2005
> British North West Airlines
1997 - 1999
1994 - 1997
merged with AB Bristol > AB Airlines
1934 - 1937
[ Refer to Allied Airways (Gandar Dower) ]
1989 - 1992
1993 - 1994
1964 - 1966
1966
1989 - 1992
2012 - 2026
Airbus A321-253NX
G-EIRH 30/11/2021 > 09/05/2023Airbus A330-300
G-EIDY 24/03/2023 > 13/03/2026G-EILA 05/07/2021 > 29/04/20262021 - 2024
Embraer ERJ-135 BJ Legacy
Embraer EMB-135ER
G-CGMC 30/11/2021 > 08/05/20241976 - 1983
1954 - 1959
> Air Safaris
1987 - 2004
> First Choice Airways
1970 - 1980
Merged with British Island Airways > AirUK
1977 - 2008
1993 - 1997
> AB Airlines
1972 - 1992
> Hunting Cargo Airlines
1993 - 1997
> AB Airlines
2003 - 2005
1997 - 2002
1947 - 1960
> British United Airways
1937 - 1950
> Olley Air Services
1981 - 1984
> Venture Airways
1960 - 1960
1946 - 1949
1977 - 1988
> Aberdeen Airways
1946-1955
1979 - 1991
1989-1991
Administration > Eurworld Airways
1989 - 1991
1975 - 1978
1962 - 1968
1992 - 2001
2001 - 2006
1946 - 1953
> Lancashire Aircraft Corporation
1967 - 1975
> Skyways Aviation
1984 - 1990
1963 - 1968
1971 - 1972
1979
1978 - 1999
> Eastern Airways
1946 - 1958
(refer Transglobe Airways)
1983 - 1987
1982
1981 - 1983
1959 - 1962
1985 - 1990
1997 - 2005
1978 - 1981
> Air Ecosse
2003 - 2011
> Eastern Airways
1986 - 1996
1996 - 1998
1946 - 1952
1967 - 1970
1977 - 1980
1997 - 2006
1978 - 1979
merged with BIA and Air Anglia > AirUK
1946 - 1950
1916 - 1921
1948 - 1950
1999 - 2003
1990 - 2002
> MyTravel Airways
1980 - 1998
> KLM uk
1987 - 1996
> Leisure International Airways
1984 - 1988
1928 - 1960
Merged with Hunting-Clan Air Transport > British United Airways (BUA)
1994 - 1998
> Flying Colours
1964 - 1996
Refer to Mossair
1964: Initially established by Alderney entrepreneur Peter Moss as an Alderney-based air taxi and charter operator utilising a Cessna 336 and 337.
11/08/1975: The Mossair name appeared on a newly acquired de Havilland Dove.
The Dove was removed from service in 1977, whilst some of the other aircraft remained registered to Alderney Air Charter until July 1996.
1979 - 1985
> Metropolitan Airways
1972 - 1981
> Inter City Airlines
1994 - 1997
> TransAer International Airlines
1934 - 1947
Aberdeen Airways < > British European Airways
2009
[ Refer to Cello Aviation ]
1992 - 1994
1988 - 1989
> Amber Airways
1983 - 1992
1948 - 1958
2004 - 2026
Boeing 737-82R
Boeing 737-Max 8
Synergy Aviation / Ascend
Beech B200 Super Kingair
Cessna 510 Citation Mustang
Cessna 525A CitationJet CJ2
Cessna 550 Citation Bravo
2001 - 2011
1996
1984 - 1993
1994 - 2017
> West Atlantic UK
1993 - 1998
Merged
2002 - 2009
1953 - 1969
> Court Line Aviation
1929 - 1990
Late 1920s
Growing interest in private flying saw more AA members joining flying clubs and purchasing their own aircraft. During the 1920s, the AA used an airship for traffic observation and, in 1928, two light aircraft to support its growing number of flying members.
1929
The AA established its Aviation Section in response to the growing interest in private flying. Its initial role was to survey landing grounds and provide pilots with information about changes, obstructions and other relevant conditions. The AA produced early air-route maps and pioneered the use of aircraft to drop messages to its patrols, supplementing communication by telephone and post.
1931
The AA introduced an hourly weather information service for pilots, broadcasting reports to assist with flight planning.
1932
The AA worked with the pioneering aviator Amy Johnson to plan her record-breaking flight to Cape Town in a de Havilland Puss Moth.
