page_title: Dan-Air
section_title: Commercial success
hierarchical_section_title: Dan-Air / History / Commercial success
caption_attribution_description: English: Interior of the de Havilland DH106 Comet 4c (G-BDIX), the world's first commercial jet airliner to reach production, in the National Museum of Flight in East Fortune, East Lothian, Scotland. G-BDIX was the last Comet to fly in commercial colours when it flew from Lasham, Hampshire to East Fortune in September 1981. Museum Number T.1981.90 Nederlands: Passagiersruimte in de De Havilland DH.106 Comet, het eerste operationele passagiersvliegtuig dat werd aangedreven door straalmotoren, in het National Museum of Flight in East Fortune, East Lothian, Schotland. G-BDIX was de laatste Comet die in commerciële kleuren vloog in september 1981, toen ze naar East Fortune werd gevlogen. Français&#160;: Cabine d'un Comet 4C de la compagnie Dan-Air au National Museum of Flight à East Fortune, en Écosse. G-BDIX fut le dernier Comet à voler en service commercial, lorsqu'il vola de Lasham, dans le Hampshire, à East Fortune, en Écosse, en septembre 1981.
context_page_description: Dan-Air was an airline based in the United Kingdom and a wholly owned subsidiary of London shipbroking firm Davies and Newman. It was started in 1953 with a single aircraft. Initially, it operated cargo and passenger charter flights from Southend and Blackbushe airports using a variety of piston-engined aircraft before moving to a new base at London Gatwick Airport in 1960, followed by expansion into inclusive tour charter flights and all-year round scheduled services. The introduction of two de Havilland Comet series 4 jet aircraft in 1966 made Dan-Air the second British independent airline after British United Airways to begin sustained jet operations.
  The early 1970s saw the acquisition of a pair of Boeing 707 long-haul jets for use on affinity group and Advance Booking Charter flights to Canada and the United States. In 1973, Dan-Air became the first British airline to operate the Boeing 727 trijet. By the mid-1970s, it had become Britain's largest independent airline, both in terms of passengers carried and fleet size, operating the country's largest charter fleet. This was also the time a Dan-Air staff member became Britain's and Europe's first female jet captain.
context_section_description: Dan-Air's acquisition of three ex-RAF Transport Command Avro Yorks in 1954 resulted in establishment of Dan-Air Engineering as a sister company at Lasham, a disused war-time airfield in Hampshire, to service its fleet as well as other operators.
  The acquisition of a second DC-3 in 1954 resulted in Dan-Air moving its main operating base from Southend to Blackbushe the following year. The main base transferred to Gatwick in 1960 when Blackbushe closed to commercial airlines.
  Dan-Air's arrival at Gatwick in 1960 coincided with the entry into service of three former Butler Air Transport Airspeed Ambassadors, the airline's first pressurised aircraft. This heralded the beginning of a major expansion into the IT charter market, including its first charter programme from Manchester. Horizon Holidays was one of the first tour operators to contract the airline's aircraft. The Ambassador fleet numbered seven aircraft by the mid-1960s and operated the majority of the company's IT flights until Comets and One-Elevens assumed the bulk of these operations towards the end of the decade.
  In 1966, Dan-Air introduced its first pair of ex-British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) de Havilland Comet series 4 aircraft, which made it the second British independent airline after British United Airways to start uninterrupted pure jet operations. This marked the beginning of sustained, steady and mostly profitable expansion.
  By the end of the 1960s, Dan-Air had become Gatwick's third biggest resident operator after British United Airways and Caledonian Airways.
  In October 1970, the US Civil Aeronautics Board granted Dan-Air a foreign carrier permit for a five-year period. This became effective on 5 April 1971 and enabled the airline to operate regular transatlantic affinity group charter flights between Britain and the US. To assist with marketing its transatlantic capacity to affinity group charter organisers in both countries, Dan-Air established a new joint venture named Dan-Air Intercontinental in partnership with CPS Aviation Services as a jointly owned subsidiary. Flights began in late-March 1971 with a Boeing 707-321 that was acquired second-hand from Pan American World Airways (Pan Am). The successful launch of Dan-Air's transatlantic joint venture led to the acquisition of a second 707-321 from Pan Am in 1972, and both aircraft continued to be primarily employed on transatlantic charter flights between Britain, Canada and the US until their retirement in 1978.
  Dan-Air's parent, Davies and Newman Holdings, became a publicly listed security when it was floated on the London Stock Exchange in late 1971. The group was capitalised at £5 million at its stock market debut. This provided the funds to expand its charter business, build a network of regional scheduled services between secondary airports across Europe (with particular emphasis on the United Kingdom and Ireland), enter the transatlantic affinity group/ABC market and establish itself as leading fixed wing operator of oil industry support flights. It let the airline expand its fleet, leading to introduction of the One-Eleven, Boeing 707, Hawker Siddeley 748, Boeing 727,Boeing 737, BAe 146 and, eventually, the Airbus A300.
  Most were acquired second-hand.
  In 1972, Dan-Air co-founded Gatwick Handling, a Gatwick-based handling agent, with Laker Airways. Each owned 50% at its inception.
  By the mid-1970s, Dan-Air had become the second biggest resident operator at Gatwick after British Caledonian. From then on, it operated the largest of the UK independent airlines' fleets as well as Britain's largest charter fleet. Operating a large fleet comprising aircraft of various sizes gave the airline unrivalled flexibility among European charter carriers to meet the requirements of different tour operators. In the UK, Dan-Air was second only to British Airways in fleet size. For most of this period, Dan-Air had more than 50 aircraft, employed about 3,000 and by the end of the 1980s carried 6 million passengers annually, almost one-third on scheduled services.
  Dan-Air marked the 1980s with a corpor
caption: The interior of Dan-Air Comet 4C G-BDIX on display at the National Museum of Flight, East Fortune, Scotland.
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