this aircraft operated regular charters from Canada and West Germany to Barbados. In January 1975, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) designated International Caribbean Airways the flag carrier for Barbados. Laker Airways had taken delivery of
1820-473: The administrators of British Eagle in 1969. Both were operated by Qantas when new. They were subsequently purchased by Kleinwort Benson , which had leased them to British Eagle until its demise in November 1968. These aircraft were earmarked for Skytrain . Laker's original Skytrain application assumed a 62.9% break-even load factor. This meant that the airline needed to sell 100 out of 158 seats at
1890-416: The airline ticket price. Legal scholar Kenneth Elzinga argued that IATA's commission cap harmed consumers by decreasing the incentive for travel agents to offer improved service to consumers. By the late 1970s, IATA's price fixing regime was seen as unattractive by many airlines. As a result, major airlines, like Singapore Airlines and Pan-American Airlines , chose to forgo IATA membership. In 1982,
1960-676: The 2013 IATA annual general meeting in Cape Town , South Africa, members overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution on "Implementation of the Aviation Carbon-Neutral Growth (CNG2020) Strategy." A representative for the European Federation for Transport and Environment criticized the resolution for relying on carbon offsets instead of direct reductions in aviation carbon emissions. IATA provides consulting and training services in many areas. A number of standards are defined under
2030-618: The American Sherman and Clayton antitrust acts. In 2006, the United States Department of Justice adopted an order withdrawing the antitrust immunity of IATA tariff conferences. In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted routine flights around the world. In the immediate aftermath most airlines, because of the physical distancing policies implemented by national governments, reduced their seat loading by eliminating
2100-512: 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 . From December 1970, one of Laker's two 707s was used for a once-a-week low-fare service linking Luxembourg with Barbados on behalf of International Caribbean Airways,
2170-556: The BAC One-Eleven's range stood Laker Airways in good stead when the airline introduced the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 . This model lacked the range of the DC-10-30 . The DC-10-10 was optimised for medium-haul routes. The aircraft McDonnell Douglas was offering had been built against an order placed by Mitsui Group , for five aircraft, who intended to lease them to All Nippon Airways (ANA). But, instead, ANA decided to order
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2240-515: The CAA hearing the airline proposed larger, higher capacity Boeing 747s as soon as this was justified by increased demand. The company tried to convince the CAA that its additional all- economy class discount service was the best option to alleviate the shortage of seats on this route. Its analysis showed the bottom end of the economy market was the most under-served segment because of the scarcity of low fares. The other airlines used Laker's analysis in support of their claims that Skytrain would flood
2310-539: The CAA's award of a licence exclusively to BCal. The Secretary of State overturned the CAA's decision and opened the route to all three airlines without placing restrictions on frequencies of service. For Laker Airways this turned out to be a partial victory because the ATLA continued to refuse a reciprocal permit, without which Laker's service remained grounded. Cathay Pacific commenced a thrice-weekly service between Hong Kong and London Gatwick via Bahrain on 17 July 1980 using
2380-514: 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 to 345. The saving could be used to carry more fuel. The calculations had shown that even with reduced seating, it had to fill only 52% of the seats to break even . Moreover, Laker Airways had figured that the aircraft's low break-even seat factor would enable it to operate its proposed London – New York Skytrain with
2450-516: The UK, the US and Canada replaced the complicated "affinity group" rules with simplified rules termed " Advance Booking Charters ", popularly known as ABC . The following day, a Laker Airways McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 flew the world's inaugural ABC flight from Manchester to Toronto . Laker's first ABC passengers had paid £45 round-trip. The inaugural flight was operated under contract to Laker's Liverpool -based in-house package tour operator Arrowsmith Holidays,
