Airline (UK TV series)
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| Airline | |
 1998-2000 title |
|
| Genre | Documentary |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Richard Cowles |
| Presented by | Charlie Higgs Tony Robinson Veronica Hyks |
| Starring | Britannia Airways (1998) Easy Jet (1999 -) |
| Opening theme | "Come Fly with Me" |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 11 |
| No. of episodes | 124 + 1 Special |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Joe Houlihan |
| Producer(s) | Richard Cowles |
| Editor(s) | On-line: Alan Ritchie Off-line: Julia Frater |
| Location(s) | London Luton Airport Liverpool Airport |
| Running time | 22 min. (approx.) |
| Production company(s) | LWT (now branded ITV Studios) |
| Distributor | ITV plc |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | ITV |
| Picture format | 4:3 (1998-2000) 16:9 (2001-present) |
| Original run | 6 March 1998 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Airline (US) Luton Airport Airport |
Airline is a Fly on the wall - Docu-soap television programme, produced in Britain that showcases the daily happenings of passengers, ground workers and on-board staff of Britannia (Series 1) and later EasyJet (Series 2-). The show has been broadcast since 1998 on ITV, is often repeated on ITV2 and shown on syndication on Sky Real Lives, Sky1, Sky2 and Sky3.[1] From time to time, ITV shows the American version of Airline, which they call Airline USA on ITV2.
Contents |
[edit] Production
EasyJet were first approached about the possibility of filming during mid-1998, after the first series with Britannia Airways was discontinued. The first series with EasyJet was broadcast in January 1999, and the cameras have been with EasyJet almost constantly ever since. In 2003 it was ITV’s most popular factual programme with a total of 75 million viewers. The programme has been sold to many countries worldwide, amongst which New Zealand, Australia, and Japan.
Starting with the second series in 1999, the programme follows staff of EasyJet and Reed Aviation[2] (the handling agents) such as: Manager: Graham Fraser; Check-in trouble-shooter: Jane Boulton; Check-in assistant: Katrina Leeder; Supervisors: Brett Holland and Leanne Chung, Dispatcher: Kevin Reardon; Captain: James McBride, Stewardess: Janey Stock and of course, Stelios as well as many passengers. This series was set mainly in Liverpool, London Luton and later Belfast, Bristol and Newcastle airports. However, it occasionally follows passengers with interesting or unusual stories to their final destinations. Tony Robinson and Veronika Hyks replaced Charlie Higson as voiceover.
The programme also follows some passengers and staff on journeys and during important moments in their lives. Wedding proposals, marriages, illnesses, business trips, reunions and once-in-a-lifetime experiences have all been filmed, both happy and sad. The programme also aims to educate the airline’s passengers concerning its rules and regulations – some of the highlighted issues relate to missed check-in, incorrect travel documentation, and the carriage of prohibited items.
[edit] Notable members of Britannia staff
- Supervisors:Pat Baines and Cathy Daffy
- Captain: Peter Clact
- Steward:BJ Albrich
[edit] Notable members of Easy Jet/Aviance staff
These include past and present:
- Managers: Graham Fraser, Jane Boulton (later dispatcher), Sarah Tier and Leo Jones;
- Ticket Desk Agents: Katrina Leeder and Georgie Hobbs, Anita;
- Supervisors: Brett Holland and Leanne Chung;
- Dispatch: Kevin Reardon;
- Captains: James McBride, Mike Jamerson and Tony Underwood;
- Flight Steward/Stewardesses: Janey Stock and Bob Brain
[edit] Narrators
- Charlie Higgs (Series 1)
- Tony Robinson (Series 2-3,7-10)
- Veronica Hyks (Series 4-6)
[edit] Opening Titles
[edit] Series 1-4
These Titles have a Sky Background and features a Britannia Plane (Series 1) or a Easy Plane (Series 2-4) before cutting to clips of the overall series.
[edit] Series 5-6
These Titles changed to using a lighter blue sky and switching to an all blue Logo.
[edit] Series 7-8
These Titles changed to using a Orange Sky and Blue/Orange Logo.
[edit] Series 9-10
These Titles used a similar style to what was used in Series 5-6 but now has a redish tint and features a Airline in the logo.
[edit] "Coming up/Next time on Airline" Sequences
- At the Start of each series the narrator would show snippets of what was to come throughout the series. This would normally be annouced with the phrase "Welcome onboard another series of Airline"
- At the beginning of each episode in every series, the narrater would give a quick preview of what would be shown.
This would normally be announced with the phrases "Coming up/Tonight on Airline" or "Onboard Airline tonight". - Series 1-4 didn't show what was coming up in the next episode but did feature at the end of the programme, before the credits, information of what happened to the passengers featured.
- Starting in Series 5, clips of what would feature in the next episode were shown during the first 10 seconds of the credits.
- At the end of each series, the narrater would look back and highlight some of the more important things shown such as gripping stories about various members of airline staff . This would take about a minute and feature the common phrase "The Summer/Winter season has come to an end".
[edit] UK Series guide
| Series | Narrator | First Shown | Notes | Number of Episodes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 1 | Charlie Higgs | 6 March 1998 | Followed Britannia Airways | 6 |
| Series 2 | Tony Robinson | 12 January 1999 | This is the first series to feature EasyJet and also showed all ground staff wearing Reed Aviation uniforms; Red Jackets, a Dark blue shirt with pink petals and a black rimmed red hat with a Reed aviation badge | 8 |
| Series 3 | 10 September 1999 | This is the last series that feature the old Luton terminal. First series featuring Luton and some Liverpool ground staff in orange satin shirts (with a blue tank top) | 10 | |
| Series 4 | Veronica Hyks | 30 June 2000 | This is the first series that featured the new Luton terminal | 14 |
| Series 5 | 12 March 2001 | Reed Aviation becomes Aviance, Liverpool ground staff now wear Blue Unifroms | 12 | |
| Series 6 | 15 April 2002 | This the last series that featured the old Liverpool terminal | 18 | |
| Series 7 | Tony Robinson | 27 May 2003 | This Series followed the merging of EasyJet and Go Fly and also featured the new Liverpool terminal in its entirety even though it was seen in Series 6 | 12 |
| Series 8 | 8 October 2004 | 12 | ||
| Series 9 | 17 June 2005 | Dispatcher Jane Boulton, who featured on all previous series leaves Easy Jet to work for Aer Lingus at Heathrow | 12 | |
| Series 10 | 8 September 2006 | 10 | ||
| 2 November 2007 | 10 |
[edit] Special Episode
| Series | Narrator | First Shown | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airline at Christmas | Tony Robinson | 27 December 1999 | This is the only episode that showed both the old and new check-in areas of Luton Airport |
[edit] Airline USA
- Series 1 18x23' (2004)
- Series 2 26x23' (2004)
- Series 3 26x23 (2005)
[edit] Holiday Airline
- Series 10x30' (2001) First shown from 31 August, 2001
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ http://www.locatetv.com/tv/airline-uk/6195
- ^ Reed Aviation was later merged to create Aviance UK
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