page_title: Monarch Airlines
section_title: 1960s
hierarchical_section_title: Monarch Airlines / History / 1960s
caption_attribution_description: Bristol Britannia - Duxford Airfield
context_page_description: Monarch Airlines, also known as Monarch, was a British charter and scheduled airline founded by Bill Hodgson and Don Peacock and financed by the Swiss Sergio Mantegazza family. The company later became a low-cost airline in 2004 before abandoning charter flying completely. The airline's headquarters were at Luton, and it had operating bases at Birmingham, Leeds/Bradford, Gatwick and Manchester.
  When Monarch entered administration in 2017, it was the biggest airline collapse in UK history up to that point, leaving nearly 100,000 passengers and holidaymakers stranded. However, on 23 September 2019, Thomas Cook experienced an even bigger collapse, leaving 150,000 people stranded. The airline held a United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority Type A Operating Licence. This license allowed Monarch to carry passengers, cargo, and mail on aircraft with 20 or more seats.
context_section_description: On 5 June 1967, Monarch Airlines was established by a pair of British businesspeople, Bill Hodgson and Don Peacock, both of whom had previously been directors at the airline British Eagle. Unlike typical airlines at the time, Monarch was founded with the express intent of conveying British holidaymakers to tourism hotspots and desirable getaway destinations throughout Europe. Particularly at a time when air travel was traditionally feasible only to the rich, Monarch took another unusual step. The airline's ambition was to promote the service towards the demands and needs of the average family, rather than it being marketed solely for wealthier clients.
  The business was operated as a subsidiary of Globus Getaway Holdings and received financial backing from the Swiss Sergio Mantegazza family. At the time of Monarch's inception, the Mantegazza family were the owners of UK-based tour operator Cosmos Tours. Sister company Engineering Limited (which would later become Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited) performed maintenance on the company's aircraft. On 5 April 1968, Monarch commenced commercial airline operations. Monarch conducted a charter flight from Luton Airport, London to Madrid, Spain, using a Bristol 175 Britannia 300 turboprop formerly operated by British airline company Caledonian Airways.
  The airline's initial fleet comprised a pair of Bristol Britannias (both ex-Caledonian Airways) serviced in a single hangar at Luton. During 1969, the firm's second year of operation, Monarch was able to acquire additional Britannias from the administrators of troubled airline British Eagle. Shortly after, the airliner reached a milestone in the form of 250,000 passengers carried within a 12-month period, which at that point was operating an expanded fleet of six Britannias.
caption: One of Monarch's oldest aircraft, a Bristol Britannia 300 which can be seen today at Duxford Airfield
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