Provincial Airways

Defunct British airline

Provincial Airways was a 1930s British airline that was formed in 1933 to operate a service between Croydon and the South West of England, the routes were never a success and the company closed at the end of 1935. The airlines main operating base was Croydon Airport. The managing director was Flight-Lieutenant Harold Thomas, who was one of the pioneer pilots in the early cross-desert mail services and served in WW1 and WW2 in the Royal Air Force. On the board of directors was Air-Commodore P.F.M. Fellowes D.S.O who led the first expedition to fly over Mt. Everest.

## History

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The company was formed on 12 October 1933 when it took over the assets of International Airlines Limited. International Airlines had attempted to operate a Western Air Express route to carry mail between Croydon, Southampton, Portsmouth and Plymouth using two Monospar ST-4s but the venture failed.[1]

Provincial were to operate a similar route carrying mail, but in the end only two flights from Croydon to Plymouth with a stop at Southamton and return in November 1933 using De Havilland Fox Moths were carried out. In March 1934 they began a weekday service on the London to Plymouth[2] route still using the Fox Moth which was replaced by the larger De Havilland Dragon in May. By 1935 they were flying a twice-daily service between Croydon and Penzance with stops at Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth, Torquay and Plymouth.[3] In February a new route was started between Plymouth and Hull.[4] But the routes were not a financial success and the company closed on 10 December 1935.[1]

## Fleet

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* de Havilland Dragon
* de Havilland Fox Moth

## See also

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* List of defunct airlines of the United Kingdom

## References

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Notes

1. ^ a b Cleutt/Nash/Learmonth 1980, pp. 87-88
2. ^ "New Air Lines Opened." Times [London, England] 20 March 1934: 14. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.
3. ^ "Provincial Airways". Airline Timetable Images. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
4. ^ "News in Brief." Times [London, England] 26 February 1935: 19. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

Bibliography

* Cluett, Douglas; Nash, Joanna; Learmonth, Bob (1980). Croydon Airport 1928-1939. Sutton, Surrey, England: London Borough of Sutton Libraries and Art Services. ISBN 0-9503224 8 2.

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