Genair Ltd.

Genair Ltd.

Short SD3-60
IATA ICAO Call sign EN GEN GENAIR
Founded	1981
Commenced operations	1982
Ceased operations	1984
Hubs	London Gatwick
Focus cities	London Gatwick
Alliance	British Caledonian Airways
Fleet size	7 (Short aircraft)
Parent company	General Relays

Genair was a regional airline based in England. It evolved from a corporate operation to a sizeable regional airline.

General Relays, a Chester-based telecommunications company, set up an air operations branch in March 1981 and flight operations started in the following month from Manchester with a single Beech King Air E90.¹ Following its move to Liverpool, in June of that year, it acquired the first 18-seater Embraer Bandeirante. Employing two EMB-110s and the single Beech King Air, scheduled passenger and cargo operations began on August over a route connecting Liverpool with London Gatwick twice-daily and one between Gatwick airport and Amsterdam.¹ In October 1982 the assets were merged into Genair Ltd. This was the registered trading name for scheduled operations from 3 August 1981.

In October 1982 a second Genair Ltd. was fully registered. It was formed from the fusion of Casair Aviation Services scheduled operations with Lease Air operations (traded as Eastern Airways) and the previous Genair.¹ Scheduled operations started before the end of the month. In the process Genair's network was enhanced to include Leeds and Newquay, together with an international service to Amsterdam. Closer links with British Caledonian Airways, followed by Genair's participation in the British Caledonian Commuter scheme and its subsequent relocation to Humberside in late 1982, resulted in acquisition of a small fleet of Short SD3-30 and Short SD3-60 commuter turboprop planes, which were painted in British Caledonian Commuter livery.¹ Genair used these aircraft to replace Bandeirantes on Gatwick—Liverpool and launch new feeder routes linking BCal's Gatwick base with Humberside, Norwich, Teesside, Leeds/Bradford, Bristol and Cardiff. All flights on these routes were operated under BCal flight numbers using the BR designator.¹ Barbara Harmer, one of Genair's SD3-30 pilots at the time, joined BCal in March 1984, where she first flew One-Elevens before transitioning to DC-10s. Harmer subsequently became the UK's first and only female Concorde pilot following BCal's takeover by BA.² Further fleet upgrading came with the delivery of two Shorts 360s in 1983.

By early 1984, the number of destinations served had grown to additionally take in Belfast, Norwich, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Teesside, and Esbjerg in Denmark. Later in the year, Blackpool was linked with Gatwick and the defunct Avair route between East Midlands and Dublin was also awarded, making Genair one of the UK's largest commuter airlines of the time. However, by Spring 1984 there were signs that all was not well when negotiations were opened with the objective of Maersk Air Ltd. taking a 49% stake in the company. In the event, these overtures were unsuccessful and on June 13, 1984, Genair suddenly ceased operations, calling in the receivers on the following day.¹

Genair fleet consisted of the following aircraft:¹