"He Was A Larger Than Life Figure," Branson Recalls, "And A
Great Friend."
A whole generation of airline passengers may never have heard of
Freddie Laker, whose Laker Airways operated from 1966 to 1982 and
brought him to the highs of fame, fortune, and a knighthood -- and
to the lows of bankruptcy and a British Civil Aviation Authority
ban which forced him into Bahamian exile (there are, to be sure,
worse places to be exiled). But whether you've heard of him or not,
when you fly today, for better or for worse, you fly in the
low-cost environment that Sir Freddie pioneered. He passed away
Thursday in Hollywood, Florida, at the age of 83.
Laker's aging body may have failed him, but his sense of humor
never let him down. "A joker to the end, his body will be cremated
with his mobile phone in case you weren't able to get in a last
call," his family said in a statement Saturday.
The Verizon customer you have reached is not within the service
area.
Laker was a World War II veteran of the RAF's Air Transport
Auxiliary. Before the war he worked for Short Brothers; afterwards
he ran a cargo line that supported the Berlin Airlift, and then
worked for British United Airlines before starting his own air
charter firm in 1966. But it was the launch of Laker Skytrain in
1977 that put him on the map. After a period in which crossing the
Atlantic meant flying for the rich, and a cramped cabin on a
steamer for the poor, Skytrain's $100 fare was shockingly low, a
fraction of the competition's (to put things in perspective, that's
the equivalent of about $325 in today's dollars).
Riding high in 1978,
was an inescapable figure on television news and in business
magazines. Knighted for his services to industry, a "Sir" was added
to the first name that every Briton from Queen to kindergarten
knew. Nobody knew who Sir Frederick Alfred Laker was... he was Sir
Freddie, formally informal, and not quite taking himself
seriously.
Laker Airways in general, and Skytrain in particular, had to be
taken seriously. It grew explosively from the Skytrain
introduction, going from 29th in number of transatlantic passengers
to fifth. The airline had twenty aircraft, but it was threatening
the mighty -- British Airways, the stodgy nationalized enterprize
created by the BOAC/BEA merger, and such American giants as TWA and
Pan Am.
The giants, especially British Airways, had tried to strangle
Laker Airlines in its crib -- Laker originally proposed Skytrain in
1972, and it took him five years of court wrangling to get the line
moving. Laker was always at the cutting edge of large, economical
equipment, rapidly replacing 707s with DC-10s, and ordering
Airbuses. A period publicity photo (top) shows Laker with Chief
Pilot Alan Hellary in front of one of the new DC-10s; Laker's hair
is blowing in the wind and he's grinning madly; next to him the
pilot looks decorous to the point of solemnity.
One of the most remarkable things about Sir Freddie is that he
answered his fan mail. He made a point of responding to young
people who asked him for advice about careers in aviation; he may
not have understood the consequences of what he was doing but a
large number of those people followed him into the industry. It
says much that when he was riding high, he found time to extend a
hand down and help others up.
Those were great days, but the seeds of Laker's downfall were
contained within.
The DC-10s came to Laker in the middle of mass-media hysteria
about DC-10 safety.
The giants and Laker engaged in a bitter price war, and given
the relative depth of the various pockets, it was one that Laker
couldn't win. In February, 1982 Laker Airways sank into
receivership, overcome by the burden of 270 million pounds' debt.
(The last flight was February 6). But the giants had learned
something from the price war: the demand for travel at a lower
price was so overwhelming that it made its own business case.
Sir Freddie may have seen his company brought low, but he lived
to see his concept made universal. And, unlike Pan Am, which was
corporately distant from its charismatic founder, and British
Airways, which was always run by vaguely 1984-ish bureaucrats from
the bowels of some ministry, Laker Airways was the creation of a
single man, and a man that Britain loved. The public started a
"Save Laker" fund where people contributed to try to buy Sir
Freddie out of his predicament -- a million pounds were donated
within days. Of course, it was a drop in the bucket.
A suit alleging that twelve airlines conspired to destroy Laker
stumbled its way through the courts -- British Airways settled with
Sir Freddie for eight million pounds, and at one time the airlines
were going to offer fifty million. (Guilty conscience, perhaps).
But the plaintiffs were not able to reach agreement.
A second iteration, Laker Airlines, operated from the Bahamas
until last year, and Sir Freddie remained all his life eager to
make a go of an outlaw airline.
Laker was honored in Britain by those that came after him -- and
by some that worked for him. (Imagine how today's pilots and flight
attendants will greet the passing of Don Carty or Leo Mullin, and
check out how the Laker alumni are reacting at the FMI link).
"I think we all have a lot to thank him for," Sir Richard
Branson told the British press. "If it hadn't been for Sir Freddie
you wouldn't most likely have had Virgin Atlantic." Branson had
gotten to know Laker, who counseled him not to get overrun by
British Airways: "Sue the bastards!" was Laker's advice to the new
breed of entrepreneur that followed in his wake. Branson named one
of Virgin's 747s "The Spirit of Sir Freddie," and he did it while
Laker was still alive to enjoy it.
The founder of EasyJet, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, called Sir Freddie
"a true pioneer.... ahead of his time."
"[T]he big airlines succeeded in putting him out of business...
it was a landmark case in unfair competition and he sort of
inspired all of us to carry on and survive," Haji-Ioannou told the
BBC.
Sir Richard Branson went beyond the business impact of Laker to
offer his personal recollection of the man: "He was a
larger-than-life figure, with a wicked sense of humour and a great
friend." Men have had worse epitaphs.
Sir Freddie Laker (and his cell phone) are gone, but one
artifact of the original Laker Airways lives on in a way that
certainly would bring forth the Laker grin. The Orbis flying eye
hospital, that has used its wings to bring sight to thousands, is
built into a radically modified DC-10, that flew for Laker as
G-BELO. We photographed this wondrous machine (below) at
Oshkosh in 2003.
You know, "London Gatwick," Laker Airways' homebase, back in the
day, is a very uninspired name for an airport....
FMI: http://www.lakerairways.co.uk/
(a loving tribute to the man and the airline by former Laker
crew).
****
Family Statement
PRESS RELEASE: Sir Freddie Laker (B. August 6, 1922 D. Feb
9, 2006)
Sir Freddie passed at 4.45 AM on Thursday morning in Hollywood,
Florida.
He'll be remembered long into the future for his contributions
to aviation and his affect on the low cost carrier world as we know
it, but he'll be remembered ever so much more fondly by those who
knew him personally.
Sir Freddie, even in his eighties, commanded the room from the
moment he entered into with an effortless charm, a quick and clever
wit, and a childlike grin and laugh that made you smile before a
joke was even told. He was surrounded by love and well wishes up to
the moment of his passing.
The family would like to thank the global outpouring of support,
appreciation, and respect that has been paid to Sir Freddie. He was
always most proud of the affect he had on the lives of so many
people.
Sir Freddie is survived by his wife Jacqueline, his daughter
Elaine, and his son Freddie.
Memorial services will be held in South Florida, Grand Bahamas
Island, and England. For information on attending memorial services
please visit here.