Air UK Leisure
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AirUK Leisure was a charter airline created in 1987 as a subsidiary of AirUK. Initially, the airline operated Boeing 737-200 aircraft pending the arrival of their new 737-400 series aircraft. The airline used the same basic livery as its parent, with the addition of the word "Leisure" in stylised writing adjacent to the AirUK titles.
Boeing 737-400s replaced the older -200 series jets from 1989 onwards. Each of the new aircraft was named after a saint with the same first letter of the name as the last letter of the aircraft's registration. For example, the first aircraft, G-UKLA, was named "Flagship St Andrew".
From 1993 onwards, AirUK Leisure operated a pair of Boeing 767 aircraft on behalf of tour operator Unijet under its AOC and the brand name of Leisure International Airways, in a similar livery but with the cheatline ending midway up the fuselage and the title "Leisure" in much larger typeface. The full name "Leisure International Airways" was carried on the engine nacelles.
Upon the later complete purchase of AirUK Leisure by Unijet from AirUK, the 737-400 aircraft were phased out in favour of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. The 737s were leased via an arrangement with AirUK and therefore their majority shareholder,klm. The AirUK titles were moved to the engine nacelles as the aircraft adopted a livery similar to that originally used on the 767s, before the airline became solely known as "Leisure International Airways" as the sale did not include any rights to the AirUK name.
Unijet were then themselves purchased around three years later by another tour operator, First Choice. First Choice already owned Air 2000, founded in the same year, by Owners Abroad Group as the company was then known. The two were amalgamated and the Air 2000 brand name retained, which the new parent would later rename "First Choice Airways".
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