Morton Air Services

Morton Air Services Ltd. was one of the earliest post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airlines formed in 1945.Morton Air Services — In Memoriam It mainly operated regional short-haul scheduled services within the British Isles and between the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. In 1953, Morton took over rival independent UK airline Olley Air Service.airline timetable images — Olley Air Service, United Kingdom In 1958, Morton became part of the Airwork group.Flight International, 19 December 1958, Morton and Airwork, p. 957 Morton retained its identity following the 1960 Airwork-Hunting-Clan merger that led to the creation of British United Airways (BUA). The reorganisation of the BUA group of companies during 1967/8 resulted in Morton being merged into British United Island Airways (BUIA) in 1968.

History

In May 1945, former Royal Air Force pilot Captain T.W. "Sammy" Morton founded Morton Air Services Ltd. Prior to Morton's inception, "Sammy" Morton had flown scheduled services from London's old Croydon Airport to Paris Le Bourget with Amy Johnson in the 1930sFly me, I'm Freddie!, p. 60 Flight operations started in January of the following year.

By the early 1950s, Captain Morton had built up a fleet of Airspeed Consul (see heading image) and De Havilland Dragon Rapide aircraft and these were soon supplemented by more modern de Havilland Dove piston airliners to operate regular charter flights. These included general charter work, air ambulance services and racecourse charters. The latter's regularity was such that it amounted to a "quasi-scheduled" operation. Morton subsequently won traffic rights to operate fully fledged scheduled services from Croydon to the Channel Islands, Deauville, Le Touquet and Rotterdam.Flight International, 18 April 1958, World Airline Directory ..., p. 528

Morton sold a minority stake of about 20% to rival independent airline Skyways. When that airline was taken over by the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation (LAC), another contemporary independent airline, LAC acquired ownership of Skyways's minority holding in Morton Air Services as well.Flight International, 28 March 1952, Civil Aviation, L.A.C. buys Skyways p. 361

In February 1953, Morton Air Services gained control of its independent rival Olley Air Service. Following the takeover of Olley Air Service, this airline's operations were wholly integrated into Morton's but the Olley name would survive for certain services until 1963.

In 1958, Morton sold out to Airwork. The same year, Airwork started the process of merging with Hunting-Clan to form BUA.Fly me, I'm Freddie!, p. 61 On 30 September 1959, a Morton Air Services de Havilland Heron (G-AOXL) operated the last scheduled passenger flight to depart Croydon. The aircraft was headed for Rotterdam. Another Heron, repainted to represent that aircraft currently (2011) guards the entrance to Croydon's Aerodrome Hotel.de Havilland DH-114 Heron 2D G-ANUO (representing G-AOXL, the aircraft that operated the last scheduled passenger service from Croydon on 30 September 1959) on permanent display in front of Croydon's Aerodrome Hotel entrance (picture)) By the following morning, the airline's entire operation — including its headquarters — had been relocated to Gatwick.guardian.co.uk > News > UK News > Croydon regains touch of airport glamour (online edition of Maev Kennedy's article published in The Guardian's print edition of 30 September 2000)

Although Morton's scheduled services were integrated into BUA's regional operations following the creation of that airline in July 1960, the Morton name survived until the completion of the BUA group's 1967/8 reorganisation. It finally disappeared on 1 November 1968. This was the day Morton was absorbed into BUIA, BUA's new regional affiliate.Fly me, I'm Freddie!, p. 127

Olley Air Service

In January 1934, Gordon Olley, a former pilot with Handley Page Transport and Imperial Airways, founded Olley Air Service Ltd. It was primarily a charter airline and headed a group of airlines that included Blackpool & West Coast Air Services, Channel Air Ferries and Isle of Man Air Services. These airlines were all taken over in 1935 and 1936. Channel Air Ferries assumed Olley's scheduled air services to and from the Channel Islands, while Blackpool & West Coast Air Services operated scheduled flights between the UK and Ireland as well as to/from the Isle of Man. The former were jointly operated with Aer Lingus using the Irish Sea Airways brand. The latter transferred to Isle of Man Air Services, following which Blackpool & West Coast Air Services shortened its name to West Coast Air Services.

In 1938, the Olley group formed a new joint venture airline with two contemporary railway companies under the name Great Western & Southern Air Lines. Over the next year, Great Western & Southern Air Lines took over the scheduled routes of Channel Air Ferries.

Following the end of World War II, Olley Air Service resumed operations as a charter airline. It subsequently re-entered the scheduled services market on 1 January 1946, but transferred scheduled operations licences to British European Airways on 1 February 1947. Scheduled flight operations were relaunched in 1948 (on B.E.A. behalf), and on 3 June 1949 on its own.

In February 1953, Olley was sold to Morton Air Services, as a result of which the former was absorbed into the latter. Despite Olley's complete integration into Morton, the Olley name was still used for specific services until 1961. After the company name survived as Olley Travel Service Ltd.

Fleet

In April 1958, the combined fleet of Morton Air Services and Olley Air Service comprised 14 aircraft.

Aircraft typeTotal in fleetde Havilland DH 114 Heron1de Havilland DH 104 Dove8de Havilland DH 89 Dragon Rapide3Airspeed Consul2Total14

Accidents and incidents There are two recorded fatal accidents involving Morton Air Services aircraft.ASN Aircraft accident description Airspeed Consul G-AHJX — off Guernsey

24 May 1948 - An Airspeed Consul crashed near Cairo airport. No fatalities. 12 May 1950 - An Airspeed Consul was destroyed in a crash off Guernsey killing all four occupants. 14 June 1952 - An Airspeed Consul on a charter from Croydon to Le Mans ditched off Brighton following engine problems. Six on board killed, including pilot Lawrence Page. 31 October 1960 - A de Havilland DH 104 Dove was destroyed beyond economical repair when the hangar collapsed in a heavy storm at Chittagong airport (Pakistan).

See also List of defunct airlines of the United Kingdom

Notes Notes

Citations

Sources

(various backdated issues relating to Morton Air Services and Olley Air Service, 1934–1968)

Morton Air Services

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