South West Aviation was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 airline formed in 1966 to undertake air charter work from a base at Exeter Airport

Exeter International Airport

Exeter International Airport is an airport located at Clyst Honiton in the District of East Devon close to the city of Exeter and within the county of Devon, South West England....

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. In 1973 the airline was taken over by Skyways Aviation.

History

After it was formed the company operated air taxi and charter work with a twin-engined Piper Aztec

Piper Aztec

-Accidents and incidents:*On 18 April 1974, Aztec G-AYDE was involved in a ground collision with BAC One-Eleven G-AXMJ at London Luton Airport after the pilot of the Aztec entered the active runway without clearance. He was killed and his passenger was injured...

 and Beechcraft Travel Air. In May 1968 the company bought a Douglas DC-3

Douglas DC-3

The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

 which enabled it to expand into passenger and freight charters from both Exeter Airport and Hurn Airport

Bournemouth Airport

Bournemouth Airport is an airport located north-northeast of Bournemouth, in southern England...

. A second DC-3 was soon acquired. The charters were flown around the British Isles, Channel Islands and into Northern France.

Also in 1968 the company bought a Short Skyvan which enabled it to operate out of small grass airfield in South West England for charters and parachute drooping, although the aircraft was also used to operate a scheduled service between Heathrow

London Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...

 and Plymouth. The airline also operated summer time scheduled services between Exeter, Cherbourg and Southampton and on behalf of Dan-Air

Dan-Air

Dan-Air was a leading private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline based in the United Kingdom....

 a service between Bristol and the Isle of Mann.

Fleet

South West Aviation fleet in 1970

Aircraft	Total	Orders	Notes
Douglas DC-3 Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...	2	0
Piper Aztec Piper Aztec -Accidents and incidents:*On 18 April 1974, Aztec G-AYDE was involved in a ground collision with BAC One-Eleven G-AXMJ at London Luton Airport after the pilot of the Aztec entered the active runway without clearance. He was killed and his passenger was injured...	1	0
Short Skyvan	1
Total	4	0