2520-588: The US. During summer 1970, Laker sought the UK and Australian authorities' permission to operate a series of affinity group charter flights to Australia. Following his request's refusal, he flew to Australia in early 1971 to discuss his proposal for 15-day inclusive tours from Australia to the UK, including full board at first class hotels for A$ 935 , with the director-general of the Australian Department of Civil Aviation who doubled as Qantas's chairman. Freddie Laker’s visit did not succeed in convincing
2590-719: The Western parts of the then divided German capital to resorts in the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands. In 1972, Laker Airways co-founded Gatwick Handling , a Gatwick handling agent that has become part of the Aviance group, with Dan-Air . Each airline owned 50% of Gatwick Handling at its inception. In the days when airports and air space were relatively uncongested, Laker Airways instructed departing One-Eleven crews to tune into other jet aircraft taking off ahead of them, and to begin
2660-582: The airline began operating its BAC One-Elevens. By limiting the free baggage allowance and restricting passengers, the company used the weight saved to carry additional fuel, increasing range. This was sufficient to permit non-stop flights from London Gatwick or Berlin Tegel to Tenerife at least in one direction, depending on the direction and strength of the winds. This helped make Laker's One-Elevens more competitive with larger, longer-range aircraft operated by rivals, especially for tour operators struggling to fill
2730-528: The airline had carried over two million Skytrain passengers. In November 1972, Laker Airways became the first airline outside North America to operate the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 widebody when it took delivery of a pair of new series 10 aircraft from McDonnell Douglas Corporation's (MDC) factory in Long Beach, California , via Japanese lessor Mitsui. On 1 April 1973, new charter regulations in
2800-547: The airline's commitments in the ABC flights market. (Laker intended to allocate two DC-10s exclusively to Skytrain in anticipation of the start of daily services between Stansted and Newark later that year. This aircraft was eventually used to meet growing ABC commitments.) The new ABC rules enabled Sir Freddie to build a successful ABC flights business across the North Atlantic over the next couple of years, making Laker Airways
2870-459: 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. Eventually, Goodman chose Florida and Disney World charters were introduced to the UK market. The programme rapidly expanded to seven times weekly and was eventually converted into
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2940-439: The board's inaction as an "abdication of judicial responsibility". The Economist lambasted IATA's connivance with governments to fix prices and compared IATA with medieval guilds . In the early 1950s IATA's price fixing regime forced airlines to attempt to differentiate themselves through the quality of their passenger experience. IATA responded by imposing strict limits on the quality of airline service. In 1958, IATA issued
3010-421: The circulation of respiratory droplets" the risk of transmission is reduced. North American carriers such as WestJet , Air Canada and American Airlines all planned to resume normal pattern sales on 1 July 2020. This industry-driven policy garnered immediate push-back from some Canadians, including those who felt defrauded, while Minister of Transport Marc Garneau noted that the "on-board spacing requirement
3080-406: The company to reduce fuel consumption and reduce the engines' wear and tear. Among the weight-saving measures Laker Airways used to make its aircraft fly further without the need of refuelling was a baggage allowance limit of 40 lb (18 kg) rather less than the more usual 44 lb (20 kg), and carrying fewer passengers than the aircraft could hold. This policy was first employed when
3150-587: The country. An advertising campaign featuring the slogan "I've got my name on every plane!" was developed in conjunction with a New York-based company. It was successfully launched during the Super Bowl VIII interval in January 1974. "Laker to London – the end of Skyway robbery" was the follow-on campaign. The success of these campaigns resulted in Laker carrying more non-scheduled UK–US passengers than all US carriers combined. Despite attaining market leadership in
3220-637: The creation of Laker Airways in February 1966. The airline commenced commercial operations from its Gatwick Airport base on 29 July 1966 with two former British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Bristol Britannia 102 series turboprops , initially operating under contract to Air France . The aircraft's livery was a combination of black, red and white – an adaptation of Laker's racing colours. The Britannias were supplemented and eventually replaced by five BAC One-Eleven 300 short-haul jet aircraft from December 1967. This included an initial 1966 order with
