Court Line
Court Line was a 20th-century British tramp shipping company that was founded in 1905. In the 1960s it diversified into shipbuilding and charter aviation. Its merchant shipping interests were based in London. Its shipyards were at Appledore in Devon and Sunderland in Tyne and Wear. Its airline was based at Luton Airport in Bedfordshire. It also provided bus services in Luton and surrounding areas.
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| Founded | 1905 (as shipping company) 1957 (as Argus Air Transport) | ||||||
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| Ceased operations | 1974 | ||||||
| Hubs | London Luton Airport | ||||||
| Fleet size | 14 aircraft (2 Lockheed L-1011 TriStar-1, 9 BAC One-Eleven 500, 1 Hawker Siddeley HS 125, 1 Bell JetRanger, 1 Cameron 0-84 Balloon) as of March 1974 | ||||||
| Destinations | worldwide | ||||||
| Headquarters | Central London (1905–1970) London Luton Airport (1970–1974) | ||||||
| Key people | Sir Philip Haldin, John R Young, Edward J Posey, GHG Threlfall, WH Armstrong | ||||||
Its airline helped pioneer the concept of "cheap and cheerful" package tours to Spain and other destinations in the Mediterranean in conjunction with Clarksons Holidays, thus taking part in the establishment of a whole new way of holidaymaking for the British public.
The Court Line group, including its airline and subsidiary tour operators, Clarksons Travel Group and Horizon Travel, ceased trading on 15 August 1974, with at least £7 million owing to 100,000 holidaymakers.