Crilly Airways Ltd

Crilly Airways Ltd was founded by entrepreneur Frederick Leo Crilly. The airline operated passenger services between several cities in England in the mid 1930'sCite book|last=Smith|first=Myron|date=2000|title=The Airline Encyclopedia|publisher=Scarecrow Press.] . The airline started with a capitalization of 12,000 pounds.

Crilly Airways started up running two eight seat de Havilland Dragon 84s from Braunstone, a suburb of Leicester. Cite web|url=http://www.leicesterairport.com/pastandpresent|title=Leicestershire Aeroclub History|accessdate=2007-09-29] . The first of these two aircraft was christened "Spirit of Doncaster". They also operated a de Havilland Fox Moth, and two Monospar twin engined mono planes.

In 1935 Crilly Airways sought government approval to operate an air service between Britain and Ireland but was refused. It was the Irish government's intention to operate a national airline between the two countries. Cite web|url=http://www.cesifo-group.de/portal/page/portal/ifoContent/N/neucesifo/CONFERENCES/SC_CONF_1999-2006/PRI03/PRI03_PAPERS_PART2/PRI03-BARRETT_B.PDF|title=Privatisation Experiences in the EU|accessdate=2007-09-29|publisher=A joint Initiative of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and Ifo Institute for Economic Research]

This airline was the first to offer a frequent flyer program.

Crilly Airways bought four 12 seater Fokker F.XIIs from KLM. Crilly Airways, using these planes, was the first airline to an airmail service between Portugal and England, opening this service on 1 February 1936. At the Portugese capital, Lisbon, one of the Fokker F.XIIs was christened "Lisboa" (Lisbon) by Menina Maria do Carmo Carmona Costa the young granddaughter of the nation's president. It was Crilly's intention to extend this service to Gibraltar and West Africa, but this plan came to a halt when the Spanish government refused Crilly Airways to overfly its territory due to the Spanish civil war.

Unable to survive financially following the failure of the Portugese venture, the company ceased trading on September 9, 1936, and entered receivership. British Airways bought the aircraft and started the company British Airways Iberia Ltd. with Crilly as managing director. But this company also soon went bankrupt.

The planes were then sold, via shady deals, to the Spanish nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. Cite web|url=http://www.dutch-aviation.nl/index5/Civil/index5-2%20F12.html|title=Fokker F.XII|accessdate=2007-09-29]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/crilly.htm Crilly Airways timetable]
* [http://www.stampauctioncentral.com/ax/ax15758.cfm Commemorative stamp flight Lisbon-London]