The business-traveler focussed airline ceased operations after a major investor withdrew, leaving the carrier with no funds to operate and over a thousand passengers stranded.

A carrier steeped in regional airline history

Although Duo Airways lasted just 11 months under that title, the airline’s roots went much further back in UK regional commercial aviation history.

Starting life as Birmingham Executive Aviation in June 1983, the carrier’s first flight took off from Birmingham International Airport (BHX), located in UK Midlands region. The fledgling carrier began life with a tiny fleet of two British Aerospace Jetstream 31 turboprops, operating from its Birmingham base to Copenhagen and Zurich.

With the addition of a third Jetseteam towards the end of 1983, the airline expanded its network to include services to Milan (LIN). The airline also entered the first of a series of partnerships with British Airways, operating to Inverness under a codeshare agreement with the British flag carrier, along with BA taking a small minority shareholding.

With the expansion of the network came the expansion of the airline’s fleet, with the addition of a Saab SF340A in April 1984, primarily to serve a new route to Geneva (GVA. However, with poor despatch reliability and the resulting passenger inconvenience, the airline soon dropped the Saab from its fleet, along with another that was due to join the airline.

With the need for a…