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Laker: The Glory Years of Sir Freddie Laker
Sir Freddie Laker is best for his revolutionary transatlantic air service called ‘Skytrain’ he started in the seventies and then spectacularly going bust in February 1982. Less recognised is that Freddie was one of Britain’s most renowned entrepreneurs. After leaving school at age 16, his early years include the Berlin Airlift, Aviation Traders, the ‘Accountant’ aircraft - designed to replace the venerable DC-3 - the innovative Carvair and British United Airways, that was once Britain’s largest operator of commercial aircraft. Freddie was a millionaire before he’d turned 25.
After starting Laker Airways following the tragic death of his 17 year-old son Kevin, Freddie built the airline into a powerhouse, specialising in the European and North American markets. His exceptional vision created the revolutionary ‘Skytrain’ - the original transatlantic low cost/no frills air service. He fought governments on both sides of the Atlantic for six years before being granted the licences. Despite his countless other achievements, Sir Freddie is nevertheless best known for ‘Skytrain’ as it gave the opportunity of affordable air travel between the UK and the USA to millions who could never before have the experience. It created hysteria with thousands queuing sometimes for days to fly between London and New York. Its impact was pivotal in President Jimmy Carter‘s deregulation of the U.S. airline industry. The original Skytrain concept however was unsustainable yet its original low-cost/no-frills model lives on and for better or worse has since been followed by most of the world’s airlines.
Fueled by commercial success followed by a well-deserved knighthood, in 1978 Sir Freddie embarked on a massive expansion. He purchased more aircraft, took on immense financial commitments and sought hundreds of routes across the globe. Laker Airways had become one of the top transatlantic airlines by 1982 and the hubristic Sir Freddie had made many enemies. Despite Freddie having risked severe legal action by colluding and agreeing tariffs with his competitors - a breach of the USA stringent antitrust consumer protection laws – they conspired to bring him down. He then arrogantly introduced a first class service that created a brutal transatlantic fare war and for his competitors his actions were the final straw. In late 1981, Laker Airways looked doomed. Despite monumental efforts to assist Sir Freddie with a late refinancing plan, a perfect storm of events compounded by ill-timed personal upheaval that could have seen Freddie on the front page of the tabloids, brought down Laker Airways. Sir Freddie Laker was heavily criticised after his airline stranded thousands of customers and cost over 2500 jobs. The failure sadly eclipsed his many achievements.
LAKER – The Glory Years of Sir Freddie Laker includes never before released confidential information offering startling, fresh information on the ground-breaking Laker Airways and what (& who) caused its demise. Included are first hand perspectives from Sir Freddie’s top managers, lawyers, confidantes... and adversaries. ‘The Icarus Factor’ is a compelling part of the book that describes Freddie’s impetuous decisions, some of which turned out to be flawed yet so easily could have been heralded as pure genius. Numerous invaluable lessons from Sir Freddie’s six decades of business experience make the book a powerful learning tool for today’s executives, managers and entrepreneurs.
Authors Ania Grzesik brings her years of intense research and interviews with key people while Gregory Dix - a former senior executive of Laker Airways - contributes his twenty years of working with Sir Freddie along with his close personal friendship and insider knowledge to the story. The combination of these disparate elements has created a highly detailed, entertaining and occasionally disturbing account of a unique individual who was unquestionably the enigmatic champion of affordable air travel.
After starting Laker Airways following the tragic death of his 17 year-old son Kevin, Freddie built the airline into a powerhouse, specialising in the European and North American markets. His exceptional vision created the revolutionary ‘Skytrain’ - the original transatlantic low cost/no frills air service. He fought governments on both sides of the Atlantic for six years before being granted the licences. Despite his countless other achievements, Sir Freddie is nevertheless best known for ‘Skytrain’ as it gave the opportunity of affordable air travel between the UK and the USA to millions who could never before have the experience. It created hysteria with thousands queuing sometimes for days to fly between London and New York. Its impact was pivotal in President Jimmy Carter‘s deregulation of the U.S. airline industry. The original Skytrain concept however was unsustainable yet its original low-cost/no-frills model lives on and for better or worse has since been followed by most of the world’s airlines.
Fueled by commercial success followed by a well-deserved knighthood, in 1978 Sir Freddie embarked on a massive expansion. He purchased more aircraft, took on immense financial commitments and sought hundreds of routes across the globe. Laker Airways had become one of the top transatlantic airlines by 1982 and the hubristic Sir Freddie had made many enemies. Despite Freddie having risked severe legal action by colluding and agreeing tariffs with his competitors - a breach of the USA stringent antitrust consumer protection laws – they conspired to bring him down. He then arrogantly introduced a first class service that created a brutal transatlantic fare war and for his competitors his actions were the final straw. In late 1981, Laker Airways looked doomed. Despite monumental efforts to assist Sir Freddie with a late refinancing plan, a perfect storm of events compounded by ill-timed personal upheaval that could have seen Freddie on the front page of the tabloids, brought down Laker Airways. Sir Freddie Laker was heavily criticised after his airline stranded thousands of customers and cost over 2500 jobs. The failure sadly eclipsed his many achievements.
LAKER – The Glory Years of Sir Freddie Laker includes never before released confidential information offering startling, fresh information on the ground-breaking Laker Airways and what (& who) caused its demise. Included are first hand perspectives from Sir Freddie’s top managers, lawyers, confidantes... and adversaries. ‘The Icarus Factor’ is a compelling part of the book that describes Freddie’s impetuous decisions, some of which turned out to be flawed yet so easily could have been heralded as pure genius. Numerous invaluable lessons from Sir Freddie’s six decades of business experience make the book a powerful learning tool for today’s executives, managers and entrepreneurs.
Authors Ania Grzesik brings her years of intense research and interviews with key people while Gregory Dix - a former senior executive of Laker Airways - contributes his twenty years of working with Sir Freddie along with his close personal friendship and insider knowledge to the story. The combination of these disparate elements has created a highly detailed, entertaining and occasionally disturbing account of a unique individual who was unquestionably the enigmatic champion of affordable air travel.
608 pages, Hardcover
Published April 15, 2019
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