Airline (UK TV series)

Airline
Genre	Documentary
Directed by	Richard Cowles
Starring	Britannia Airways (1998) EasyJet (1999-2006)
Narrated by	Charlie Higson (Series 1) Tony Robinson (Series 2-3, 7-10) Veronica Hyks (Series 4-6)
Opening theme	"Come Fly with Me"
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Language(s)	English
No. of series	10
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 Belfast Airport Newcastle Airport Bristol Airport Manchester Airport (Series 1 only)
Running time	22 min. (approx.)
Production company(s)	LWT (now branded ITV Studios)
Distributor	ITV plc
Broadcast
Original channel	ITV (ITV1/STV/UTV)
Picture format	4:3 (1998-2000) 16:9 (2001-2006)
Original run	6 March 1998 – 1 December 2006
Chronology
Related shows	Airline (US) Luton Airport Airport

Airline was a fly on the wall television programme, produced in the United Kingdom that showcases the daily happenings of passengers, ground workers and on-board staff of Britannia (Series 1) and later EasyJet (from Series 2). The show has been broadcast since 1998 on ITV, is often repeated on ITV2 and shown on syndication on Pick TV.^[1]

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. The programme has been sold to many countries worldwide, including 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: Leo Jones, Brett Holland and Leanne Chung, Dispatcher: Kevin Reardon; Captain: James McBride, Stewardess: Janey Stock and of course, Stelios as well as many passengers. The series were originally set in Liverpool and Luton but later incorporated Belfast, Bristol and Newcastle airports. Airline was also occasionally filmed at Gatwick and Stansted airports. Tony Robinson and Veronika Hyks replaced Charlie Higson as voiceover.

The programme also follows some passengers and staff on interesting 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.

Notable members of Britannia staff

Supervisors: Pat Baines, Cathy Duffy
Captains: Peter Klack
Flight Steward/Stewardesses: Brian John Aldridge (BJ),

Notable members of Easy Jet/Aviance staff

Overview of Staff

Administrative
Founder of Easyjet	Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Airport Terminal Staff
Managers
	Luton
	Alan Derbyshire (Series 5-6) Graham Fraser (Series 3-4) Jane Boulton (Series 3-4) Leo Jones (Assist Manager) (Series 7-10)
	Liverpool
	Sarah Tier
Bristol
Machell Riley
Supervisors
	Luton
	Brett Holland Leo Jones (Series 6) Jane Boulton (Series 3)
	Liverpool
	Leanne Chung,
Passenger Services Agent	Jane Boulton (Series 2) Leo Jones (Series 5)
Ticket Desk Agents	Anita Helen Skeggs Katrina Leeder
Ground Staff
Dispatch	Darren Ramsey (Luton) (Series 2) Kevin Reardon (Liverpool) (Series 2-3) Jane Boulton (Luton)(Series 5-9)
Air crew
Pilots	Georgie Hobbs (Series 4) Lance Jordan (Series 5) James McBride (Series 4-) Mike Jamerson (Series 5-) Tony Underwood (Series 5-)
Flight Steward/Stewardesses	Bob Brain Andy Swain Darren Ramsey (Series 3) Janey Stock (Series 3&4)

Series by Series List of EasyJet Staffing

Job Role	Name
Throughout Series
Founder of Easyjet	Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Series 2
Managers	unknown
Passenger Supervisor	Jane Boulton
Check-in/Ticket Desk Assistants	Katrina Leeder
Dispatcher	Kevin Reardon (Liverpool) Darren Ramsey (Luton)
Series 3
Managers	Jane Boulton Graham Fraser
Check-in/Ticket Desk Assistants	Katrina Leeder
Dispatcher	Kevin Reardon (Liverpool)
Flight Steward/Stewardesses	Janey Stock Darren Ramsey
Pilots	James McBride Lance Jordan
Series 4
Managers	Jane Boulton Graham Fraser
Passenger Supervisor	Stephen Elwood
Check-in/Ticket Desk Assistants	Katrina Leeder
Flight Steward/Stewardesses	Janey Stock
Pilots	James McBride Georgie Hobbs
Series 5
Managers	Alan Derbyshire Jane Boulton
Passenger Supervisor	Leo Jones Leanne Chung
Check-in/Ticket Desk Assistants	Permanent	Temporary
Check-in/Ticket Desk Assistants	Anita Katrina Leeder	Several Trainees were seen taking the Check-in Assistant Course but only one was seen in the role for a short time
Pilots	James McBride Mike Jamerson Tony Underwood
Series 6
Managers	Alan Derbyshire Leo Jones (Luton Assist Manager) Sarah Tier (Liverpool Shift Manager) Leanne Chung (Liverpool Checkin Manager)
Dispatcher	Jane Boulton
Series 7
Managers	Alan Derbyshire
Dispatcher	Jane Boulton
Series 8
Managers	Alan Derbyshire
Dispatcher	Jane Boulton
Series 9
Managers	Alan Derbyshire
Series 10
Managers	Alan Derbyshire
Flight Steward/Stewardesses	Bob Brain

Narrators

Charlie Higson (Series 1)
Tony Robinson (Series 2-3,7-10)
Veronica Hyks (Series 4-6)

Opening Titles

Series 1-4

These titles have a sky background and feature a Britannia plane (Series 1) or a EasyJet plane (Series 2-4) before cutting to clips of the overall series.

Series 5-6

These titles changed to using a lighter blue sky and switching to an all blue logo.

Series 7-8

These titles changed to using an orange sky and blue/orange logo.

Series 9-10

These titles used a similar style to that used in Series 5-6 but now has a reddish tint and features an airline in the logo.

"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 announced with the phrase "Welcome onboard another series of Airline"
At the beginning of each episode in every series, the narrator 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 narrator 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".

Changes to Luton Airport throughout filming "Airline"

- Area not used for Passenger operation at the time

	Series 2-3	Xmas 1999	Series 4-9	Series 10
International Terminal
Check-In (Zone A)	Check-in area near to the future check-in area
Check-In (Zone B)	Original Check-in area with open planned concourse	Check-in area was used as access to departures up until 2005 when the new departures lounge opened
Departures	Original Departure Lounge		Departure Lounge is accessed by the terminal link through the original check-in area
New Terminal
Check-In		New check-in area with the entrance's & Departures access at the west side of the building and the main check-in area to the east separated by 2 passages and a cafe.
Departures				Above the New check-in area on the first floor

UK Series guide

Series	Narrator	First Shown	Notes	Number of Episodes^[3]
Series 1	Charlie Higson	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	Tony Robinson	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 UK, Liverpool ground staff now wear blue uniforms.	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 EasyJet series, leaves the airline to work for Aer Lingus at Heathrow.	12
Series 10		8 September 2006	Currently the last aired series.	13

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.

Airline USA

Series 1 18x23' (2004)
Series 2 26x23' (2004)
Series 3 26x23' (2005)

Holiday Airline

Series 10x30' (2001) First shown from 31 August 2001.

Footnotes

^ http://www.locatetv.com/tv/airline-uk/6195
^ Reed Aviation was later merged to create Aviance UK
^ http://www.locatetv.com/tv/airline-uk/6195 Episode information

External links

Airline UK at the Internet Movie Database