They’re gone but they’re definitely not forgotten
The summer holidays are well underway, with schools now finishing for the academic year and families jetting off to sunny destinations abroad. Today, airlines like Ryanair, Jet2 and EasyJet take passengers from Merseyside and beyond on their hard earned holidays.
But how we book our trips and some of the brands that were once at the heart of the travel industry have now been confined to the history books. From famous names that ceased to be to others that were acquired by huge companies, many of us will still have memories of heading to a Lunn Poly travel agents or flying with Monarch Airlines decades ago.
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Here, we take a look back at some of the travel agents and airline companies who had been taking us to our holidays for decades, but who we said goodbye to years ago. Some of these might be gone but they’re definitely not forgotten, Teesside Live reports.
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A number have branches on Merseyside or flew from Liverpool John Lennon Airport, formerly Speke Airport. Whereas others will remember these names from when they got flights from other airports across the country to reach their holiday destination.
Our list below isn’t intended to be comprehensive, but you may have memories of some of the names below. Here are six travel agents and airline companies now confined to history.
Lunn Poly
Lunn Poly was once the biggest travel agent in the United Kingdom. It was originally created by two already successful travel agencies named the Polytechnic Touring Association and Sir Henry Lunn Travel before being combined to become Lunn Poly in 1965.
Some might remember the company’s long running television campaigns that featured people on the holidays they offered. One person would say, “Lunn Poly? Get away!”, to which the other person would disappear into thin air and reappear in the holiday spot.
Monarch Airlines
Monarch Airlines started out in 1968 when air travel was only really feasible for rich families. During the seventies there was more demand for cheaper package holidays, which is where Monarch continued to excel as it was cheaper compared to other airlines.
In 2004, the airline switched to becoming a low-cost operator after struggling to compete against the other low-cost carriers who offered seat-only fares rather than package holidays. When Monarch went into administration in 2017, it left 110,000 passengers stranded around the world – leaving the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) and the government to bring people back home.
Britannia Airways
Beginning life under the name of Euravia, Britannia Airways carried passengers to destinations around the globe from Palma to Barcelona and Canada. It even flew out to long haul destinations that were slightly more difficult to reach like Natal and Brazil.
It re-branded as Thomsonfly after a reorganisation of TUI’s UK operations, who took over the airline in 2000. It eventually ceased operations in November 2005.
British Midland
In 1964, the Midlands-based airline named Derby Airways was bought out the Manchester-based scheduled charter line Mercury Airlines and officially became known as British Midland Airways. It was the first airline to introduce a domestic business class option, which it called “Diamond Euroclass”.
After some confusion surrounding the airline name both in the UK and internationally, it rebranded to BMI and eventually integrated into British Airways in 2012.
Air 2000
Also known as First Choice, Air 2000 was founded in 1987, although First Choice officially commenced operations in 2004 as the charter airline for TUI.
It only lasted four years but was a big player in the travel industry, carrying six million passengers in 2006 alone. It was the first airline to operate the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in its rotation but, due to delays, the airline merged with Thomsonfly, who inherited its planes.