Cal Air International
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| Founded | 1985 | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 1988 | ||||||
| Operating bases |
London Gatwick Airport Manchester Airport |
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| Fleet size | 3 | ||||||
| Destinations | Europe, Africa, United States, Canada | ||||||
| Parent company | BCAL & Rank Organisation | ||||||
| Headquarters | London Gatwick Airport | ||||||
| Key people | Frank Hope Mike Leigh |
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Cal Air International was a charter airline that operated in the United Kingdom between 1985 and 1988.
Cal Air International was initially conceived in early 1982 after the sudden demise of Laker Airways which had left a large gap in the UK Inclusive tour/charter market. The airline was a joint set up between British Caledonian and the Rank Organisation which already had its interests firmly established in the travel industry with its own tour operators: Blue Sky Travel/Holidays, Wings Holidays, Ellerman Travel and OSL Holidays.
The airline was initially named 'British Caledonian Charter' with exactly the same livery as its parent company British Caledonian. Two ex Laker Airways/Skytrain DC-10-10s were acquired along with many highly experienced ex Laker Airways Pilots, Flight Engineers and Cabin Crew. The DC-10s were re-registered as G-BJZE and G-BJZD. However it was not long before British Caledonian realised that its own high quality scheduled product and image was being somewhat tarnished by the more utility charter product in addition to the general public not being able to differentiate between the two companies, even the charter cabin crew all wore identical tartan uniforms to those of the parent company. It was therefore decided to make slight changes to the charter company and livery by introducing 'BCA Charter' decals to the aircraft and outlining the golden St Andrews lion rampant tail logo with a white shield. This lasted only a short time when a radical step was taken between the Rank Organisation and BCAL to completely rebrand the charter arm as 'Cal Air International' This saw the introduction of a striking bold livery never seen in the UK at the time.
Cal Air’s DC-10s were mainly used on UK charter flights to the usual popular Mediterranean resorts, North Africa and the Canary Islands. Long haul destinations included Orlando & Tampa Florida, Los Angeles USA, Caribbean, Toronto & Vancouver Canada and The Gambia & Kenya in Africa. A third ex Laker Airways DC-10-10 was acquired in 1986 and re-registered G-GCAL. Occasional ad hoc charter work was also undertaken which saw the companies DC-10s flying to destinations all over the world.
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