1933
The Air Ministry took over the AA's weather information service, recognising its value to aviation. The AA Aviation Section continued to operate until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.
1950s onwards
Following the war, the AA re-established its aviation activities and developed a progressively more substantial aircraft operation. Aircraft including the de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide, Auster J/5R Alpine, Piper PA-23 Apache and Piper PA-31 Navajo supported the Association's activities, particularly aerial photography, traffic observation and the preparation of motoring information.
1957
The AA acquired the de Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide G-AHKV for aerial photography and traffic observation, including monitoring traffic flows on roads such as the new M1. The aircraft also undertook humanitarian work, dropping supplies to snowbound villages in Scotland.
1963
The AA acquired Piper PA-23-160 Apache G-APZE, fitted with a camera for aerial photography. Images taken from the aircraft helped the Association compile route maps and other touring information.
1970s
The fleet became increasingly sophisticated, with the Cessna 421B Golden Eagle G-BBUJ joining the operation, followed by the Cessna 441 Conquest G-AUTO. The AA's aviation activities also developed an important role in medical repatriation and air ambulance work, returning members who became ill or injured while travelling overseas.
1980s
The AA's aviation operation had developed into a substantial specialist air transport activity. Its aircraft operated under the FANUM radiotelephony callsign allocated to the Automobile Association. The fleet included pressurised twin-turboprop Cessna 441 Conquests and, from 1984, the Association's first jet, the Learjet 35A G-GAYL.
AA aircraft were photographed at locations across the United Kingdom and Europe, including Coventry (Baginton), Cranfield, Biggin Hill, Yeovilton, Jersey, Newcastle and Luton. The Cessna 441 Conquests and Learjet formed the final known fleet of the AA's own fixed-wing aircraft operation, with contemporary photographs documenting its aircraft as late as 1988.
1990s
The AA stopped using its own aircraft in 1987. The final known aircraft in the fleet register, Learjet 35A G-GAYL, remained registered under Automobile Association Travel Services Ltd until 14 August 1990. The AA continued to arrange medical repatriation for members taken ill or injured abroad through a partnership with the St John Ambulance Aeromedical Service, a service that continued until 1994.
Additional source of information: AAs own website www.theaa.com/about-us/aa-history/timeline#aviationsection
2003 - 2004
1919 - 1920
Historical Timeline
Early 1919 – A. V. Roe & Co. establishes the Avro Transport Company to participate in the emerging British civil aviation market following the First World War. The company operates from Alexandra Park Aerodrome, Manchester.
1 May 1919 – Civil flying is officially permitted to resume in Britain following the introduction of the new Air Navigation Regulations.
6 May 1919 – Avro director John Lord obtains permission from Blackpool Corporation to use a site on Blackpool Sands as a terminus for an air service linking Manchester, Southport and Blackpool.
26 May 1919 – The Avro Transport Company inaugurates its scheduled Manchester–Southport–Blackpool service. The route is widely regarded as the first scheduled domestic airline service in Britain. The service operated during the summer of 1919 and used Avro 504 aircraft modified to carry passengers. Flights between Manchester and the Lancashire coast were particularly popular during the summer holiday season.
Summer 1919 – Alongside the scheduled service, the company operated numerous pleasure flights from locations around Britain. Its aircraft were used for "joy-riding" flights from beaches, racecourses and other suitable sites, with operations extending from northern England and Wales to southern England. Centres were established at locations including Blackpool, Southport, Fleetwood, Rhyl, Liverpool, Manchester, Douglas on the Isle of Man, Hounslow Heath, Southsea, Weston-super-Mare, Brighton, Swansea, Paignton and Porthcawl.
Late 1919 – By the end of 1919, more than 30,000 flights had reportedly been made in aircraft belonging to A. V. Roe & Co. and its associated operations.
December 1919 – Although pleasure flying proved popular, the post-war aviation boom was short-lived. Avro decided in December 1919 to discontinue its civil flying activities and begins winding down its operations.
Early 1920 – The Avro Transport Company ceases trading. Some former Avro Transport pleasure-flying activities continue independently under licence, using aircraft previously associated with the company.
Legacy – The Avro Transport Company's short-lived Manchester–Southport–Blackpool service occupies an important place in the history of British commercial aviation, while its extensive pleasure-flying activities helped popularise civilian flying during the first post-war summer.