3290-487: The establishment of its first overseas base at Tegel Airport in what was then West Berlin . The company had up to three BAC One-Elevens stationed there until 1981, when these aircraft were replaced with one of its three newly acquired Airbus A300 B4 series wide-bodies , at the time the largest aircraft operated out of any Berlin airport. Its Berlin operation was staffed by ninety, mainly local, workers. Throughout this period, it carried thousands of holidaymakers from
3360-408: The incumbent operators. (The CAA told BCal that it considered its proposal for a new, faster service to Australia superior to Laker's, and that it would therefore look favourably on its application if it wished to re-apply with specific proposals for a joint Anglo -Australian operation.) The UK government decided in 1979 to open the route between London and Hong Kong to competition. This was to be by
3430-472: The manufacturer for three aircraft valued at £4 million. Laker spent more than £200,000 of his own money on the newly-ordered aircraft's deposits, with a consortium of City banks led by Clydesdale Bank funding the remainder. He placed a follow-up order for a fourth aircraft to be delivered in 1968 and acquired a former- British Eagle aircraft from Bahamas Airways in 1971. These airline's short- and medium-haul charter operations to holiday resorts in
3500-547: The market leader in transatlantic ABC flights. 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". Laker's transatlantic charters provided meals, movies (at the time, a new amenity), and a free bar. 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 . Laker's application
3570-497: The market with cheap seats that risked undermining profitability without doing anything to alleviate the shortage of premium seats. Laker retorted that low fares would stimulate the market by meeting untapped demand from people who could not afford to fly this route because of BA's high fares, rather than taking market share from competitors. It pointed to the success of its transatlantic Skytrain in helping create demand while maintaining that its rivals' proposals would do little to meet
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#17328524070303640-425: The number working for Laker Airways and associated companies doubled again to 2,000. During the 1981 summer period, Laker operated up to three daily frequencies each way between Gatwick and JFK and Gatwick and Miami as well as twice daily round-trips between Gatwick and Los Angeles. This made Laker the fourth biggest transatlantic scheduled airline between the UK and US as well as fifth biggest overall. By that time,
3710-401: The organization aimed to fix prices at reasonable levels, with due regard being paid to the cost of operations, in order to ensure reasonable profits for airlines. In 1947 at a time when many airlines were government-owned and loss-making, IATA operated as a cartel, charged by the governments with setting a constrained fare structure that avoided price competition. The first Traffic Conference
3780-442: The original 707-based forecast. These factors swung the firm in favour of McDonnell-Douglas's offer. A Laker Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-10 series 10 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 , a Pan Am Boeing 747-100 and an Air France Airbus A300 B2 were
3850-518: The other widebodies specially flown in on that day to mark this occasion.) 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. This was to be marketed as Skytrain for £32.50 one-way in winter and £37.50 in summer. Two Boeing 707-138Bs were acquired from
3920-533: The previous record set in 2012. The new global Western-built jet accident rate became the equivalent of one accident every 7.36 million flights. Future improvements will be founded on data sharing with a database fed by a multitude of sources and housed by the Global Safety Information Center. In June 2014, the IATA set up a special panel to study measures to track aircraft in flight in real time. The move
3990-404: The proposed service to only two Australian points would be discriminatory on people living in other parts of the country by denying them the benefits of low fares. 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
4060-402: The sale of the middle seat in a row of three. This reduction averaged out to a load factor of 62% normal, well below the IATA industry break-even level of 77%. Fares would need to rise as much as 54% if a carrier were to break even, according to calculations done by the IATA, who posit that because of "forward-facing seats that prevent face-to-face contact, and ceiling-to-floor air flows that limit
4130-427: The sociologist John Hannigan described IATA as "the world aviation cartel". IATA enjoyed immunity from antitrust law in several nations. To prevent Laker Airways from disrupting IATA's price fixing regime, IATA members allegedly used a 1977 to conspired to undercut prices on shared routes, seeking to bankrupt Freddie Laker's airline. Laker Airways bankruptcy estate later asserted claims against IATA members under
