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Have you forgotten about our own low-frills Freddie?
The Independent
|November 10, 2025
Q You have been writing about easyJet's 30th anniversary, and say the first flight on 10 November 1995 was “the start of the low-cost revolution in the skies”. But surely the pioneer of low-cost air travel was Freddie Laker's Skytrain?
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Frank K
A I chose the term “low-cost revolution” with care. For younger readers, what Freddie Laker achieved for aviation in the 1970s was remarkable. The entrepreneur, who was later knighted, single-handedly took on the cosy cartel of airlines flying the Atlantic. After years of being rebuffed by both the UK and US governments, but refusing to back down, he finally saw his Skytrain operation from London Gatwick to New York JFK take off in 1977 - at fares way below the competition. Part of the deal was that meals cost extra - popularising the phrase "no frills".
This story is from the November 10, 2025 edition of The Independent.
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