80s Nostalgia – Which of These Lost European Airlines Do You Remember?

The 1980s were a great time for aviation.

Flying was becoming more commonplace and the masses were now using it as a means for vacations and travelling for business.

The 80s were also a time when many of the classic generations of jets were still flying, as well as plenty of piston airliners and early turboprops.

Sadly many of these airlines have now been lost or merged into other carriers.

Which of these European airlines do you remember?

TAT

Michel Gilliand (GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html> or GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html>), via Wikimedia Commons

The French regional airline Transport Aérien Transrégional, or TAT, was formed in 1968 and by the 1980s was flying many regional and domestic routes.

In this era it flew aircraft types like the Fokker F28, VFW-614 and a huge fleet of Fairchild-Hiller FH-227 turboprops.

TAT was bought by British Airways in 1997 and merged into Air Liberte.

Dan-Air London

Delivered to Dan-Air in January 1988, 727-2D3 (Advanced) G-BPND remained with the carrier until its demise in October 1992. (JetPix, licensed under GFDL 1.2)

One of the greatest independent airlines to come from the UK. Dan-Air London was founded in the 1950s and grew to become a major scheduled and leisure airline.

During the 1980s it flew types like the Boeing 727, 737, BAC One-Eleven and even the Airbus A300.

At the start of the decade it was still flying the de Havilland Comet 4.

Aviaco

Aviaco was a private Spanish airline founded in 1948 which grew to operate a fleet of Douglas DC-8 and DC-9 types in the 1980s, as well as the Fokker F-27.

The airline was a common sight across Europe, and in particular flew many charter services. It was merged into Iberia in 1999.

Linjeflyg

Photo (c) Rob Hodgkins

The Swedish domestic airline Linjeflyg was founded in 1957 and flew until 1993. During the 1980s it was operating connector services on behalf of SAS Scandinavian Airlines and was flying types such as the Fokker F28 Fellowship.

Orion Airways

Photo (c) John Allan

A classic British leisure airline, Orion Airways had a distinctive brown and orange livery and flew the Boeing 737-200 (and later -300) from UK airports to destinations across Europe.

It eventually merged with Britannia Airways in 1989.

NLM CityHopper

Founded in 1966, NLM (or Nederlandse Luchtvaart Maatschappij) was a Dutch regional airline which helped create the widespread European network enjoyed by national carrier KLM today.

The airline was well known for operating Fokker types, like the F27 and F28, as well as Jetstream 31 and Saab 340 types.

NLM became part of the new KLM CityHopper in 1991.

Air Inter

Air Inter Caravelle III

The French domestic airline Air Inter was founded in 1954 and grew to become a major force until its eventual merger into Air France in 1997.

It was well known for flying types such as the Sud Aviation Caravelle (including the last one ever built), and the unusual Dassault Mercure, for which it was the only operator.

Other types operated include the Fokker F28 and early Airbus A320s.

Scanair

JetPix (GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html> or GFDL 1.2 <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html>), via Wikimedia Commons

A Danish regional and leisure airline, Scanair was founded in 1961 and was partially owned by SAS.

During the 1980s it was common to see its aircraft flying to popular Mediterranean destinations, using types like the Airbus A300B4, Douglas DC-8, McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and even the Boeing 747-200B.

The airline became Premiair in 1994.

Aero Lloyd

Photo (c) simon butler

Moving to Germany, Aero Lloyd was a well-known leisure airline founded in 1981 to cater for the growing Inclusive Tour industry to holiday destinations.

It flew Douglas DC-9 and McDonnell Douglas MD-80 types, and eventually closed down in 2003.

Interflug

Before the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall, East Germany had its own national airline, Interflug.

This carrier flew mostly Soviet aircraft types like the Ilyushin Il-18, Il-62 and Tupolev Tu-134 (before a brief stint flying the Airbus A310 prior to its closure). It was liquidated in 1991 not long after Germany’s reunification.

TEA Trans European Airways

A Europe-wide operator at its peak, TEA was founded in Belgium in 1970 and had the distinction of flying the prototype Airbus A300B1 for a while.

It also flew the Boeing 707, 720 and 737-200 during the 1980s.

Other TEA brands existed in Switzerland and the UK. The Belgian entity became EuroBelgian Airlines in 1991.

Title Photo: (c) Colin Cooke Photo

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