4200-414: The transatlantic ABC market, Sir Freddie considered this second best in the absence of his Skytrain service. In 1980, Laker Airways withdrew its application to run ABC flights to Australia. Instead, the airline proposed a scheduled low-fare service from London Gatwick with one stop. It was to be one flight a day in each direction using the airline's five DC-10-30 widebodies. In contrast to Skytrain , this
4270-487: The umbrella of IATA. One of the most important is the IATA DGR for the transport of dangerous goods (HAZMAT) by air. 45°30′02″N 73°33′42″W / 45.5006°N 73.5617°W / 45.5006; -73.5617 Laker Airways Laker Airways was a private British airline founded by Sir Freddie Laker in 1966. It was originally a charter airline flying passengers and cargo worldwide. Its head office
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#17328524070304340-417: The unsatisfied demand for low-fare seats. The CAA awarded a licence to operate unlimited scheduled services between London and Hong Kong to BCal, which had proposed running a conventional service from Gatwick via Dubai , using its growing fleet of McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 widebodies in a three-class configuration featuring a first and an executive class in addition to economy. BCal had also agreed to offer
4410-421: Was added in 1981 from Gatwick, Manchester and Prestwick, following lobbying from Bob Beckman's client. By that time, the firm had sold both the older, shorter fuselage Boeing 707-138Bs and disposed of one BAC One-Eleven. This left it with 20 aircraft comprising 14 widebodies and six narrowbodies – 11 DC-10s, three A300s , two 707s and four One-Elevens, doubling the size within only five years. Over this period,
4480-574: Was dismissed by Peter Nixon , the Australian Transport Minister. Nixon stated that the UK–Australia scheduled air services market was to remain the preserve of BA and Qantas. 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. Nixon also maintained that
4550-536: Was formed in April 1945 in Havana , Cuba. It is the successor to the International Air Traffic Association , which was formed in 1919 at The Hague , Netherlands. At its founding, IATA consisted of 57 airlines from 31 countries. Much of IATA's early work was technical and IATA provided input to the newly created International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which was reflected in the annexes of
4620-555: Was held in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro and reached unanimous agreement on some 400 resolutions. IATA Director-General William Hildred recounted that about 200 of the resolutions at the Rio de Janeiro conference were related to establishing a uniform structure for tariffs charged for international air transportation. The American Civil Aeronautics Board did not intervene to stop IATA's price fixing, and in 1954 law professor Louis B. Schwartz condemned
4690-583: Was in response to the disappearance without a trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on 8 March 2014. Simplifying the Business was launched in 2004. This initiative has introduced a number of crucial concepts to passenger travel, including the electronic ticket and the bar coded boarding pass. Many other innovations are being established as part of the Fast Travel initiative, including a range of self-service baggage options. An innovative program, launched in 2012
4760-511: Was located at Gatwick Airport in Crawley , England. It became the second long-haul, low-cost, " no frills " airline in 1977, operating low-fare scheduled services between London Gatwick Airport and New York City 's John F. Kennedy Airport (after pioneering Icelandic low-cost carrier Loftleiðir ). In the early 1980s, the company went into bankruptcy during the recession , operating its last flight on 5 February 1982. Freddie Laker announced
4830-502: Was not forthcoming for several years, Laker Airways needed alternative work to keep its long-haul planes busy. Initially, both Boeing 707s supplemented the BAC One-Elevens on Mediterranean and Canary Islands routes, such as Gatwick – Palma de Mallorca and Gatwick–Tenerife. Both aircraft replaced Bristol Britannias on the airline's long-haul flights, an increasing number of which were affinity group charters to North America, primarily
4900-423: Was to feature a first class section called Pullman . It was to operate three flights per week each to Sydney and Melbourne respectively, and one to Perth . The CAA took a negative view of Laker's application for a UK–Australia scheduled low-fare service and a rival application by BCal to launch a conventional, scheduled service between Gatwick and four Australian destinations via Colombo at four flights
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