Airliner Aviation Art Print of a Laker Skytrain McDonnell-Douglas DC-10 by Aviation Artist Paul Couper AGAvA

Skytrain represents a major landmark in Airline history, building on the experiences of British Eagle to produce what is considered as the first true budget trans-Atlantic airline, though it was not the first to fly due to legal wrangling with the Government that lasted almost a decade, the state sponsored BA and British Caledonian also putting up stiff resistance to the plan.

Laker's Skytrain eventually flew its inaugural flight in September 1977 and was an instant success, accounting for a large increase in the numbers of trans-Atlantic fliers before the company went bankrupt in 1982 due to an over-expansion and over-borrowing which coincided with a devaluation of pound sterling, leaving a large funding gap.